Sedgwick County residents will pay $7.75 per transaction at the tag office starting Jan. 1, 2027, up from $5.

The Sedgwick County Commission voted unanimously Wednesday, Sept. 23, to approve the $2.75 increase, KWCH reported. The fee covers registration renewals, titles and temporary permits.

The approved amount is lower than the $9.50 that Sedgwick County Treasurer Brandi Baily originally requested at a Sept. 16 commission meeting. Commissioners delayed the vote, with Commissioner Stephanie Wise raising concerns that the higher fee would generate more revenue than the office needed and create what she called a "slush fund" for Baily, the Wichita Eagle reported.

The fee, previously called a "facility fee" and charged only for in-person visits, will now apply to all tag office transactions, including those completed online.

Baily told commissioners the revenue is needed to recruit and retain staff, raise pay, reduce wait times and wean the office off county property tax dollars. In 2025, the tag office drew more than $830,000 from the county's general fund to cover operating costs, according to KSN. Without the fee increase, the county would have needed to put roughly $1 million from the general fund toward the treasurer's budget in 2027, according to the Eagle.

"The goal is to make it where the tag office is operating on the fees that are generated by the office, and not getting into property tax dollars," Baily said.

Commissioner Ryan Baty echoed that position, saying he does not believe property tax dollars should fund tag office operations. Commissioner Pete Meitzner noted that the county treasurer is independently elected and that the tag office is a state-mandated function, with the commission's role limited to controlling the budget.

A statement from the Board of County Commissioners said legislation that took effect July 1 gave the board authority to approve limited fee increases proposed by the treasurer to offset taxpayer subsidies.

The original $9.50 proposal was projected to generate about $3.2 million in additional revenue, according to county documents cited in KSN's coverage of the original proposal. No revenue estimate for the approved $7.75 fee has been released.