Bourbon County Commission Meeting Minutes – July 13, 2026, 5:30 PM

07.13.26 Commission Minutes (full document)

• I. Call to Order
• II. Pledge of Allegiance
• III. Prayer / Invocation – led by Commissioner Motley
• IV. Introductions / Roll Call
• V. Approval of Agenda – amended to add auction discussion, HSS appointment letter, Kansas Division of EMS document, and budget presentation reordering
• VI. Approval of Minutes
  • a. 06.29.26 Minutes
  • b. 07.06.26 Minutes – deferred, approved later in meeting
• VII. Approval of Accounts Payable 07.10.26 – $543,225.90
• VIII. Approve Tax Corrections
• IX. Budget Presentations – Baker Tilly general fund forecast & preliminary 2027 budget; Revenue Neutral Rate discussion
• X. Department Updates
  • Jennifer Hawkins, Treasurer – property tax deadline, unclaimed property
• XI. Public Comments – none submitted
• XII. Old Business
  • a. Jarred Gilmore Phillips 2026 Audit Engagement
  • b. Auction Discussion (GovDeals)
• XIII. New Business
  • a. Opioid Fund
  • b. HSS Appointment Letter
  • c. Kansas Division of EMS Document
• XIV. Future Agenda Topics
• XV. Commission Comments
• XVI. Adjournment – 6:38 p.m.

Detailed Meeting Minutes Summary

Call to Order & Attendance

The Bourbon County Commission Meeting was called to order on Monday, July 13, 2026, at 5:30 PM at 210 S. National Ave., Fort Scott, KS 66701.

• Present: Commissioner Samuel Tran, District 1 (Chair); Commissioner Mika Milburn, District 5; Commissioner Gregg Motley, District 4; Commissioner Joe Allen, District 3 (arrived late); Deputy Clerk Amber Page
• Absent: Commissioner David Beerbower, District 2
• Citizens in Attendance: Teri Hulsey, Lou Howard, Marlon Merida, Clint Walker, Rachel Walker, Jennifer Hawkins, Michael Hoyt, Jean Tucker, Kevin Davidson, Trey Sharp, Matt Lawn, Pete Owenby

Approval of Agenda

• Agenda was amended to add: an auction discussion under Old Business; an HSS appointment letter under New Business; a Kansas Division of EMS document under New Business; and a request to move the budget presentation to immediately following the Approval of Tax Corrections item.
• A note was made to add an executive session with Don Dougherty to the following week’s agenda.
• Motion to approve the agenda as amended: Chair Tran / Commissioner Motley. Carried 3-0.

Approval of Minutes

• 06.29.26 Minutes: Motion to approve by Commissioner Milburn, seconded by Commissioner Motley. Carried 3-0.
• 07.06.26 Minutes: Approval deferred to later in the meeting to allow for additional review. Later voted on out of order during Commission Comments — Motion to approve by Commissioner Motley, seconded by Chair Tran. Carried 3-1, with Commissioner Milburn casting the dissenting vote, noting she had not yet finished reviewing the minutes.

Approval of Accounts Payable – July 10, 2026 – $543,225.90

• A brief question was raised regarding a line item for Desert Snow training in the Sheriff’s Department, which was identified as narcotics training.
• Motion to approve accounts payable for July 10, 2026 in the amount of $543,225.90: Chair Tran / Commissioner Motley. Carried 3-0.

Approve Tax Corrections

• Motion to approve tax corrections: Commissioner Motley / Chair Tran. Carried 3-0.

Budget Presentations – Baker Tilly

• Presenter: Matt Long of Baker Tilly
• 2026 General Fund Forecast: Estimated 2026 ending fund balance of approximately $594,000, reflecting a projected surplus of roughly $64,000.
• Preliminary 2027 Budget: Projected a deficit of approximately $201,000.
• Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) Scenarios Presented:
  • Flat mill levy (prior year): 56.669 mills — total taxes of $8,147,172
  • 15% mill reduction scenario
  • Revenue neutral rate: 54.664 mills — total taxes of approximately $7,858,000
• Recommendation: Mr. Long recommended notifying the county clerk of intent to preserve the option to exceed the revenue neutral rate, capping the mill levy at last year’s adopted rate of 56.669 mills — setting a ceiling, not a final levy decision.
• Discussion: Commissioners noted the full picture — including employee benefits and the upcoming presentation from Don Dougherty — had not yet been reviewed. Mr. Long offered to bring the complete employee benefits fund budget to the following Monday’s meeting.
• Outcome: Commission reached consensus to table the final RNR vote until July 20, 2026 to ensure Commissioner Beerbower’s participation and a more complete budget picture. No vote taken. Mr. Long noted his professional opinion that the revenue neutral rate is generally inadvisable for counties operating without surplus capacity.
• Commissioner Allen joined the meeting during this discussion.

Department Updates – Jennifer Hawkins, Treasurer

• Property Tax Deadline: July 31 is the last day to pay property taxes before delinquent names are published in the newspaper; a publication fee will apply after that date. A courtesy call list is available for taxpayers who wish to receive a reminder.
• Unclaimed Property: The state’s unclaimed property search tool is available at missingmoney.ks.gov.
• Clarification: Treasurer Hawkins addressed a statement from the prior meeting suggesting she had not responded to commissioner inquiries regarding postage. She clarified that she had received only a single missed call two hours before that meeting, with no voicemail, email, or text, and that she remains available for questions.

Public Comments

• No public comment cards were submitted.

Old Business – a. Jarred Gilmore Phillips 2026 Audit Engagement

• Discussion centered on whether to seek competitive bids before renewing the engagement.
• Commissioner Milburn noted she had spoken with Varney and Associates (which audits Crawford County) as a potential alternative.
• Commissioner Allen indicated the current firm has served for three years without issue.
• Commissioner Motley noted that switching auditors incurs higher first-year costs.
• Outcome: Commission agreed to request a cost estimate from an alternative firm by the following Monday. Item tabled to July 20, 2026 for final decision. No vote taken.

Old Business – b. Auction Discussion (GovDeals)

• Commissioner Allen reported meeting with a GovDeals representative to review available surplus items.
• Items identified as sellable: TVs and monitors.
• Items advised for disposal: wooden items, filing cabinets, broken furniture.
• Metal items recommended for scrapping.
• Motion to authorize Commissioner Allen to list surplus items on GovDeals and dispose of unsellable items: Chair Tran / Commissioner Motley. Carried 4-0.

New Business – a. Opioid Fund

• Commissioner Milburn reported responding to an outside inquiry regarding the opioid fund and researched permitted uses with the Kansas Association of Counties (KAC).
• KAC confirmed the fund has broad permitted uses under the attorney general’s MOU.
• Commissioner Milburn presented a draft application process to allow organizations to apply for opioid fund distributions; indicated she would not finalize the template without commission support.
• Commission expressed general support for establishing a formal application process.
• Outcome: Item tabled for a future agenda topic. No vote taken.

New Business – b. HSS Appointment Letter

• The Commission considered a request from the Sheriff to appoint Lou Howard to the Homeland Security Board in place of the Sheriff, who is relinquishing that position.
• Motion to approve the appointment of Lou Howard to the Homeland Security Board: Commissioner Milburn / Commissioner Motley. Carried 4-0.

New Business – c. Kansas Division of EMS Document

• Chair Tran requested authorization to sign a document for the Kansas Division of Emergency Management stipulating that Bourbon County is not subject to a single program-specific audit, as the county expends less than $1,000,000 in federally awarded funds annually.
• Motion to authorize Chair Tran to sign the Kansas Division of Emergency Management document: Commissioner Motley / Commissioner Allen. Carried 4-0.

Future Agenda Topics – July 20, 2026

• Executive session with Don Dougherty (KSA 75-4319(b)(1))
• Baker Tilly budget presentation, RNR discussion, and vote
• Audit engagement decision
• Opioid fund application
• Update from Commissioner Allen on the juvenile detention meeting in Girard

Commission Comments

• Commissioner Milburn: Encouraged fellow commissioners to utilize available resources, specifically noting the KAC local road engineer available at no charge. Expressed concern about deteriorating road conditions, including thinning roads and double-ditch issues, and hopes engineering solutions will focus on utilizing existing infrastructure.
• Commissioner Allen: Noted fair week activity and mentioned plans to attend.
• Chair Tran: Reflected on the commission’s fiduciary responsibility during budget season, expressing measured concern about projected expenditures and potential future liabilities. Emphasized the need for the full commission to work collaboratively on budget decisions.

Adjournment

• Motion to adjourn at 6:38 p.m.: Chair Tran / Commissioner Motley. Carried unanimously.
• Note: Budget Work Session previously scheduled for after this meeting was not held.

The Bourbon County Commission voted Monday, July 20, to cap its 2027 budget at a mill levy of 56.669 — the same rate as the current year — rejecting its auditor’s recommendation to leave a slightly higher ceiling in place. Because the flat rate still raises more revenue than last year, the commission is required to hold a public hearing before it can adopt the budget. That hearing is set for Sept. 14, 2026.

The decision followed the July 13 meeting, at which commissioners tabled the property-tax-rate decision to July 20.

The mill-levy vote

Matt Lawn of Baker Tilly, the county’s budget consultant, recommended adopting a cap of 57.705 mills. He told commissioners the higher ceiling would preserve flexibility over where to find the roughly 1.027 additional mills needed to cover an EMS shortfall — a deficit he attributed to declining collections and pegged at about $50,000 — and rising elections costs, without committing the county to actually levy at that rate.

Lawn said he did not anticipate needing that mill levy for the final budget, but by allowing it, the commission would give him the flexibility to move funding around to cover the projected shortfalls. “I would like to retain some options as to where to take them from. I don’t anticipate you adopting more than 56.665 mils,” he said.

Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee instead moved to adopt a flat cap of 56.669 mills which was Baker Tilly’s recommendation last week and matches last year’s rate. Commissioner Joe Allen seconded, and the motion passed. Commissioner Gregg Motley voted no, arguing the commission should trust the expert it hired to set the ceiling rather than lock in a number before the budget was finalized. Commissioner David Beerbower also voted no, wanting to defer the expert’s opinion as well.

“We’re not approving any mill levy. We are approving a notice to submit to the county clerk that caps each individual fund, the amount of mills going into each individual fund. But I need some kind of direction on that,” explained Lawn.

“It’s looked at by funds, not looked at by overall,” agreed Clerk Susan Walker, confirming his explanation.

The vote forced Lawn to reallocate within the flat cap. He shifted the additional elections and EMS mills out of the General Fund, reducing that fund from 13.004 to 12.120 mills and setting the Elections levy at 1.036 mills. Commissioners then authorized Chairman Samuel Tran to sign the notice to the county clerk to exceed the revenue-neutral rate at 56.669 mills, with the 2027 proposed revenue of $8,147,031.

Because the flat 56.669-mill rate raises more money than the revenue-neutral rate of 54.664 mills — about $309,000 more, or roughly $22 per resident, since assessed valuation in the county grew about 3.7 percent — state law requires the county to notify the clerk and hold the September 14 hearing before it can adopt the budget.

“This is not my money. This is not our money. This is the people’s money,” Tran said during the budget discussion, noting that adding staffing options requested by county offices could push the levy up by close to a full mill. “We’re going to have to make some hard calls again.”

Department budget requests

Several officeholders walked the commission through their 2027 requests:

• Elections. County Clerk Susan Walker presented a flat clerk’s budget but a significantly larger elections budget, including $11,500 for new poll pads after the 10-year-old units failed on the morning of election day, new voting booths to replace existing ones she described as having mold and sharp aluminum edges, $3,500 for onsite ballot shredding, and a three-quarter-time employee at $16 an hour. She also said the state’s “Elvis” software for voter registration cost will quadruple in 2027.
• Treasurer. Treasurer Jennifer Hawkins presented two options: Option 1, wage increases to bring her staff in line with other courthouse clerical pay; and Option 2, which adds a position to bring commercial motor vehicle registrations back in-house. Residents currently must drive to Garnett or Girard for that service. Hawkins noted she was not requesting any increase to her own salary.
• Conservation District. Jarred Pollock, joined by Ronnie Brown, presented a $40,000 funding request, noting that state and federal funding for the district is given in proportion to local funding by the county. He also described the district’s role in soil health, water quality, and its partnerships that draw state and federal matching dollars back to local landowners.
• Register of Deeds. Presented by Walker, the office sought a modest increase of about $6,300.
• EMS. EMS Director Teri Hulsey asked about hiring an additional paramedic to reduce overtime worked by current employees. Commissioners deferred the request pending the full budget picture.

Other business

Commissioners also:

• Authorized Tran to sign a $3,199 Otis service call, paid from the general government fund, to restore the courthouse elevator. Tran reported that Kone had terminated its elevator contract after Otis performed intervening work, and noted the courts need the elevator for a full docket running through September.
• Voted 3-2 to table the $116,500 comprehensive-plan and zoning agreement with the consulting firm Confluence — reduced from an initial $152,000 estimate and first reviewed at the county’s June 29 meeting — citing a lack of budget funds. Commissioner David Beerbower, who read a statement describing growing interest from data centers, renewable-energy developers and large-scale battery storage in rural county land, moved to table the agreement until it can be budgeted. Beerbower, Motley and Allen voted in favor; Tran and Milburn-Kee opposed. Chairman Tran, who wanted to keep the option alive, warned the firm’s offer would likely expire.
• Authorized Tran to sign a letter requesting the appointment of Lou Howard to the Homeland Security Council.
• Approved a $2,000 payment to MSB Law from the general government fund.
• Approved accounts payable, including a $1,600 reimbursement for an aluminum flatbed for Road & Bridge truck #141.
• Held a 30-minute executive session to discuss employee health data.

Public comment

During public comment, Tim Emerson of Emerson and Company thanked the commission and invited feedback. Kevin “Skitch” Allen urged the commission to hold spending down and to “live within our means,” and publicly pressed Commissioner Beerbower over unreturned phone calls. Michael Hoyt argued a forensic audit is unnecessary given the county’s clean Baker Tilly audits and walked through the new Kansas HB 2622, which subjects certain lease-purchase agreements over $100,000 to protest petitions, warning of the cost of any resulting special elections. Pete Owenby urged commissioners to hold the line on taxes.

Looking ahead

Tran reminded residents of a town hall on Wednesday, July 22, at 5:30 p.m. at the Ellis Fine Arts building. Commissioners also flagged future agenda items, including courthouse space proposals from each department at the first meeting in August, and a discussion with Kansas Wildlife and Parks regarding the old landfill property.

The 2027 budget public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14, 2026.