𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐆𝐨?

When a city finishes the year with stronger financial results than expected, that money doesn’t necessarily stay in reserves.

In Lenexa, a significant portion ultimately helps fund long-term capital projects.

The City’s 2026–2030 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) includes approximately $273.3 million across 61 projects, with about $81.4 million coming from the General Fund—making it the single largest funding source. Other major funding sources include $75.5 million in bonds and $48.4 million from the dedicated 3/8-cent sales tax.

The largest investments are in streets, bridges, traffic improvements, facilities, stormwater infrastructure, and parks. Major projects include pavement management, Fire Station No. 6, 83rd Street improvements, stormwater replacements, and the reconstruction of Ad Astra Pool. These are not automatically questionable expenses. Roads, stormwater systems, and fire facilities are core public needs.

Over the last several years, Lenexa has repeatedly finished with stronger-than-projected financial results. Those General Fund resources have also become the largest funding source for the City’s Capital Improvement Program.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 $𝟏.𝟏 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝?

Is the additional revenue needed solely to maintain today’s services? Or does it also help create additional capacity for tomorrow’s infrastructure through the Capital Improvement Program?

This matters because public conversations about property taxes often focus on staffing, inflation, and maintaining service levels. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

What do you think?