Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Smith Center run?
Smith Center’s city government spent $541,000 on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $348 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Smith Center didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Smith Center is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $348 per resident a year, or $0.95 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 36%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Smith Center 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 Smith Center yet
Every year of Smith Center’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 $1,908 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 2.11% 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 Smith Center’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 Smith Center’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Smith Center →
Who’s in charge in Smith Center
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Smith Center’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on SmithCenterKS.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 97 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (1,553).
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.
Smith Center Unified School District 237
Smith Center’s K–12 school district, shared with Banner Township, Beaver Township, Blaine Township, Cedar, Center Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,327 per pupil, $9,429 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.
Smith Center’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Smith Center alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Smith County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican83.5%1,675 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat15.0%300 votesOthers: 1.5% (31 votes).
Most votes in Smith County: Donald J Trump
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Smith Center lies in Smith County. Every 2024 race in Smith County is on the county’s page.
Smith 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 Smith Center.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: SmithCenterKS.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 Smith Center’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Smith Center’s government
How much does Smith Center spend per resident?
About $348 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Smith Center didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $1.3 million.
What is the property tax rate in Smith Center?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,908 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 2.11% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see SmithCenterKS.com.
Who runs Smith Center’s government?
See SmithCenterKS.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Smith Center yet.
How did Smith Center vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Smith Center alone. Smith County, where 100% of Smith Center lies, voted Trump 83.5%, Harris 15.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Smith Center?
16 full-time and 11 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $63,034 (about $756,408 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Smith Center in the state legislature?
State Senate District 36 (Elaine Bowers) and State House District 109 (Troy Waymaster). The House district also covers 115 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Smith Center’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 Smith Center, 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 →