Leawood officials have voted to send a special-purpose sales tax question to voters, asking residents to approve a 5/8-cent levy that would replace the city's existing 1/8-cent tax and pump roughly $7.8 million a year into crumbling stormwater pipes, street repairs, and a police and fire budget about to lose county support. The special mail-ballot election is set for March 2, 2027.
The proposal, reported by KCTV, would take effect October 1, 2027, and run for 10 years if approved. It replaces the city's current 1/8-cent special sales tax, which is otherwise set to expire at the end of June 2028 but will instead be repealed on September 30, 2027 to make way for the new rate. Mayor Marc Elkins said the ballot question concerns funding streets, stormwater infrastructure and public safety over the next decade, according to KCTV, and that the ultimate decision rests with Leawood voters.
Rusting Pipes Are Running Out of Time
The financial pressure traces back to infrastructure literally decaying underground. Leawood currently has about 90,000 linear feet of deteriorating corrugated metal stormwater pipes installed between the late 1960s and mid-1980s, down from 105,000 feet in 2015, according to public works estimates cited by Johnson County Post. At the city's current funding rate of about $1.5 million a year from its existing 1/8-cent tax, replacing all the remaining pipe would take approximately 55 years, the outlet reported.
Under the city's financial projections developed during August work sessions, a 5/8-cent rate would generate between $6.6 million and $7.8 million annually, with $3.4 million tentatively earmarked for stormwater work, $2.4 million for public safety, and $800,000 for street repairs. That would accelerate residential street and stormwater projects and cut the pipe-replacement timeline from 55 years down to 26, per the same reporting.
Leawood's geography compounds the challenge. Tomahawk Creek and Indian Creek converge south of Interstate 435 in Leawood City Park, a topographical quirk that makes stormwater management especially difficult and has been tied to park closures and flood risk near residential areas such as Wenonga Lane and Leawood Estates, the Johnson County Post reported.
A County Funding Cliff Adds Urgency
Layered on top of the pipe problem is a separate, harder deadline. Johnson County's quarter-cent public safety sales tax, passed in 2016 to finance a new county courthouse and medical examiner facility in Olathe, is not being renewed and expires at the end of March 2027. That funding stream currently sends Leawood's police and fire departments about $1.5 million a year, money the departments stand to lose once the county tax lapses.
A Kansas district court judge ruled in December 2025 that state law prohibited the county commission from extending that tax to cover general operating expenses or mental health programs, locking in its expiration, according to KCUR. That ruling forced Leawood and other municipalities to figure out how to absorb the shortfall on their own rather than count on the county tax being renewed. City councilmembers said during August work sessions that the loss comes at a particularly bad time, since Leawood's police technology has become dangerously outdated, with certain key law enforcement systems no longer supported by their manufacturers, per Johnson County Post.
Why a Sales Tax Instead of Property Taxes
At its September 8 meeting, the Leawood Governing Body considered keeping the city's property tax mill levy flat at 23.500 mills for its 2027 budget, while holding required public hearings on exceeding the Kansas Revenue Neutral Rate, according to the city's own announcement on Leawood.org. Kansas law requires those hearings whenever rising property valuations would generate more total revenue even if the levy rate itself does not change.
That choice lines up with the city's tax-rate math. Leawood's baseline sales tax rate of 9.100% is among the lowest municipal rates in Johnson County, where neighboring cities charge higher baseline rates, including Fairway at 9.975%, Mission at 9.725%, Shawnee at 9.600%, and Overland Park and Lenexa at 9.350%, according to Johnson County Government figures. The countywide average municipal rate sits at 9.325%, giving city leaders room to argue Leawood can absorb an increase without becoming an outlier.
The city also has history on its side. Leawood voters originally established the existing 1/8-cent special sales tax in July 2000 for a five-year term to fund stormwater and street repairs, and they have extended it four times since, in 2004, 2008, 2014, and 2020, per city records.
Growth Along 135th Street Raises the Stakes
The timing also intersects with a shift underway in south Leawood, where the 135th Street corridor is moving from commercial retail toward denser residential development. The city has approved revisions for the 6.7-acre One35 development and advanced plans for The Regent, which would bring roughly 200 luxury apartment units to the area, as Hoodline previously reported. That growth adds to the pressure on aging infrastructure just as the city weighs how to pay for its repair.
Elkins framed the ballot question as part of longer-range planning rather than a one-time fix. He said the city must plan for long-term community needs, according to KCTV, as Leawood residents prepare to weigh in at the March ballot box on whether to fund stormwater, streets and public safety for the decade ahead.
