At the Bel Aire City Council's public hearing on September 15, 2026, a speaker raised the letter that owners had received about their assessments. According to the meeting minutes, the letter said each owner could pay in whole or in part within 30 days of the hearing, and the speaker noted that came to almost $40,000 per household.
The council passed the ordinance 4 to 1 that night. The same minutes record the City Manager saying that owners who don't prepay will pay over twenty years and that the charges will appear on property tax bills starting in 2027. That gap in timing is what matters to a buyer this fall. If you buy one of these homes now, the tax bill you're handed doesn't include an obligation of about $37,000 to $39,000 that is already attached to the lot.
Which streets, and how much
The September ordinance covers 12 projects the city had already authorized. They include street paving on Cozy Drive in Cozy Homes and in Aurora Park, sanitary sewer, water and street work in Arthur Heights, a water main for Homestead Senior Landing, a Webb Road water main for Bel Aire Lakes, and four infrastructure projects in Sunflower Commerce Park 3rd Addition.
For the two residential paving projects, the per-lot amounts on the certified proposed roll are in the September 1, 2026 council packet:
| Neighborhood | Project | Proposed assessment per lot |
|---|---|---|
| Cozy Homes | Street paving, Cozy Drive | $39,278.96 |
| Aurora Park | Street paving | $37,048.33 |
The Aurora Park figure may come down. On September 1, the council approved $95,866.19 in city participation to lower the Aurora Park assessments, so the final per-lot number will be lower than the roll shows. Separately, the mayor said the city put a total of $550,000 toward ditch work in the Aurora Park neighborhood, and the city also contributed to ditch work in the Cozy Drive neighborhood.
These aren't new subdivisions. They are established streets that got paving, and the paving bill goes to the lots that front them.
How $30,030 of pavement became $37,048
A staff report in the same packet shows how an assessment grows between the bid and the tax bill. Aurora Park is the clearest example:
- Construction. Twenty-two lots share $660,658 in street construction, which works out to about $30,030 per lot.
- Temporary financing. The city pays for the work up front with temporary notes. Note financing and other bond-related costs added $154,406, bringing the total to about $815,063. That's about 23% on top of construction before any long-term interest.
- The assessment. Split across 22 lots, that comes to about $37,048 per lot.
- The bond. Owners who don't pay in full are financed through the city's bond issue. Staff estimated the rate at about 4% to 4.5%.
- The tax bill. At 4% over 20 years, staff estimated about $2,700 a year per lot, or about $225 a month, starting with November 2027 tax bills.
If an owner never pays early, $2,700 a year for 20 years comes to roughly $54,000. A homeowner told the council the original petition projected $110.05 a month per lot, or $26,412.95 in total, and that an update in September 2024 raised it to $151 a month. The mayor answered that the council had held the cost to the original bid price and charged nothing for extra work caused by delays. That fits the staff math. The construction figure stayed where it was, and the increase came from the cost of carrying the project until it could be bonded.
Bond counsel from Gilmore and Bell, P.C. told the council that paying off a temporary note early could save some interest. City policy, though, is to bundle many projects into each bond issue to save on issuance costs. That means a neighborhood's project can sit on temporary notes until enough others are ready to bond together.
The rate isn't set yet. Bel Aire's FY2027 budget lists its Series 2024A and 2025A bonds at 4.0% to 5.0%. At the September 15 hearing, the City Manager said the rate for the next sale wasn't known and estimated it at four to five percent. Each half-point moves the annual installment.
Why a 2026 listing can't show it
Under this timeline, a buyer closing on a Cozy Homes or Aurora Park home between now and the November 2027 tax bills gets a most recent tax bill from the seller that predates the assessment. Any estimate of monthly taxes built from that bill leaves out about $225 a month. It also means a buyer can shop two similar homes in Bel Aire with nearly the same asking price and current tax bill, even though one of them carries a $37,000 obligation.
Owners also have options after the prepay window closes. According to the September 15, 2026 council minutes, the City Manager told the council that owners can pay off their remaining special assessment balance at the Sedgwick County Treasurer's office, with interest added once the bonds are sold. The staff report says owners can pay in full, arrange their own financing, or let the city's bond issue finance it.
Sedgwick County's property tax portal shows specials for each parcel separately from general taxes. It also warns that appraisal and tax information update at different times and may not reflect the same year. For an assessment levied in September 2026, that lag is exactly when a buyer is most likely to be looking.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Before acting, confirm the assessment status of any specific property with the county, the city, your lender and the appropriate professional.
New subdivisions run the same system
Older streets are one source of Bel Aire specials, and newer subdivisions are the other. The city's August 19, 2025 assessment ordinance lists water, sewer, paving and drainage separately for each legal lot. It gave owners 15 days after publication to prepay, and anything unpaid goes into 20 annual installments with interest.
| Lot | Water | Sewer | Paving | Drainage | Total levied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapel Landing Phase 2, Block E Lot 1 | $8,002.01 | $11,185.01 | $20,032.04 | $10,155.31 | $49,374.37 |
| Chapel Landing Phase 2, Block E Lot 2A | $4,001.01 | $5,592.51 | $10,016.02 | $5,077.66 | $24,687.20 |
| Skyview at Block 49 Phase 2, Block C Lot 27 | $3,878.05 | $7,539.51 | $15,202.84 | $6,681.56 | $33,301.96 |
In Chapel Landing Phase 2, lots split into "A" and "B" halves are each assessed half of a full lot's amount. So two side-by-side homes on the same block can carry about $24,700 and $49,400.
Developers can change these numbers too. In February 2026, the council approved an amendment that let the Chapel Landing 7th developer install and pay for a waterline directly, so that line's cost won't be spread to homeowners as an assessment. In Prairie Creek, the council approved petitions in September 2026 to move assessments previously levied on unplatted tracts onto the newly platted 8th-phase lots. Staff said homeowners who had already paid their specials should not see changes. Two new-construction homes at the same price can carry very different assessments depending on how each phase was financed.
Where the mill levy fits
Mill levies are the number most comparisons start with, and they leave all of this out. For FY2027, Bel Aire's proposed city rate is 41.003 mills, against a revenue-neutral rate of 37.390. The council adopted the FY2027 budget 3 to 2 on September 1, 2026.
The city's FY2027 budget presentation compares total proposed levies, combining city, county, school district and other taxing units, across the area:
- Andover: 155.044 mills
- Park City, USD 259 portion: 137.388 mills
- Bel Aire: 137.159 mills
- Wichita: 110.582 mills
Bel Aire's combined rate is close to Park City's. But a levy applies to assessed value and is the same everywhere in town. A special assessment is a fixed dollar amount on one lot, and two streets in the same city can differ by tens of thousands of dollars. For a Bel Aire home, the levy explains the citywide part of the tax bill, and the lot's specials explain the rest.
FAQ
Do special assessments only apply to new construction in Bel Aire? No. The September 2026 ordinance includes street paving in Aurora Park and Cozy Homes, which are established neighborhoods.
When will the new charges first be billed? City staff said the Aurora Park assessment will appear on property tax bills in November 2027 for owners who finance it through the bond issue.
Can a balance be paid off after the prepay window? The City Manager told the council that owners can pay off the balance through the Sedgwick County Treasurer's office, with interest charged after the bonds are sold.
If you're looking at a home in Bel Aire, Pam & Ashley will look up that parcel's specials, check them against the 2025 and 2026 ordinances, and show you the yearly cost next to the asking price before you make an offer. Book a Free Consultation and bring the addresses on your list.
