HUMBOLDT — Humboldt City Council approved the city’s 2027 budget Monday evening, leaving the city’s 93.954 mill levy unchanged. Humboldt’s 2027 budget authority will increase to $2.8 million, up from around $2.4 million in 2026.
The votes in separate hearings, first to exceed the revenue neutral rate and then to approve the budget, were unanimous. Council members Bob Johnson and Robert Bingaman were absent.
City administrator Cole Herder noted the increase in budget authority will allow the city to build its reserves; there are no immediate plans to spend the funds.
“We always budget any of our reserves into the city’s capital outlay fund,” Herder told the Register. “That way, if there are emergencies or ways to save money, we have access to those funds.”
One such example? The council’s purchase of the City Hall building, which members approved Monday.
The City of Humboldt owed about $160,000 on a 2010 agreement with Community National Bank & Trust. Council members voted unanimously Monday to pay off the full amount, saving residents significant interest payments on an agreement that was set to end in 2037.
THE COUNCIL also agreed to move forward in securing funding for wastewater treatment plant improvements. The total project cost is estimated at around $5.4 million.
The city is requesting about $450,000 in grant funding from the Kansas Water Office, while the remaining $4.9 million will likely come in a loan from the Kansas Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, a low-interest loan program for local governments for water quality projects. It is managed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Humboldt’s current wastewater treatment plant was originally constructed in 1966. While it’s been modified over the decades, the infrastructure is old, and average flow is at 98 percent of rated capacity, leaving virtually no room for growth. A liner installed in 1990 has exceeded its service life and has tears. The return system relies on one low-capacity pump without standby capacity.
According to the city’s grant application, which was prepared by the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission, time is of the essence.
“Inaction would constrain planned residential and economic development,” the application reads, “and place a disproportionate financial burden on a small community if multiple critical failures occur.”
The project would increase the facility’s average capacity from 250,000 gallons per day to 300,000. It would support a population of 1,950 and a planned residential development of about 38 homes. Humbolt’s current population is around 1,850.
Current plans estimate the project will be completed by September 2028, an aggressive timeline, as Herder noted. Wastewater treatment at the facility would be able to continue during construction.
It’s not exactly perfect timing, as the wastewater project comes as a $16 million water distribution project is still underway. Herder expects the distribution project to be done next summer; once it’s complete, the city has a year before it must begin making $400,000 annual payments to pay it off.
The city would likely be forced to increase sewer rates to foot the bill for the wastewater project. Sewer rates last increased in 2019, said Herder, while water rates increased by 40% in 2025.
COUNCIL members granted the Biblesta committee permission to plan the same parade route for the 68th annual celebration, slated for Saturday, Oct. 3. They also gave A Bolder Humboldt’s Damaris Kunkler the authority to use the city as a fiscal agent while applying for an application to Kansas Tourism’s Attraction Development Grant Program. Grants help finance new and preexisting sustainable travel experiences in the state.
