Wichita's Budget Simulator
Every year, the City of Wichita surveys residents to gather feedback about service delivery and what should be prioritized in the next two years. That feedback helps guide the development of the annual budget and plan for future budgets.
The goals of the 2025-2026 budget process are to continue to provide highly rated services in the orange quadrant, and to focus attention on the magenta quadrant.
Unfortunately, the budget is not balanced starting in 2026. This is because there are increasing public safety wage costs at the same time revenue growth is slower and interest earnings will decline.
In this simulator for the 2026 city budget, high priority services may be decreased or increased, and low priority services can be decreased. There’s currently a $13 million deficit in 2026, and residents are asked to share what services they prioritize the most as the City Council is faced with making tough decisions.
Not every department or possible budget line-item is included in the budget simulator tool. The intent of this simulation is to provide residents with some concepts that are likely to come before the City Council for consideration.
While these simulated solutions won’t be the only factor the City Council considers when balancing the budget, your feedback will be shared as they consider the budget this August.
Thank you for your interest in the City of Wichita budget.
To learn more about the City of Wichita budget, visit https://www.wichita.gov/336/Budget