Jerry Colleen Malone, age 76, resident of Ft. Scott, KS, died Sunday, January 12, 2020, at Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, KS. There was cremation. Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
Monthly Archives: January 2020
Property Tax Transparency A Main Objective In 2020 by Senator Caryn Tyson
January 11, 2020 CONTACT: [email protected]
(TOPEKA, KS) – Legislators have been working to find solutions in addressing ever-increasing high property taxes. They spent much of 2019 on the issue and are prepared to introduce legislation that will improve transparency and truth in taxation.
Senator Caryn Tyson, Linn County, Chair of the Senate Tax Committee, released the following statement today:
“One of the main complaints legislators hear from their constituents is that property taxes are too high. After studying the issue, it is apparent there is a need for more transparency and truth in taxation. Other legislators are working with me to change that – by increasing transparency and improving the process to appeal real estate property taxes.”
Senator Tyson is leading this effort along with Senator Bud Estes, Ford County, Senator Larry Alley, Cowley County, Representative Ron Highland, Wabaunsee County, and Representative Ken Corbet, Shawnee County. They are working with others throughout the state to understand the process and find solutions in addressing high property taxes. The initial step was hearing from county officials, appraisers, taxpayers, and tax experts. As this process continues there will be other legislators involved who will be instrumental in completing this process.
Tyson said, “Most property taxpayers aren’t as concerned about the valuation or mil levy as they are about the increasing dollar amount of their property taxes. By changing the process, this will require transparency in property tax increases and keep the public informed of proposed property tax changes before an increase occurs.”
“A change we are proposing will require the mil levy to be recalculated so the same dollar amount would be collected as of the previous year. To increase the property tax dollar amount, the governing body would be required to announce a meeting where the public officials would vote on the increase.” She went on to say, “this will require public officials to vote on a property tax increase rather than increasing valuations that automatically raise property taxes.”
The changes are modeled after other states, such as Utah and Tennessee. By using proven methodologies Kansas is not reinventing the wheel.
There are other proposed changes to help, such as allowing an option for an arbitrator to oversee the first step in the appeals process; putting an estimated dollar amount for your property tax on the valuation sheet; and excluding maintenance from increasing the valuation of your property. These are just some of the changes that will improve the process and truth in Kansas taxation laws.
Kansas Adjutant General Resigns
Governor announces planned resignation of Kansas Adjutant General
Governor Laura Kelly today announced the planned resignation of Kansas Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli.
Tafanelli, who has served as the state’s Adjutant General since Jan. 8, 2011, will step down from his current post on March 31.
The Adjutant General is the principal military advisor to the Governor. As the Adjutant General, Tafanelli oversees the activities of the Adjutant General’s Department, which includes the Kansas Army and Air National Guard. He also serves as the director of the Kansas Division of Emergency Management and director of Kansas Homeland Security. For budgetary and administrative purposes, he is responsible for the Civil Air Patrol.
Tafanelli also served in the Kansas House of Representatives.
“I want to thank Major General Tafanelli for his outstanding service to the people of Kansas and our nation, and for his steadfast leadership of such a critical part of our government operations,” Governor Kelly said. “His efforts have aided Kansans in many ways, to include his direction of the state’s response in communities impacted by disasters such as tornadoes, flooding and more recently wildfires. He has served his state and nation well, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
“As I look back on the past 39 years of my career in uniform, I have been blessed to work on a team of the most outstanding and dedicated professionals and I am extremely proud of the men and women of our Department,” Tafanelli said in his letter of resignation to the Governor. “They work tirelessly to carry out our Agency mission, working in public service for a greater cause and have proven always willing to sacrifice to make our state and nation a better place.”
Tafanelli also thanked Governor Kelly for her leadership and support.
“It has truly been an honor and privilege to serve as a member of your Cabinet as the Adjutant General of this great State,” he said in the letter.
The Governor will release details on a succession plan later this month.
Rural Prosperity Listening Tour Report
Governor, Lt. Governor announce release Office of Rural Prosperity listening tour report
Governor Laura Kelly and Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers announced at a press conference today the release of the Office of Rural Prosperity Listening Tour report.
The Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP), housed within the Kansas Department of Commerce, was created by Governor Kelly as a way to help revitalize and highlight rural Kansas communities.
The Office’s new report includes details regarding the unique needs and strengths of rural communities across Kansas that were gathered during a listening tour conducted this summer by Lt. Governor Rogers and outlines the Office’s recommendations for fostering growth and prosperity in these areas.
“I am proud of the work Lt. Governor Rogers has done to identify rural communities’ barriers to long-term prosperity,” Governor Kelly said. “We are committed to partnering with rural communities, to develop policies that help Kansans succeed.”
The report is a summary of conversations and public listening sessions with hundreds of Kansans about what prosperity means to their community.
“Through our discussions with rural communities, we learned a lot about rural Kansans’ unique challenges,” Lt. Governor Rogers said. “Which include housing; physical and digital infrastructure; economic and workforce development; high property taxes; and access to quality, affordable health care and child care.”
The report outlines several areas ORP will be focusing on in the coming months to begin addressing these challenges. It includes plans to create three Interagency Work Groups that will develop tools to help address the unique challenges facing rural communities in the areas of housing; childcare; and workforce recruitment, retention and education. These groups will bring together state and federal agencies to help identify what our state can be doing better when it comes to each area, find available resources and make recommendations for administrative changes.
“While the creation of the Office of Rural Prosperity and my listening tour were great first steps, we know there is much more work to do in order to facilitate growth and prosperity in rural communities,” Lt. Governor Rogers said. “I am excited to continue working to improve rural Kansans’ quality of life one step at a time.”
To access to full report, click here.
Downtown Meet and Greet Jan. 28
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FS City Street Advisory Board Members Sought
The City of Fort Scott Street Advisory Board has openings.
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Four openings (City residents)
The function of the Fort Scott Street Advisory Board Committee is to provide suggestions to the City Manager and Governing Body regarding road improvement projects throughout the City of Fort Scott.
If you have a desire to serve on this board and meet the above requirements, please submit a letter of interest to the City Clerk, Diane Clay, 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701. These names will be submitted for consideration to the City Commission. All of the boards and commissions serve on a volunteer basis and are not compensated. If you would like more information on this board, please contact Diane Clay, City Clerk at 620-223-0550 or [email protected]. Please submit your letter of interest by January 31st, 2020.
City Offices Closed Jan. 20
The City of Fort Scott City Administrative Offices will be closed on Monday, January 20th, 2020 in observance of the Martin Luther King Day holiday. The offices will reopen on Tuesday, January 21st, 2020.
The City’s tree and brush dump site located on North Hill will also be closed on Saturday, January 18th, 2020 for the Martin Luther King Day holiday. It will be open again on Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Bourbon County Commission Agenda Jan. 14
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: January 14, 2020
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
1:30-2:00 – Jim Harris
2:00-2:15 – John George – Wind Generation Opportunities
2:15-2:30 – Jody Hoener – executive session Proprietary Information
2:30-3:00 – Jody Hoener-Business Incubator
3:00-4:00 – Alan Anderson-Polsinelli Law Firm
Executive Session
Confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets
4:00-4:15 – Justin Meeks
4:15-4:30 – Courthouse Security
4:30-6:00 – Lunch
6:00-6:30 – Windfarm Discussion
6:30-6:45 – Kim Simons
Bourbon County Commission Agenda for Jan. 13
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: January 13, 2020
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
2:00-2:15: executive session – Non-elected personnel
2:15-2:40: executive session – Contract Negotiations
Bourbon County Commissioner Answers Questions on Raises
Bourbon County Commissioners are trying to close the gap in wages for its’ elected officials, according to chairman Lynne Oharah.
Recently the commission raised four elected officials earnings with a combined total of $46,000.
At the Dec. 17, 2019 county commission meeting Ohara made a motion to approve a salary resolution for elected officials effective Dec. 15, 2019, according to commission minutes. This raised the clerk and treasurer’s salary to $47,248 annually, the register of deeds to 44,821 and the sheriff’s salary to $60,000. Commissioner Jeff Fisher seconded and all commissioners approved.
Ohara then made a motion approving a wage resolution for Bourbon County employees changing the following: the salary for the correctional center captain, the emergency preparedness director and the deputy county appraiser were raised to $35,568 annually to comply with the U.S. Dept. Of Labor standards for salaried employees. A Maintenance 5 position was added at a rate of $17.47 per hour. Commissioner Nick Ruhl seconded and all were in favor of those changes. The economic development director’s salary was changed to $70,000 a year on the same resolution.
Ohara made a motion to approve changing her salary to $70,000. He said that if Bourbon County gets an administrative fee from Phase 2 of the Healthy Bourbon County Grant then part of the $70,000 salary would be subsidized from the grant, Fisher seconded this motion, Ruhl voted against this motion, and the motion passed.
The following is an interview with Bourbon County Commissioner Lynn Oharah.
He started with a history of the raises.
“In 2015, Sheriff Martin contracted an agency to do a wage study to compare Bourbon County wages with other comparable counties because he thought there was a large wage disparity between Bourbon County employees and other like counties,” Commissioner Oharah said. “The county commissioners also accessed Kansas county wage information from the ks.gov website. The results indicated that Bourbon County wages were significantly behind our peers. The commissioners resolved to address these wage disparities and devised a plan to increase FTE (Full Time equivalent) positions first and address the next positions that had the most wage disparity, which happened to be the elected officials. Along with this effort we wanted to incentivize employees to continue working for the county and we did this by approving a $100 per year of service longevity pay increase.”
Where did the money come from to give the raises?
“We gave four elected officials raises when combined totaled $46,000.00. This money came from most of the departments managing their budgets and workforce which created a carryover from the 2015 and forward budget years. These wage increases did not increase the mill levy and this carryover gave us the resources to create a competitive wage with our peers although Bourbon County wages are still on the low side.”
What is the justification for the doubling of the earnings of the Bourbon County Economic Development Director?
“This position was initially created to see how the position could help the county,” Oharah said. “It was created with a minimum of 20 hours of work per week at $35,000 annual salary and we would look at the performance and scope to see if we needed to increase the hours and wages.”
“Our economic developer has been a great asset and for the first six months spent a lot of time helping get the Bourbon County Ambulance Service up and running along with the other duties.”
“Since then all Bourbon County businesses and government entities have been contacted and surveyed to address their needs and identify what’s important to them. Also, new businesses have been guided through the process of starting a business, grants have been written, the County NRP program has been implemented and coordinated under economic development. Meetings and plans regarding healthcare are ongoing with economic development highly involved. This is just naming a few projects that are ongoing and the time spent well exceeds what was required.”
“Based on the need, the commission voted to increase the economic development salary and scope. The salary was based on what was being paid to other economic development directors in our surrounding market and the Bourbon County Economic Development budget is still lower than most of our competitive counties.”
“Bourbon County needs to grow and prosper and we cannot get there by doing the same thing that we have been doing for the last 100 years,” Oharah said.
The commission meets on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. at the courthouse.
To contact Ohara: 620-223-3800, ext 110; Fisher at ext. 112 and Ruhl at ext. 111.
Kansas gets new personalized license plate design: wind turbines are featured
Topeka – Beginning January 15, 2020, a new personalized license plate design will be seen on Kansas roads. The plate, featuring wind turbines on a Kansas sunrise, is aptly named “Powering the Future.” It will serve as a reminder of the state’s long history of embracing the natural energy resource of wind.
“Kansas is a leader in alternative energy and this plate helps feature the fact the state has a long history of adopting technology that shapes the future,” Secretary of Revenue Mark Burghart said.
“I am pleased that this license plate design comes on the heels of Kansas being ranked first in the nation for percentage of electricity produced by wind,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “At the same time, it is a display of an expanding industry that contributes so much to the economic fabric of our state.”
“The new personalized plate design has been highly anticipated,” David Harper, Director of Vehicles, said. “We are happy that people continue to take pride in and show interest in the option for personalized plates.”
Customers will need to go into their local county treasurer’s office to place the order for the personalized plate.
To obtain the personalized plate, county treasurers will require customers to have their current registration receipt, photo ID, and proof of insurance.
Customers who currently don’t have a personalized plate can go to their local county treasurer’s office with those documents and pay the plate fee and any additional fees associated with the plate order. They will receive a temporary vehicle tag and the metal plate will arrive in the mail. This can be done ahead of the regular renewal month.
Kansas gets new personalized license plate design
Topeka – Beginning January 15, 2020, a new personalized license plate design will be seen on Kansas roads. The plate, featuring wind turbines on a Kansas sunrise, is aptly named “Powering the Future.” It will serve as a reminder of the state’s long history of embracing the natural energy resource of wind.
“Kansas is a leader in alternative energy and this plate helps feature the fact the state has a long history of adopting technology that shapes the future,” Secretary of Revenue Mark Burghart said.
“I am pleased that this license plate design comes on the heels of Kansas being ranked first in the nation for percentage of electricity produced by wind,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “At the same time, it is a display of an expanding industry that contributes so much to the economic fabric of our state.”
“The new personalized plate design has been highly anticipated,” David Harper, Director of Vehicles, said. “We are happy that people continue to take pride in and show interest in the option for personalized plates.”
Customers will need to go into their local county treasurer’s office to place the order for the personalized plate.
To obtain the personalized plate, county treasurers will require customers to have their current registration receipt, photo ID, and proof of insurance.
Customers who currently don’t have a personalized plate can go to their local county treasurer’s office with those documents and pay the plate fee and any additional fees associated with the plate order. They will receive a temporary vehicle tag and the metal plate will arrive in the mail. This can be done ahead of the regular renewal month.
For customers with the current 2015 personalized plate, a letter will be in the mail 45 days before the regular due date of the registration telling them they have the option to switch their current personalized combination to the new plate. Customers will be able to keep their 2015 personalized plate.
An application for a personalized plate can be printed and completed prior to the visit to the respective county treasurer’s office by clicking the following link: https://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/tr715.pdf.
The cost of the plate will be $45.50 in addition to other registration fees and taxes normally due.
For customers with the current 2015 personalized plate, a letter will be in the mail 45 days before the regular due date of the registration telling them they have the option to switch their current personalized combination to the new plate. Customers will be able to keep their 2015 personalized plate.
An application for a personalized plate can be printed and completed prior to the visit to the respective county treasurer’s office by clicking the following link: https://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/tr715.pdf.
The cost of the plate will be $45.50 in addition to other registration fees and taxes normally due.