Bourbon County Commission Meeting Agenda – October 5, 2026, 6:00 PM

agenda-packet (full PDF)

Agenda as of October 2nd, 2026 9:21 PM Central for the October 5th, 2026 6:00 PM meeting, fetched from HeyGov when this draft was created.

• I. Call Meeting to Order (Page 1)
• II. Pledge of Allegiance (Page 1)
• III. Prayer – Motley (Page 1)
• IV. Introductions (Page 1)
• V. Approval of Agenda (Page 1)
• VI. Approval of Minutes (Page 1) — approval of the September 28, 2026 minutes (Pages 3–11)
• VII. Approval of Accounts Payable $ (Page 1)
  • a. August Financials (Page 24)
  • b. AP Corrections from 9/18/26 (Pages 34–35)
  • c. Tax Role Corrections (Pages 36–55)
• VIII. Executed Documents for Record (Page 1)
• IX. Public Comments (Page 1)
• X. Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)( ) Subject: (Page 1)
  • a. Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) Subject: Employee Performance to include Cohen, Bob, and present commissioners – Tran (Page 1)
• XI. Department Updates (Page 1)
  • a. Matt Lawn – Budget (Pages 75–168)
• XII. Old Business (Page 1)
  • a. Asbestos Inspection and Cort Move Update – Beerbower (Page 1)
  • b. Transfer Station – Tran (Page 2)
  • c. 5% wage increase – Beerbower (Page 2) — see also Commissioner Milburn-Kee’s written memo (Page 170)
  • d. HR – RFP Date and Process – Allen (Page 2)
  • e. Backhoe Bid – Beerbower (Page 2)
• XIII. New Business (Page 2)
  • a. Distribution of Tobacco – Dr. Roger K. Harris (Pages 184–186)
• XIV. Commission Comments (Page 2)
• XV. Future Agenda Topics (Page 2) — Auction; HR RFP review; Becky Gray letter of support; Transportation; Insurance; Purchasing policy
• XVI. Adjournment (Page 2)

Detailed Information Packet Summary

1. Accounts Payable Bills & Invoices (Pages 12–23)

A full “Open Invoices By Department Summary” for the batch due 10/2/2026.

Batch Due 10/2/2026 — Grand Total: $463,336.56 (84 invoices) (Pages 12–23)

• Non-Departmental / Funds Summary — $444,468.81 total: Employee Benefit fund $301,829.17 (August/September/October Blue Cross Blue Shield medical & dental premiums); Landfill $6,914.66; County Sheriff/Correctional $40,194.18 (includes a $21,450.97 Accurate Controls alarm contract and $3,546.01 Verizon bill); Road and Bridge $18,472.27; Road & Bridge Sales Tax Fund $6,763.06; Road & Bridge Special Improvement $5,950.00 (Professional Engineering Consultants, Bridge 19-2-Q-0); Addiction Settlement Fund $604.06; Emergency Services Sales Tax $63,741.41 (Freeman Fort Scott Hospital sales tax contractual). (Pages 12–15)
• County Department Operations:
  • County Treasurer — $90.00 (Fort Scott Tribune yearly subscription) (Page 16)
  • County Coroner — $1,400.00 (Cheney Witt and Konantz-Cheney body removal/transport) (Page 17)
  • District Court — $16,602.20 (conflict attorneys, interpreter services, CINC contracts, postage) (Pages 18–19)
  • Emergency Preparedness — $83.12 (Verizon Wireless) (Page 20)
  • Courthouse General — $692.43 (City of Fort Scott utilities) (Page 21)

2. Official Meeting Minutes Approval – September 28, 2026 (Pages 3–11)

• Attendance & Logistics: Commissioners Milburn, Allen, Tran, Beerbower and Motley, Clerk Clarkson, plus Clint and Rachel Walker, Nelson Blythe, Marlon Merida, Kenny Allen, Jason Silvers and a Murphy Tractor representative. (Page 3)
• Agenda Modifications: Items added for Kenny Allen’s transfer request, Indigent Cremation and backhoe bids; KC Crown was removed. (Page 3)
• Executive Sessions: A 15-minute session on Employee Job Performance (all 5 commissioners) authorized Commissioner Tran to request Cohen address personnel matters in person; a separate 20-minute session covered pending litigation. (Pages 4–5)
• Budget Discussion / Adoption: County Financial Advisor Matt Lawn presented wage-increase cost scenarios (5–15%); the Commission adopted the budget not to exceed 56.678 mills, 4-1 with Beerbower opposed. (Pages 5–6)
• Other Department Updates: EMPG grant signature authorized for Motley; $325,000 transfer from Road & Bridge Sales Tax Fund to Road & Bridge Fund; $1,750 indigent cremation for William Watson approved. (Page 6)
• New Business: Murphy Tractor service review (crusher production rose from 400 to 3,600 tons/day); TEC phone prompt reprogramming; Allen County Appraiser MOU approved; Bourbon County Clay Kansas Governor’s Christmas tree ornament entry authorized. (Pages 7–8)
• Old Business: Purchasing policy bidding thresholds discussed; courthouse construction update; county-defined-contribution benefit proposal tabled; KORA Policy Resolution 32-26 adopted 4-1 (Allen opposed); transfer station equipment and 2027 rate-increase motion (died for lack of second). (Pages 8–10)
• Future Agenda Topics & Adjournment: Backhoe bids, IT security training, HR RFP responses, courthouse/warehouse move update. (Pages 10–11)

3. Bank Reconciliation & Fund Status Reports (Pages 24–32)

• Bank Reconciliation (through 8/31/2026): Treasurer General Account cash balance $7,523,153.32; Clerk’s Payables Account $695,882.98; $1,550,000 in county CDs; total county cash balance $9,770,736.30, certified by Treasurer Jennifer Hawkins. (Page 24)
• Fund Status Report (1/1/2026–8/31/2026): Detailed receipts, disbursements and ending balances by fund for General, Special Purpose, Business, Trust, Cities, Townships, Agency and other county funds. (Pages 26–32)

4. Accounts Payable Corrections from 9/18/26 (Pages 34–35)

• A $15,421.96 correction batch (Card Services, City of Fort Scott, Evergy x4, Kirkland Welding Supplies) reconciling the difference between the approved and full 9/18/2026 AP totals. (Page 34)
• A follow-up correction sheet (10/18 and 10/25 entries) fixing miscoded account numbers, including a flagged Amazon charge “WRONG VENDOR – SHOULD BE VERIZON.” (Page 35)

5. Tax Roll Corrections (Pages 36–55)

A series of real-estate, oil-lease and motor-vehicle tax roll abatement corrections approved by the County Appraiser’s office, affecting multiple tax years.

• Liberty Cellular Inc. (Scott Township cell tower parcel) — abatements for tax years 2017–2019 after a state review determined the improvement should be classified as personal property, each reducing net tax by roughly $376–$403. (Pages 36–38)
• Grace Baptist Church Inc. (424 S Margrave) — abatements for tax years 2017–2025 tied to a BOTA protest/index change, each with a refund amount. (Pages 39–42, 49–52)
• S&K Oil Production Inc. (George, Steve lease) — $10.96 net tax reduction for 2024. (Page 43)
• Curfman, Amanda B and Farrington, Buddy E & Jannah L parcels — valuation/quality-rating corrections for 2023–2025, each with refund amounts. (Pages 45–48)
• Miler, Kevic Lee — truck tax roll corrections (2023–2025, Ford Excursion) after the vehicle was moved to Linn County. (Pages 53–55)

6. September 21, 2026 Meeting Minutes & Resolution 31-26 (Pages 56–62)

• Minutes: Budget discussion on Road and Bridge’s projected $240,000 overspend, a baseline 5% wage increase (with some commissioners favoring up to 15%), and an executive session on appraiser employment. Commissioner Allen moved to continue onboarding a new County Appraiser. (Pages 56–59)
• Resolution 31-26 — defines office-space and area-of-responsibility assignments throughout the Courthouse and Annex, including restricted cell-pod storage areas; adopted unanimously. (Pages 60–62)

7. KORA Policy Resolution 32-26 (Pages 63–71)

A full rewrite of the county’s Kansas Open Records Act procedures, assigning records-custodian responsibility to each office/department rather than routing all requests through the Clerk, and setting a $0.50-per-page copy fee plus staff-time and electronic-records charges. Supersedes Resolutions 99-19 and 10-06.

• Responsibility table lists the Clerk, Executive Assistant, Appraiser, Treasurer, County Attorney, Register of Deeds, Sheriff, EMS and Public Works as custodians of their own records. (Page 65)
• Fee schedule, large/burdensome-request procedures and advance-payment rules. (Pages 68–70)

8. EMPG Grant Application FY2026 (Pages 72–73)

• Emergency Management Performance Grant application naming Louella Howard as a new, part-time (15 hr/week) Emergency Manager; signed by Commission Chairman Gregg Motley and submitted to KDEM on 9/29/2026. (Pages 72–73)

9. Indigent Cremation Invoice – William Watson (Page 74)

• Cheney Witt Funeral Chapel statement for $1,750.00, ordered by the Bourbon County Coroner, dated 9/28/2026. (Page 74)

10. 2027 Proposed Budget & 2026 Adopted Budget Documents (Pages 75–168)

The full certified 2027 budget package (and, for comparison, the prior year’s 2026 adopted budget), covering every fund.

• 2027 Certificate: total budget authority $20,715,019 against $8,148,524 in 2026 ad valorem tax, a proposed 56.678-mill rate requiring a Revenue Neutral Rate resolution (RNR 54.661). (Page 75)
• Fund-by-fund detail for General, Appraiser, Election, Employee Benefit, Law Enforcement, Noxious Weeds, Road & Bridge, EMS, Landfill, Jail/County Building Sales Tax, Opioid Fund and more, plus Statement of Indebtedness ($5,080,000 in G.O. bonds) and Statement of Conditional Lease-Purchases ($3,098,088 outstanding, including the Rock Crusher, Motor Graders and Sheriff vehicles). (Pages 77–103)
• A separate “2027 Wage Impact Summary by Department/Fund” models the cost difference between a 5% and 15% wage increase across every fund — a combined $629,603 in additional wages, Social Security and KPERS costs if raised to 15%. (Page 103)
• The prior 2026 budget certificate and fund pages are included for reference. (Pages 104–168)

11. Employee Compensation Memo – Commissioner Milburn-Kee (Page 170)

• A written statement arguing for a formal compensation survey and a structured plan (1.5–2% cost-of-living plus a performance-based pool up to 5% total) before any wage decision, rather than raising wages position by position. (Page 170)

12. Tobacco Products Distributor’s Tax Bond – Eagles and Osprey LLC (Pages 184–186)

• A $1,000 Kansas Department of Revenue tobacco distributor’s tax bond for Eagles and Osprey LLC (804 195th St, Fort Scott), effective 9/30/2026, underwritten by Endurance Assurance Corporation — background documentation for the “Distribution of Tobacco” new-business item presented by Dr. Roger K. Harris. (Pages 184–186)