03.02.26 Agenda

The five county commissioners and several elected officials met in an executive session to change the county’s sick leave pool policy.

The board moved to accepted the recommendation of the elected officials regarding sick pool and will give instructions regarding that to Laura Krom.

Commissioner David Beerbower explained to those in attendance at the meeting that the commission has discovered that the current sick leave pool instructions in the policy manual will not work, which is why the other elected officials are crafting a recommendation for the board to amend the policy.

Old Business
Stronghold

Jason Rinker from Stronghold first addressed the comments he had made in the Feb. 9 commission meeting, regarding the letter from the Clerk, Treasurer and Register of Deeds offices about installing their own server, separate from the rest of the county and outside of Stronghold’s management.

At that time, the commission put forth a plan that included Stronghold conversing with CIC (provider of the county’s accounting software), which has not been set up yet.

“I still would strongly recommend to this commission that we have that joint call so we can get to the bottom of some of the issues we’ve been having,” he said. One of those issues is backups causing problems with the software. He said that those issues have not happened with any of their other clients. He was concerned that changing the intervals on the backups will not address the issue.

Commissioner Samuel Tran asked if the age of the operating systems on the county computers could be causing issues with the backups.

He also addressed ongoing security concerns that were mentioned in the previous meeting. He said that since that meeting, no one has reported any security concerns to Stronghold so they can be investigated and addressed.

Data protection was also discussed and no further information has been given to him.

Tran said he has had one complaint in the last two weeks of a missing email. He believes the email was recalled by the sender.

Stronghold rep said that they have been backing up data outside of the county’s Microsoft email system. He advised that county employees with missing emails contact Stronghold and start the process of tracking them down.

“Since I was here last, nothing that we talked about has been done, and I wanted to bring that to your attention,” he said.

Next he offered a project update. He said they are 80-85% complete with the project. Security architecture and clean up work have been completed, the firewall has been hardened and alerts are fully operational now. The Microsoft 360 security baseline has improved from 6% to 89%. The active directory cleanup has also been completed. New equipment is on sight and final deployment phase is underway.

Next, Stronghold will need to schedule some down time in the county to complete the final cut-overs on the network.

The commission then moved into executive session with Stronghold to update the new commissioners on the project they are doing for the county.

Baker Tilly – Ben Hart

Hart said he came to answer any of the commission’s questions

He gave an overview of their budget creating process. Baker Tilly will come in March and talk to the various county departments to see what their year was like in 2025, what revenue they are anticipating in 2026. BT will then report back to the commission the issues they have heard. They will then get the commission’s direction for the next budget.

Matt Lawn, former finance director for the City of Goddard, will be working with Hart on the Bourbon County budgeting process, along with the support staff at their Kansas City office.

BT will also provide a monthly report on the financial status of the county, to give the commission a more zoomed-out perspective on finances.

Hart says he wants the goals from the commission by the beginning of May.

Hart also explained that they start the budget creation with addressing what services the county wants to prioritize.

Lawn said that the budget is the county’s largest policy document, showing where its priorities are.

Milburn-Kee asked about having a line in the sand regarding raising the mill.

Hart said that discussion about goals includes discussion about boundaries.

Noise Resolution — County Attorney James Crux

Crux gave feedback on the proposed noise ordinance. He said it was that it was unclear if it’s a general nuisance statute or a more specific decibel rating violation, and needs clarification on whether the proximity is to a person or a property line.

There are no actual set noise levels in the resolution, but acceptable guidelines. “You can’t really have a per se violation on a general guideline,” he said.

He also said the guidelines for acceptable decibel levels are low. Regarding duration of sound, he said it’s unclear about how the duration affects the violation. Exemptions that include special events or festival are unclear.

He also said that the codes officer who enforces the code will need training in criminal and search and seizure law.

“This is one of those things that is outside of my statutory duties,” he said of prosecuting potential noise violations. He said he would have appreciated being asked if he would be willing to take on the task, and it may take more funding for his department to handle the complaints.

Commissioner Gregg Motley asked his opinion on a civil court action, rather than making a law to cause the noise to be criminal. Crux said he doesn’t practice civil law and cannot make a recommendation.

Motley also stated that collecting the fines from the corporation that owns the bitcoin mine may be impossible. Commission counsel Bob Johnson pointed out that it will take time to make change, whether they take the civil or criminal route.

Sewer — Bob Johnson

The county has entered an appearance in the civil case. Johnson has spoken with the primary complainer and the KDHE attorney, who said they would come down and assist in any testing that needs to be done.

“It’s moving forward,” Johnson said.

Tran asked questions about another citizen who called him with a complaint of sewage running off an uphill neighbor’s property onto his land.

Kevin Shafer was in attendance at the meeting. He said his ordeal has been ongoing for 5 years.  Every year for the last five years, with the exception of 2024, he has tested his property where the runoff is and, “the E coli is hot.”

Shafer said he’s been asking the county to do a perk test for the last five years. The sanitation inspector has not inspected Shaefer’s neighbor, where the violation is taking place.

Previous commissioners have told him he should pursue civil action and that they won’t do a perk test because it would make other land in the county unsalable.

In the last five years Shafer has had to drain his pond due to the E Coli, per K-State’s recommendation. He also built a swell and lagoon to contain the runoff and send it into the ditch rather than into his pond.

“I’d like the source fixed. I’d like Bourbon County to require perk tests so that nobody else has to go through this issue,” said Shafer.

Public Comments

Mika Milburn-Kee on Elected Official Conduct

Referring to Tran’s comment about Secretary Susan Walker’s feelings, she said she understands his comment.

 

Joseph Smith- Notice of Pending Action

Smith said he is preparing to circulate a petition to recall the District 5 Commissioner, Mika Milburn-Kee. Smith said that the grounds from recall will be specifically set forth in the petition and given to the commissioner. He said a minimum of 147 electors who live in district 5 must sign the petition before the recall can commence.

Clint Walker

Walker said that regarding transparency from the county, there was no bidding for the jobs of payroll,  HR, or audits. “I would appreciate if you do business locally,” said Walker.

“Every person’s feelings matter,” said Walker. “Know your people.”

Walker also thanked EMS for caring for his brother and getting him to the hospital when he was in an accident recently.

J.D. Handly

Brought back the commission’s salary. Handly said that during campaign time, they were told that the salary would not change with the addition of 2 new commissioners, but that the board of 5 would share the salary amounts formerly allotted to the board of 3.

“You gotta lead by example,” he said. “I want that promise kept. I want the salary completely done away with.”

Anne Dare

Read a statement that also brought up the “feelings” comment that Tran made. She said that kind of statement fosters a toxic environment.

“The optics aren’t good,” Dare said, using Tran’s own phrase.

She then called for the immediate resignations of Tran and Milburn-Kee and for Beerbower to step down as vice-chair.

New Business

Fire hydrant at Lake Fort Scott

Commissioner Gregg Motley said three different constituents have called about the hydrant. It was damaged by a driver a number of years ago and has not been replaced, resulting in increased home insurance premiums for those living in the area.

RWD 2 cannot afford to replace the hydrant at a cost of $3,200, but will meet the county half-way on the cost.

“We have no legal obligation to do that,” said Motley. He had no recommendations regarding what the county should do.

Beerbower said that the commission is to be looking out for the health, welfare, and safety of Bourbon County citizens.

Milburn-Kee asked how many other non-working hydrants are in the county that they many be asked to replace.

“It’s a public safety issue too,” said Motley.

Beerbower asked to table it for a week so he can do more research.

Executive session: Non-Elected personnel

Returned to session with action of allowing Commissioner Milburn-Kee to work with HR to accomplish what they discussed in the executive session.

Executive session: Attorney/Client

Returned to session with no action.

Beerbower asked questions about the NRP tax credit that he received from a constituent.

The commission voted to have the county appraiser come and explain the NRP process at a commission meeting in the future and the sewer issue.

Future Agenda Topics

• Fire hydrant at Lake Fort Scott
• Salary Resolution
• Noise Resolution

Commissioner Comments

Allen: Took employee recognition off the agenda because he wants to do some things differently, but he plans to get it back on there soon.

Other than a few logistical issues, there were no other commissioner comments.

BOURBON COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA

Commission Chair Samuel Tran asked that the clerk’s office include invoices with the checks he’s required to sign. Susan Walker, County Clerk, agreed to change her office’s procedures to fulfill his request.

Citizens Comments

Kevin Allen about the landfill

Allen thanked the commission for taking his calls. He said his company hauls a lot of garbage to the county transfer station. He asked that the commission consider keeping the it open on minor holidays.

His business used to haul trash out of county, but about 10 years ago, they switched back to Bourbon County, “to help support the community,” even though it cost more than hauling it out of county.

“We’re just trying to get in and give you more money,” he concluded.

Clayton Miller about the landfill

Miller said that the county transfer station has only recently started closing on minor holidays such as President’s Day. It makes it hard for trash haulers to do their jobs.

Commissioner Joe Allen said that in his past he worked hauling trash and he agrees that it is difficult to haul trash when the transfer station is closed.

Old Business

CIC — Tran

Tran asked to add Laura Crom to the CIC (the county’s accounting software) to give her access so she can do her job. Currently, two elected officials have access.

“Even if it’s read-only she needs access to there because she’s generating reports for people,” he said.

Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee said that in the past Sheriff Bill Martin has asked for access as well.

Tran said he’s been getting push-back on granting access to Crom.

There was a heated discussion about the reports that Tran said Crom had asked for. Tran saying she asked for them on Feb. 9, and County Clerk Susan Walker denying that she ever received the request.

Crom had asked Walker to do the payroll audit.

“Regardless, I’m going to ask you to give Laura Crom access to CIC,” said Tran.

“She will not have the information that she needs to create the work comp report because you have payroll in both systems,” said Walker. She created the report with the Payentry group by tweaking the report to include all wages.

“The work comp report is actually in the system,” said Walker. She went on to point out the problems with communication that are continuing between the commission’s administrative assistant and her office.

“There’s been a bottleneck of information since I’ve been here,” said Tran. “Either you work with us or you don’t work with us.”

The commission voted unanimously to give read-only access to Crom.

Auction

Allen and Commissioner David Beerbower talked about the process for getting rid of unneeded items in the county’s inventory. They plan to contact all the departments and have them mark the items in the courthouse basement they still want, contact an auctioneer, and proceed to get rid of the unneeded items.

Noise Resolution

Milburn-Kee said that she has concerns about the resolution, particularly the complaint form. She wants to go over it with the county attorney and lay out the process from start to finish.

“To make sure that it’s going to work,” said Milburn.

She is concerned about enforceability. “We’ve learned that we can’t complete the process on our own,” she said, referring to sanitation codes the county has.

Beerbower agreed with her efforts. The resolution was tabled until the next meeting.

New Business

Payentry — Joe Allen

Allen said he has taken some calls about issues that county employees are having with Payentry.

Undersheriff Davidson was invited to speak. He went into detail about the problems the new system is causing his department.

Sheriff Bill Martin asked if he and his department heads could have a conversation with Payentry to learn about how to make the system work for them and how other public safety departments use the system.

Martin said they are also having problems with vacation time not showing up. Other department heads agreed.

Milburn said she would send the contact information to him.

Tran thanked the department heads for being willing to work with the commission on this issue. The county is going through growing pains as they adjust to the Payentry system.

He suggested developing a different procedure for the sheriff’s office and the EMS department than the rest of the county employees.

Beerbower offered to facilitate the meeting with Payentry that the sheriff had requested.

Cemetery & Township Financial Reports

Commissioner Gregg Motley pointed out that some of the cemeteries are running on razor thin budgets.

Milburn said that the reports have been signed by people in various offices. Walker said there are no legal ramifications if the signatures are improper.

The commission approved the reports.

Unclaimed Property — Allen

Allen brought to the commission’s attention a list by the Kansas State Treasurer’s office of unclaimed property belonging to Bourbon County. Walker said she would ask the County Treasurer to look into it.

Commission Comments

Allen: “I just want to say that it seems like some of these meetings get a little tense…We all have the same goal…to make our community better.”

“I think we’re on the right road, for the most part,” he said.

Tran: Agreed with Allen’s statement. He said he wants to help the county government members do their jobs.

The county commission received an update from Public Works Director, Kenny Allen

Public works status update – Kenny Allen

Allen said his department needs to lease a new grader for $54,000 per year, 4.99% interest rate, warranted. The lease will be for a Foley Equipment CAT. All preventative maintenance will be done by the leasing company. Public Works has the budget for it. The commission approved the lease.

The City of Fort Scott is asking for a city-wide cleanup discount. Allen suggested they use a half-price voucher system for dumping at the county transfer station. Commissioner Mika Milburn asked if it could be a county-wide program. The commission agreed to continue the discussion.

The commissions signed the second phase paperwork for the bridge on Jayhawk.

Asphalt plant update: Greg Dishman from Wright Asphalt came to look at the damaged tank. and called in Adam from Blevens, who will come meet up with Allen to evaluate it. Adam suspects that the asphalt tank is out of date by a couple of decades. One option is purchasing a used tank.

The old tank contains more than $31,000 in oil right now.

They talked about fixing the tank this year, focusing on gravel and chip and seal roads rather than laying asphalt, then start laying asphalt next year.

Executive session with commissioners to discuss non-elected personnel issues 40 minutes.

Returned to regular session with no action.

Citizens Comments

Derek Ranes on Bitcoin: Checked to see if the county was getting his emailed noise complaints. They are. He said the noise is getting louder. He suspects they are acquiring more gas wells, and it looks like they’re expanding the facility across the road from his house.

“It’s getting kinda tough to get some sleep,” Ranes said.

The commission discussed the moratorium.

Old Business

Budget Strategy – Beerbower

Commissioner David Beerbower asked Commissioner Gregg Motley how the recent work session is leading the county to a budget strategy for 2026.

Motley said that the purpose of the questions used in the budget work session was to clarify values of the commission, which gives the budget makers information to make the budget.

Milburn asked Sheriff Bill Martin how Baker Tilly has helped his department create goals and budget accordingly. Martin responded that Baker Tilly should have been at the table to answer the questions at the meeting where the commission decided not to hire them to help build the county’s budget.

Samuel Tran asked him if Baker Tilly had been helpful to his department. Martin said his professional opinion is that they are. This is the second year the sheriff’s department has used Baker Tilly to advise on their finances.

Tran said he asked Ben Hart of Baker Tilly if his firm is allowed to audit the county and was told they are allowed.

Tran, Motley, and Martin discussed various types of audits and whether or not Baker Tilly can audit the county.

 

Motley reiterated his objection to hiring Baker Tilly on the basis of sending money outside of Bourbon County needlessly.

“That’s the opposite of economic development,” he said.

Motley then made a motion to hire Baker Tilly to do the budget process for Bourbon County as a fractional CFO, adopting the resolution that was voted down last meeting.

Beerbower asked several clarifying questions, including whether or not the process Motley started at the work session would include improving the efficiency of the Public Works department. Motley said that it would not, because one would need budget and public works expertise to accomplish that goal.

Joe Allen said he was in favor of having a conversation with Baker Tilly, but he wants to keep resources in the county, which is why he voted against the resolution in the last meeting. He was not comfortable adopting the resolution without hearing from Baker Tilly to hear what they have to offer that’s better than using the resources the county already has.

Tran pointed out that Baker Tilly is impartial and already working with the county in the Sheriff’s department.

Allen said that outsourcing sends a message of distrust to the employees of the county. He pointed out that training existing employees may be a good option.

Tran called for a vote and it passed. Beerbower, Tran, and Milburn voting for, Allen and Motley voting against.

County Technology & Network – Beerbower

Referring the the clerk, treasurer, and deeds offices setting up their own servers and emails, Beerbower expressed concerns about security and asked about wiring use.

Milburn said the handbook says all IT is under the county commission’s authority.

Tran said that going outside of the current construct of the county’s infrastructure prior to the completion of a long project is ill-advised. He sympathized with the desire to have their own server but expressed concern about budget creep.

He likened the network to a hotel, where each department has its own key for its room, but the county’s IT department, whomever it may be, has the master key for the whole hotel.

Standardizing programs and systems increases the security and minimizes the risks.

Tran said they cannot piggyback on the county’s system, in order to protect the county’s system from liability.

Beerbower said that in his several conversations with Stronghold he learned that cyber insurance could be affected by the change. There are also potential problems with the cabling and the .gov email addresses.

Beerbower said he would like the county clerk, treasurer, and register of deeds, as well as the two new county commissioners to receive the report on the health of the county’s IT system generated by Stronghold so they are aware of the situation and the work being done to improve the system.

Tran moved that any improvement or additions to the IT of the courthouse cease and desist until the commission can have a conversation including other elected officials and decide on the path forward. He excluded the current project with Stronghold.

Motion passed.

Tran said that he has information for the whole county. The county is only at 6% compliance with Microsoft 365. Stronghold plans to “slow roll” the change.

“If you have a glitch in your system, PLEASE call Stronghold,” Tran asked. The change started Friday, February 20.

Noise Resolution – Beerbower

The new resolution names the sanitation inspector as the new noise ordinance inspector. It also lists some equipment and training that will cost the county about $1000.

Milburn expressed concern about the department not having authority to enforce sanitation codes or noise ordinances.

He asked the commission to read it over to prepare for discussion at the meeting on Feb. 23.

Longevity Completion Announcement- Milburn

In January when the commission passed the handbook, it voted to remove longevity from it, but keep the longevity already in existence, by adding it to the hourly wages. Milburn said that process will be completed by the next cycle.

Tran said they are working on cost of living allowances and pay raises.

New Business

Executive Session Discussion – Allen

He said that executive sessions should be moved to the bottom of the agenda unless they involve visitors so that those in attendance at commission meetings aren’t waiting through all of the executive sessions for the rest of the meeting.

Allen also pointed out that the agenda is constantly being changed, but resolution 3425 says it should be locked in by noon on Friday to allow time for the commission to prepara.

Motley said he agrees and that it’s important that resolutions should not be brought in expecting a vote without giving the commission time to read them in advance.

Addition to Policy Manual – Milburn

She brought KCamps recommended additions, including ADA and lactation accommodations, FMLA policy, and the give the board the ability to change the policy manual.

The board approved the additions.

Beerbower said they should print the handbooks, one per employee and have them sign the receipt form. He also suggested training for the employees for each department to make them aware of the changes.

Tran said they should have HR come and train the commission and other leadership in the county, to enable them to train the county employees.

Motley suggested allowing electronic copies to be distributed.

Milburn said it is published on the county’s website.

Beerbower said that the training is the most important part, but he wants to offer printed copies to those who prefer that.

SEKRPC Board Meeting Report & CBDG Block Grant Seminar – Motley

The organization has grown to offer about $2 million in loans and grants.

Motley said he is excited about the possibilities the program offers to Bourbon County and plans to work on it throughout the year.

Emergency Manager Accounts and Access -Milburn

New Bourbon County Emergency Manager, Louella Howard

The commission passed a resolution giving her the position and also moved to get her a county email address and the other equipment she needs to do her job.

Commissioner Comments

Samuel Tran: There’s a lot of supervisors in the county right now that are agitated because Pay Entry has shut their people out. People have been putting their time and attendance in incorrectly. The executive assistant and Pay Entry locked it down. Supervisors are asked to go and look at each time card prior to it going in to PayEntry. The executive assistant will contact department heads to let them know what the situation.

Milburn said that recommendations were not to leave them unlocked for individual employees to change.

Sheriff Martin said that the issue should be laid at the feet of the department responsible for the error, rather than making all employees pay for the mistake of one.

Beerbower asked if PayEntry could come and offer training in how to use the program. Milburn said she would ask.

Gregg Motley: Exhorted the commission to look for ways to build bridges and improve moral.

Mika Milburn: Is excited about having drivers license moved to suite 10.

 

The commission began the meeting with a number of executive sessions.

Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) – Lora Holdridge, Leslie Harran, 15 minutes. Returned to session and then reentered executive session for another 15 minutes with the same people. Returned with no action.

Executive Session Pursuant to K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) – Samuel Tran. 5 commissioners, Kenny Allen, Terry Halsey. 25 minutes. Returned to session with action. Tran moved to accept the exemption to policy letter from Public Works in regards to take-home vehicles. Motion passed. Tran then moved to accept the exemption to policy vehicle for EMS. Motion passed with Milburn-Kee voting against. Tran then moved to allow the county appraiser to continue to use the county vehicle as a take-home vehicle. Motion did not pass, Milburn-Kee, Tran, and Beerbower voting against.

Bourbon County Comprehensive Plan — Tran with Brian Ashworth

Ashworth, from the planning commission, came to make himself available to the commission. The first step to zoning a county, per Kansas state law, is a comprehensive plan. The commission has been consulting with Mel Hoss to walk them through creating one for Bourbon County. In order to get the comprehensive plan going, they must solicit proposals from planning firms. Ashworth asked for the commission’s input on the document.

Ashworth outlined the timeline for soliciting plans from planning firms. He then asked the commission to publish the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Cost estimate for the RFP is $100,000, based on what Cherokee County paid for its plan. It will take about 6 months for the planning company to develop the comprehensive plan through extensive research and information gathering throughout the county.

Tran thanked the planning commission for their hard work and complemented their teamwork.

Milburn-Kee then moved to allow Ashworth to work with the county clerk to publish the RFP and distribute it to the list of possible planning firms the planning commission has collected.

Commissioner Greg Motley asked where the funding for the plan creation would come from. Milburn-Kee said that counselor Billenburg had negotiated $200,000 in payments from the solar panel people. It has not been collected.

Clerk Susan Walker said they needed to book the expense at the time they agree on it, according to cash-basis law.

Motion passed unanimously.

IT Services — Tran

Tran invited Jason Rinker from Stronghold to speak at the meeting. Rinker updated on the project Stronghold is working on for the county. They are at the half-way mark and anticipate finishing within the six-month timeline. He asked to bring the project manager and account representative to the commission to give a detailed update. Milburn-Kee told him that arranging to speak to the board as a whole would be preferable and he agreed to do that.

Rinker then addressed technology changes that were brought up at the last commissioner meeting by the county clerk. He said there are three areas of her letter that Stronghold finds concerning. He also said it was positive in that some hardware that needed to be updated per Stronghold’s analysis in 2025 is being updated.

The three areas of concern include several ongoing security concerns. He said the last 60 days of data that Stronghold has contain no security concerns generated by the county. “We would really like to know what these concerns are so they can be addressed,” he said

The letter also stated that the county offices involved had experienced “significant issues,” but there were no notes given to Stronghold in the last 60 days about those issues.

“As with any partner, I would assume that it would be reasonable to at least notify us of those significant issues and allow us an opportunity to correct those,” Rinker said.

The third issue is that the letter said that the transition they are planning will ensure that the various offices’ data is protected in transition.

“This is kind of insinuating to us that your data is not being protected,” he said. In the last 60 days there’s only been one ticket that required addressing by Stronghold in that regard.

He also said that the complaint about backups causing problems was not brought up with Stronghold in the last 60 days.

Milburn-Kee asked what types of requests the county is generating at Stronghold. Rinker read off examples of creating email addresses, connecting scanners, and updates from the State of Kansas, as well as others.

Tran asked what the average response time is for a ticket. Rinker said they usually respond with a couple of hours, depending of the severity of the issue.

He then explained what had happened at Stronghold and how they handled giving authority to department heads for needed software updates.

Tran asked if there were any threats or vulnerabilities to the county’s firewall. He also asked if Stronghold had discovered any more of the county’s information on the dark web. Rinker said that while there are no specific threats he is aware of at this time, constant vigilance is required.

Tran also asked what the bottom issue with CIC (the county’s accounting software) is and what is causing problems with the staff. Rinker said that  when he reached out to CIC, they told him that they are not allowed to speak with Stronghold unless given specific permission by Bourbon County.

Tran asked who is the gatekeeper for CIC in Bourbon County. Walker said she is and is willing to give Stronghold access if Tran is present during the call. He agreed to be present. They agreed to get the conversation done before the next week.

Rinker said that the changeover to .gov email addresses is a good thing that the whole county should do. He said it should be registered to the county so the county can control the domain.

Walker said on of her security concerns is missing emails. She reiterated her hope that the commission supports her office’s desire to move to a new server.

She also wants to know who else can access the emails in their offices.

“There’s just a lot of trust issues, I think,” she said.

She said that when they called in to Stronghold to have things done, they were denied access without Milburn-Kee’s approval.

Tran said that as far as he is concerned only Stronghold has access to emails in the county.

He agreed with Walker’s trust issue, but said that uncontrolled admin rights in the county are not secure.

Walker said they only want admin rights to their own systems to update their accounting program that they control in the offices at the courthouse. She said she has called several times to get that fixed and further issues have arisen.

“I don’t think it’s asking much for us to be able to update our CIC software,” she concluded.

Tran asked that they give a report on the increased vulnerability of the county with the addition of more servers and a cost analysis as part of Stronghold’s quarterly report.

Rinker said he his company hasn’t been given the information by the departments in the courthouse that are purchasing a new server, so he cannot accurately address those questions.

Rinker also said that cyber-liability insurance carriers have started asking that those entities they cover have one set of eyes on everything to avoid the trouble of “too many cooks in the kitchen,” or the opposite problem of no one really overseeing.

Citizen Comments

Michael Hoyt said he personally contacted Dr. Cohen and told him his was unhappy with how long it’s taking to get the county employee handbook updated and implemented. After pointing out that Emerson is the new payroll handler for the county and Dr. Cohen’s company became the HR department through Emerson, Hoyt asked how Stronghold became the county’s IT department.

Hoyt concluded by asking what the commission plans to do about the contention that is evident in the courthouse.

“You all are the ones in charge. If we have personnel that are infighting, we need to get to the root cause and find out why. You all are the peacemakers, not to drive a further wedge in by attacking anybody,” he ended.

Susan Walker came with several questions.

She distributed a noise complaint form draft for the commission to amend and approve.

She also asked that the commissioners get the information for resolutions to her by noon on Fridays, per the commissions own stated procedural steps, in order to give people time to look them over before the meetings.

Old Business

Handbook-Tran

Tran asked for a status update. Milburn-Kee told him that KCamp sent a sample back to HR. “As far as I know, they haven’t got all the edits done,” said Milburn-Kee.

Tran said that all suggestions have been accepted except for reducing the introductory period for new employees from 365 days to 90 days. In Kansas, if someone is fired at 91 days, and they can file grievances.

“The only individuals that are not protected in the state of Kansas in labor law are white males below the age of 40,” said Tran. Going to 365 days protects the county.

Milburn-Kee said that after receiving notes from HR and other business owners, she has changed her mind about some of the requested changes.

Motley said that in his experience 90 days requires employers to make an evaluation on the employee, which is best for the county. The first 90 days will give you what you need to know. He also said they also already voted on it as a commission.

Commissioner Joe Allen agreed with Motley, saying that all his jobs in the past had a 90 day introductory period.

Beerbower said he likes it as it stands. No changes were voted on.

Fractional CFO-Tran

At a cost of $5,500 per month split between the sheriff’s department and the county, Tran moved to have Baker Tilly serve as the CFO for the county.

Motley said that on the surface, this appears to be a solution looking for a problem.

Tran said that the county seemed to lack congruency in how it handled the budget. He also said there was a lot of unneeded inputs in the formulation of the budget.

Motley pointed out that the City of Fort Scott, which uses Baker Tilly as financial advisor, has no elected officials to deal with like the county does. Fort Scott also does not have any accounting experts as part of their government, as Bourbon County does. He also said the Dr. Cohen from HR called him and asked him to run these processes and the commission appointed him to do that.

“So this seems like a vote of no-confidence in me,” Motley said. He said that there are three accounting experts elected as officials in Bourbon County, of which he is one. The other two are the County Treasurer and the County Clerk.

He questioned the idea of spending money on an outside source, (based in England with offices in Overland Park, KS) for services he and the others in the county can provide.

Milburn-Kee said that by voting to terminate the liaison positions of the commission, they also ended Motley’s finance position.

“What you’re saying is this is no confidence in me for the budget process,” said Motley. He went on to say he is trying to avoid the situation the commission created last year in which they asked for a budget committee to advise the commission on making a budget and then did not take any of their suggestions.  He said that no one from that committee was happy that all their work was pushed aside.

He said that hiring Baker Tilly would make any strategic planning or budgeting help from him unnecessary and he will not facilitate that for the county if they are hired.

“All you’re going to get with Baker Tilly is a monthly report,” said Motley. They will not be auditing or checking data, just compiling and reporting what they are given.

Tran said this issue is a continuance of the decision made in 2025 to hire a fractional CFO for 2026.

Allen said that while he is not an expert in this field, he trusts the in-house expert. He also said he doesn’t want to spend the county’s money to pay for what the county already has.

Beerbower said there are benefits to having an outside eyes on the county budgets.

Motley said the commission needs to wary of taking actions that send a message of distrust to those they work with.

Milburn-Kee said she talked to Ben from Baker Tilly about what services he would be providing. He said he would help find inefficient patterns in the county. He also said he would follow the direction of the commission regarding the spending limits dictated by tax rates and mill levy.

Tran said that the disparity between the budget given by the committee and what the commission wanted was the commission’s fault for not communicating more clearly with the committee.

County Clerk Susan Walker spoke to the commission saying they cannot cut the mill without cutting services.

“The problem has been, in the past, we have not been a part of the process,” said Walker. The department heads and elected officials are only asked to bring to the table what they think they need to operate.

“I don’t feel like we’re being heard, because the costs are going up,” said Walker.

“Our biggest expenses are people and publications. We don’t even hardly have enough money to train,” she said. “There were not a lot of questions asked during the budget process and when I would bring things up, I would get accused of withholding information. But that’s not what was happening. I didn’t know what you didn’t know.”

“Mr. Motley is right. The three of us together can build the budget. So, I think this is an unnecessary expense,” said Walker.

Tran called for a vote. He read the resolution.

Motion failed to carry. Tran and Milburn-Kee voted for it, Beerbower, Allen, and Motley voted against.

Performance Audit-Samuel Tran

Baker-Tilly cannot perform the audit because they are already employed by the county. The issue was tabled.

DMV Lease Agreement-Samuel Tran

In order to lease the space to the DMV, electrical has to be run to their equipment, which will cost the county about $1,000.

Milburn-Kee pointed out that the rent the DMV is paying will cover the cost of running the electrical and will allow the county to sell the building that has housed them in the past, which they are now moving out of.

Motion to sign carried.

Employment Action-Samuel Tran

A resolution brought to the table last week, was read by Tran. The resolution give the commission authority in the hiring or change of employment status of county employees when it impacts the county’s budget by increasing benefit costs. This resolution gives fiscal oversight to the commission, but leaves authority to hire and fire in the hands of elected officials.

Motley completely agreed with the intent but had problems with definitions in the resolution. He had concerns about various “what-if” situations. He suggested they make each elected official and department head responsible for the employee benefits budget for their departments.

Milburn-Kee said that she had been trying to make those changes, but they weren’t approved. The resolution provides guidance for the payroll administrator.

Walker spoke up and said her concern was that the payroll department get a correct number of employees. She was also concerned that departments would have to budget for employees to choose the biggest benefits package, which costs the county the most, and would lead to inflated budgets and budget creep.

Motion carried and resolution 15-26 was passed.

Payroll Administration-Samuel Tran

The resolution clarified the duties of the executive assistant regarding payroll.

Motley asked the clerk if the resolution was in accordance with state statutes as she understands them.

Walker expressed concerns about coding for the general ledger and clarity of communication. She also asked for responses to her questions.

Motion carried, passing 16-26.

Flex Spending Discussion — Milburn-Kee

Walker explained what happens when an employee takes the flex spending option. She also asked to be given a report for auditing purposes.

Resolution 622 — Milburn-Kee

Commission found out about this resolution last week. It was to have been added to the handbook, but the handbook hasn’t been updated since 2002. The resolution front-loaded sick leave due to the pandemic.

Resolution was repealed. Accruals will be referred to the HR department.

New Business

Employee Recognition – Allen

Allen asked that department heads and elected officials come to the first meeting each month and recognize one of their department’s employees. He offered to contact each department and set it up.

Noise Complaint — Beerbower

The noise complaints that the county has received have brought up the issue of who is going to look into the complaints. Beerbower looked at applying the American National Standards Institute’s information to the county’s resolution. He also found some training for the noise inspector and vendors who sell standardized equipment.

Beerbower’s recommendation will be to replace the existing resolution and declare the assignment of inspection in the new resolution. He believes the assignment should go to the sanitation inspector from the appraiser’s office.

One member of the audience spoke up and asked that noise inspections not be at the same time each day,  but at random times.

Culvert Permit – 2433 Locus Road

Motion approved

There will be a special meeting on February 12, 2026 from 5-6 PM for Interviews and a work session immediately following until 8:00 PM.