If you're pricing a home in Eagles Nest 2nd Addition this fall, you may be budgeting from the wrong tax bill. The City of Maize financed the streets and utilities in the subdivision's last two phases through special benefit districts. It didn't formally assign that cost to each lot until June 15, 2026. That night the City Council passed Ordinance 1114, which levies special assessments on dozens of Maize subdivision projects, and among them are Eagles Nest 2nd Addition Phase 3 and Phase 4.
So for these homes, any tax statement printed before this summer couldn't have included an installment of these assessments. The specials for a single lot run from roughly $18,500 to more than $25,700, depending on the phase. Owners who didn't prepay will pay that off over 20 years. Two Eagles Nest homes with the same list price and the same square footage can carry very different yearly costs, and the listing price won't show you that difference.
What Maize actually decided in June
Like many fast-growing Kansas cities, Maize pays for streets, sewer and water in new subdivisions through special benefit districts. The city's 2025 bond disclosure lays out the order of events: the improvements get built, owners get a one-time chance to prepay, and then the city issues general obligation bonds for permanent financing. The annual special assessments on the benefiting lots pay off those bonds. The same 2025 official statement says the assessments are paid "at the same time and in the same manner" as property taxes, and that under Kansas law unpaid amounts are collected like property taxes and result in a lien on the property.
Ordinance 1114 is the levy step in that sequence for Eagles Nest. It lists five Eagles Nest projects by resolution number:
- Phase 3 sanitary sewer, Resolution 763-23
- Phase 3 water, Resolution 762-23
- Phase 3 paving, Resolution 764-23
- Phase 4 water distribution, Resolution 833-24
- Phase 4 paving, Resolution 834-24
The ordinance was published June 18, 2026. Owners could pay all or part of their assessment within 30 days of that date, which put the deadline in mid-July. Any amount still unpaid after that goes to the Sedgwick County Clerk to be "collected in 20 annual installments, together with interest."
One clause matters for the first year. Interest that builds up between the ordinance's effective date and the first installment gets added to that first installment. The ordinance also sets a floor: the amount added can't be less than a year's interest on any bonds issued for the improvements. So the first year's specials payment won't simply equal the next nineteen.
In August, the city published Ordinance 1119, which authorizes General Obligation Bonds, Series 2026A. That's the step the city's policy calls for once a prepayment window has closed.
Same subdivision, two different numbers
The council packet behind Ordinance 1114 includes a schedule for each project, lot by lot. Here are the Eagles Nest numbers side by side.
| Phase 3 | Phase 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sanitary sewer assessment | $7,460.05 per listed lot | No sewer schedule listed |
| Water assessment | $5,463.79 per listed lot | $5,750.83 per lot |
| Paving assessment | $12,784.20 per listed lot | $12,738.08 per lot |
| Separate fees in the schedule | Sewer benefit fee, $949.45 to $2,366.77 depending on the lot; water benefit fee, $620.42 to $1,546.58 | Water benefit fee, $802.70 per lot |
| Base assessments, all schedules combined | $25,708.04 for a lot on all three | $18,488.91 |
Phase 4's paving schedule covers 43 lots: Lots 17 through 46 in Block B and Lots 48 through 60 in Block C. Phase 3 is less tidy, because its three schedules don't cover the same lots. The paving list covers Lots 47 to 56 in Block B, Lots 33 to 47 in Block C and Lots 1 to 12 in Block E. The sewer list starts lower in Block B, at Lot 22, and runs through Lot 59 in Block C. So two Phase 3 homes a short walk apart may not appear on the same set of schedules.
Divide just the principal by 20 years and you get about $1,285 a year for a Phase 3 lot on all three schedules, or about $924 a year for a Phase 4 lot. That's rough math, and it leaves out interest and the larger first installment, so the real yearly figures will be higher. Even so, the gap between the two phases is around $360 a year before interest, for homes buyers may well consider the same neighborhood.
The city's own project totals line up with the table. Maize's audited statement for the year ending December 31, 2024 shows the Eagles Nest 2nd Phase 3 project authorized at $1,352,875 and Phase 4 at $842,000. Phase 4 has a smaller per-lot total and no sewer schedule in this levy, and its project budget was smaller too.
Why the seller's last tax bill leaves this out
Most buyers estimate their future escrow from the seller's most recent tax statement. In Eagles Nest's final phases, that habit runs into a timing problem.
Lots were changing hands before the levy. In its May 2025 update, the City Manager's office said Eagles Nest 2nd Phase 4 had "final infrastructure completed" and that lots in the final phase were selling. The same update said Maize issued 240 new housing permits in 2024. That was more than a year before Ordinance 1114 put a lot-by-lot assessment on the books in June 2026.
The regular property tax is calculated separately. Sedgwick County figures residential tax as assessed value times the mill levy, divided by 1,000. It treats specials as an additional assessment on top of that. In Maize's notice for its 2027 budget hearing, the city's own share is estimated at 42.858 mills for 2026: 36.242 for the general fund and 6.616 for debt service. That's an estimate, and it's only the city's share of the bill. An Eagles Nest specials installment gets added on top of that mill levy charge, and no mill levy figure includes it.
You may also see different figures for how long specials last. The county's FAQ says they normally appear on a tax bill for 10 to 15 years unless prepaid. Maize's 2023 audited statement describes city installments as running 15 or 20 years. For the Eagles Nest Phase 3 and Phase 4 projects in Ordinance 1114, the ordinance sets the term at 20 annual installments. Earlier Eagles Nest phases were financed as separate projects. The 2023 audit lists Phase 2 on its own, at $1,824,000. So the years left on any home outside Phases 3 and 4 depend on that home's own records.
The calendar from here
As of this week, this is where the dates fall:
- June 15, 2026. The City Council passed Ordinance 1114.
- June 18, 2026. The ordinance was published, which started the 30-day prepayment window.
- Mid-July 2026. The prepayment window closed. Unpaid balances move to installments.
- November. Sedgwick County says it mails property tax statements each year in November. Its tax calendar lists December 15 as the treasurer's last day to send them.
- December 20. The full amount or first half is due.
- May 10 of the following year. The second half is due.
If you close on an Eagles Nest home between now and spring, you'll be closing during the first tax cycle since the June levy. That's when the gap between an old tax statement and the real yearly cost is likely to be biggest.
Looking up one parcel before you make an offer
The schedules above come from the council packet. The ordinance allows clerical or administrative amendments to its Exhibit A, so the county record for the specific parcel is the number to rely on.
Sedgwick County's property tax lookup shows appraisal information, specials, taxes billed and due, and payment history for each parcel. The City of Maize also links to it from its Property Taxes page. When you look up a home in Eagles Nest 2nd Addition, look for these:
- Whether specials appear at all, or whether the owner prepaid in July
- Which projects are listed: sewer, water, paving, or some mix
- The remaining balance and how many years it runs
If you're comparing a Phase 3 home to a Phase 4 home, or either one to a home in an older phase, line those three answers up next to each other. For a buyer's monthly payment, that comparison can matter as much as a few thousand dollars on price.
Everything here is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm the details for your own property with the county, your lender or a tax professional before you rely on them.
Questions buyers ask about Eagles Nest specials
Does the seller pay off the specials at closing? Maize's 2025 official statement says unpaid special assessments are collected the same way as property taxes and result in a lien on the property. How a specific sale handles them is a question for your purchase contract and your closing professional, so ask early.
Can a homeowner still prepay? The prepayment window in Ordinance 1114 was 30 days after the June 18, 2026 publication date. Ask the City of Maize or the Sedgwick County Treasurer what payoff options are available now.
Does every home in Eagles Nest carry the same specials? No. Phase 3 and Phase 4 have different per-lot amounts, Phase 3's schedules cover different groups of lots, and earlier phases were financed as separate city projects.
If you're weighing a home in Eagles Nest, or any newer Maize subdivision where the specials were just levied, I'm glad to pull the parcel record with you and set the real yearly cost next to the list price before you make an offer. Let's Connect with Nancy Jo Statton.
