How is Bison run?
Bison’s city government spent $173,000 on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $772 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Bison didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Bison is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $772 per resident a year, or $2.12 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 18%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Bison didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Bison yet
Every year of Bison’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $1,308 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 2.48% of the home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Bison’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Bison’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Bison →
Who’s in charge in Bison
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 224 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (224).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Otis-Bison Unified School District 403
Bison’s K–12 school district, shared with Albert, Garfield Township, Olmitz, Otis, Pioneer Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $18,419 per pupil, $10,980 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Kansas districts overall: 28% local, 61% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Bison’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Bison alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Rush County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican81.9%1,315 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat16.4%264 votesOthers: 1.7% (27 votes).
Most votes in Rush County: Donald J Trump
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Bison lies in Rush County. Every 2024 race in Rush County is on the county’s page.
Rush County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Bison.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Kansas HouseState representatives
- 3Kansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Kansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Bison’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Bison’s government
How much does Bison spend per resident?
About $772 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Bison didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $183,000.
What is the property tax rate in Bison?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,308 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 2.48% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Bison’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Bison yet.
How did Bison vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Bison alone. Rush County, where 100% of Bison lies, voted Trump 81.9%, Harris 16.4% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Bison?
1 full-time and 13 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $10,476 (about $125,712 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Bison in the state legislature?
State Senate District 33 (Tory Marie Blew) and State House District 113 (Brett Fairchild). The House district also covers 91 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Bison’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Bison, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →