Photo: Paltron · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Fort Scott run?
Fort Scott’s city government spent $11.8 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,547 per resident. Water and other utilities ($2.2 million) and the airport ($3 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Fort Scott is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,547 per resident a year, or $4.24 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 40%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,271 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Fort Scott’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,271 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 30 Kansas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $949, and the middle half spent $786–$1,339. Fort Scott spent more than 63% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($2.1 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Kansas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Fort Scott itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 21% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Fort Scott reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,271 · 2024: $1,547.
full-time in March 2025, up from 82 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,767 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.76% 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 Fort Scott’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.
Tax bills are one input to Fort Scott’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Fort Scott →
Who’s in charge in Fort Scott
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Fort Scott’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on FortScott.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 73 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (7,615).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Fort Scott Unified School District 234
Fort Scott’s K–12 school district, shared with Drywood Township, Fulton, Osage Township, Scott Township, Freedom Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,210 per pupil, $10,009 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.
Fort Scott’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fort Scott alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Bourbon County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican76.1%5,003 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat22.0%1,444 votesOthers: 1.9% (125 votes).
Most votes in Bourbon County: Donald J Trump
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Fort Scott lies in Bourbon County. Every 2024 race in Bourbon County is on the county’s page.
Bourbon 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 Fort Scott.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: FortScott.com ↗
- 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 Fort Scott’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Fort Scott’s government
How much does Fort Scott spend per resident?
About $1,547 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,271 was more than 63% of 30 Kansas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Fort Scott?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,767 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.76% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see FortScott.com.
Who runs Fort Scott’s government?
See FortScott.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Fort Scott yet.
How did Fort Scott vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fort Scott alone. Bourbon County, where 100% of Fort Scott lies, voted Trump 76.1%, Harris 22.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Fort Scott?
105 full-time and 23 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $473,387 (about $5.7M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Fort Scott in the state legislature?
State Senate District 13 (Tim Shallenburger) and State House District 4 (Rick James). The House district also covers 32 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Fort Scott’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; 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 →