Local Leadership
I am grateful to serve our community.
We are in a pivotal season for Sedgwick County. We need leadership to help improve our position economically while working to bridge the divide relationally. This community is our home. I want to do all that I can to make sure we are improving and fostering the best quality of life for everyone in Sedgwick County.
Common Sense Podcast
Welcome to Common Sense with Ryan Baty. In this episode, Ryan sits down with Katy Tyndell, a co-founder of the grassroots organization Leading Kansas. Together, they dive deep into the motivations behind civic engagement, what drives local movements to action, and the urgent issues facing our state and nation. We talk about defending constitutional freedoms, the role of our federal government, and fostering civic dialogue in an increasingly polarized world.
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Change for the Better
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Issues
Staffing Stability for Sedgwick County Government
With nearly 3,000 employees across 46 departments, the work being done by our employees is vital to the quality of life we experience in the community. Upon my arrival on the Commission, we were experiencing significant staffing shortages – particularly in public safety and public health. Aggressive and strategic adjustments in compensation plans returned increased employee morale and staffing stability. Today, we have staffing levels above 90% and our performance goals are all being accomplished. Strategic workforce investments have provided more effective and efficient services to the 525k people of Sedgwick County.
Homelessness, Foster Care and Behavioral Health
Every policy decision must find a connecting link to healthier families. Our community has made significant progress in several large scale community challenges. In homelessness, we continue to develop a long-term community plan with a focus on shelter, services, and affordable housing. We have worked collaboratively to reduce the negative impacts of a foster care system that is failing our most vulnerable kids. We have also invested into a new COMCARE CRISIS center that will increase services such as mobile mental health, 988 suicide line, medical detox beds as well as other strategic initiatives to help meet the growing needs of our community.
Development of the Northwest Expressway
Connecting K-96 to Kellogg through west Sedgwick County has been a discussion for 30+ years. This would spur incredible economic development, but the conversation had stalled as had cooperation amongst key stakeholders. I have worked to re-engage the project with KDOT, Maize, Goddard and the City of Wichita as well as helping to reestablish the NW Expressway Coalition. We now have more momentum in the project than what has been seen in over a decade.
Property Tax Reform
Increasing property taxes has become a painful challenge for many families and businesses. With nearly 50% of our county revenues being generated through property taxes, we aim to reduce the county’s dependency on this revenue source and provide relief to our community. In each of my budgets, we have found ways to reduce the property tax mill levy while also stabilizing core county services. As my #1 priority in 2025 and 2026, we will continue to reduce property tax burden through a series of strategic reforms and initiatives.
Modernizing Local Government
The cost of government continues to increase, and reform is needed to counteract the increasing costs. As we look across the county and our 20 city partners, I will advance plans to eliminate redundancies via more shared services, strategic partnerships, and functional department consolidations. It is time to modernize the local government model and in doing so we will find reduced costs and improved efficiencies. I will continue leading the conversation and building collaborative relationships.
“The government closest to the people, serves its people best”
– Thomas Jefferson
Success is Local
Success requires leadership that listens to the pulse of the community. Local government needs to be shaped by civility and collaboration in order to maximize the potential of our people.
As a business owner & pastor, I am excited to communicate our vision for Sedgwick County and demonstrate a plan that enhances quality of life in our community. These conversations will be focused on our economy, quality of life investment and the appropriate function of our local government.
Work in the Community
Here are a few ways we give back to our community with links for you to join in!
Love Schools
The heart of this organization is to pair local businesses with local schools in order to meet strategic needs and supply resources.
Foster Care Advocate
I have worked with selective organizations to help raise awareness of the foster care crisis in our community.
Firm Foundation Ministries
This organization provides transitional housing and reintegration skills training for individuals leaving correctional facilities.
The Mattress hub
We have strategically partnered with local schools and organizations to donate beds to children in need.
Property Tax Statements hit mailboxes this week. A few quick clarifications to common questions I receive this time of year — with some added commentary!
➡️ The County Treasurer sends out the bill on behalf of all taxing jurisdictions. After collecting tax payments, the Treasurer distributes the revenues to each taxing jurisdiction. That does NOT mean that Sedgwick County Government is the sole property taxing authority. We only control the budget and mill levy rate for the County portion of your bill. As you can see, your bill is made up of several different taxing jurisdictions — mine has 11 total including State, County, Park Township, USD 266, etc, etc. The County makes up about 20% of your property tax bill.
➡️ Property Taxes fund large portions of local government functions like public safety, roads, and schools. For the County, property taxes represent between 45% of our revenues to perform these services. The rest of our budget is funded through fees for service, state grants and sales tax. If I were starting the system from scratch, this would NOT be how I would draw it up. I’m not a fan of property taxes for a lot of reasons, but I also understand that they are reliable, stable sources of revenue for local governments that perform core services.
➡️ My job as a County Commissioner is to find a balance between our ability to perform core services with the cost of the services. If we get out of balance either way, people’s lives are impacted — lack of resources means poor public service outcomes, and too high of taxation to fund government means people are financially limited. That principle isn’t hard to understand, but building a budget that finds that balance is no easy task and it’s a job we take very, very seriously at the County Commission.
And now here is the opinion that frustrates some of you…..
Increases in property taxes the last 5 years are hurting our working class families and our people on fixed incomes. It’s a fact. Inflation in housing values has led to increased taxes and insurances, and when you couple that with general inflation in goods and services, people really are stretched.
Inevitably, I am going to get people messaging me that I’m a tax zealot that wants to defund local government. That’s simply not true. Yes, the County has lowered mill levy 3 years in a row and has reduced our dependence on property tax revenues. You can look at the County line item on your bill and see the difference between 2024 and 2025 levy and % changed. Also, yes, the County has invested in our services, compensation, and workforce stability — and every metric we measure has improved. We did BOTH.
That’s leadership. We CAN modernize local government while finding that balance between property tax reliance and effective services we provide. I will continue pushing, alongside my colleagues, for lessening our dependence on property tax revenues so that our people can find relief. They need it.
If you have questions about property taxes… I’m happy to help! … See MoreSee Less
21 CommentsComment on Facebook
I first heard of Future Ready Centers in 2023. This partnership between Wichita Public Schools and WSU Tech offers hands-on curriculum for high school students in career-focused, high-demand fields. These students earn college credit tuition-free, and many are receiving job offers from some of our largest area employers the day they graduate.
I believe this model unlocks significant career and earning potential for thousands of students, and I'm committed to bringing more awareness of this incredible opportunity for our community.
Learn more details on this podcast episode that launches Monday, December 1st! … See MoreSee Less
5 CommentsComment on Facebook
These are my people. Love all that you do Shepherd's Way. Keep up the GREAT work!
➡️ shepherds-way.orgWichita nonprofit helps adults with autism gain independence >> See the full article below ⬇️ … See MoreSee Less
6 CommentsComment on Facebook
I seek to better understand all the dynamics that impact our community — and that includes our education system. I asked Wichita Public Schools Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld and WSU Tech President Sheree Utash to join me for a conversation on opportunities and challenges facing our kids and teachers. I've heard about concepts like Future Ready Centers and Community Schools, and I was deeply inspired by what they shared.
This episode will air Monday, December 1st. I strongly encourage everyone to listen in and learn all the work being done by these two individuals and their organizations! … See MoreSee Less
5 CommentsComment on Facebook
Thanksgiving Chats with Family ⬇️
Cousin: “What’s the most controversial position you have?”
Me: “That’s in the eye of the beholder.”
Cousin: “Seriously. What gets people going when they learn your opinion?”
Me: “I like roundabouts.”
Cousin: “You’re boring.”
Sorry folks, I like roundabouts. 🤷🏻♂️😂 … See MoreSee Less
media1.tenor.co
media1.tenor.co
19 CommentsComment on Facebook
This is a BIG moment for the City of Wichita.
The City and County have made real progress — but there is more work to do in modernizing local government. The next City Manager will have an incredible opportunity to help shape our collective future. … See MoreSee Less
7 CommentsComment on Facebook
This is a fundamental disagreement between political worldviews. The Constitution does not grant the federal government authority over Education — and much like many areas the federal government has over reached beyond its bandwidth. All things education should be reserved for the State’s and local communities. The challenges in Kansas are different than in other states, and our decisions and taxes should be empowered to reflect our values and needs, not administered down from bureaucrats in Washington DC.
With that being said….
Those of us on the Right need to make a good faith effort to listen and understand why some people, like the author of this opinion piece, have concerns. The last thing I want is to dismantle funding and resources for school children with disabilities and special needs. This Mom is speaking out for her son — and we should understand and work to alleviate her fears.
Leadership at all levels need to find a solution that can navigate the concerns of both sides of the issue and ensure that the State’s are protecting federally enforced rights, services and protections in education policy. … See MoreSee Less
42 CommentsComment on Facebook
National Adoption Day. 🙌
We celebrated 37 EmberHope kids being adopted to forever families today. The energy in the room was so hopeful and encouraging!
Grateful for any opportunity I get to come alongside these superheroes that stand in the gap for vulnerable kids and families. … See MoreSee Less
13 CommentsComment on Facebook
Very grateful for these firefighters from Sedgwick County Fire District 1 and Wichita Fire Department. This could have been a significant tragedy if not for their excellent work and partnership on scene.
BRAVO!
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Fire District 1 is investigating a house fire in Park City
www.kake.com
Sedgwick County Fire District 1 is investigating a house fire that left six family members trapped and a firefighter in harm’s way in Park City Friday morning.2 CommentsComment on Facebook