The Bourbon County Commission met Monday, June 15, 2026, with all five commissioners present and Chairman Samuel Tran presiding. The board worked through county roads, a new development moratorium, the selection of a comprehensive-plan consultant, and an extended discussion of the budget process and election logistics. The full meeting is available on the county’s YouTube channel: June 15, 2026 Bourbon County Commission Meeting.
Hidden Valley Roads
Public Works Director Kenny Allen told commissioners the county has no recorded easements for the Hidden Valley roads in the Mound City/Mapleton area, that the roads do not meet county construction standards, and that bringing them up to standard would require costly reconstruction. After confirming counsel’s agreement, the commission adopted Resolution 23-26, reaffirming that Resolution 7-21 designated the Hidden Valley roads only for law-enforcement access and not for county maintenance. Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee pointed out that adopting the resolution should keep the same issue from needing the attention of the next set of commissioners, should the residents of Hidden Valley bring it up again in the future.
Accounts Payable and Payroll
The commission approved two accounts-payable batches (setting aside two rock-crusher training charges for Kenny Allen to dispute) and, after amending the agenda, approved two payroll registers. Commissioners also approved the June 1 meeting minutes.
Public Comments: Security Cameras and Drainage
Tristan Smittle and a colleague from INA Alert (introduced as Jacob Strecker) pitched integrated security and camera systems, offering rough per-camera cost figures. Landowner Mark Warren raised drainage and standing-water concerns on three properties — near 120th and Paint Creek south of Redfield, on Limestone Road southeast of Uniontown, and on Kansas Road west of Highway 3. Milburn-Kee took his contact information for follow-up.
Elm Creek Lake Dam Grant Terminated
Don George of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks asked the commission to terminate a five-year-old grant for Elm Creek Lake dam repair, explaining that the cost figures are now outdated.
The county has no records of how the dam was constructed by the WPA, so there’s no way to know what would happen if the face was removed. George pointed out that it’s an important part of Bourbon County and the longer they wait to make repairs, the more expensive it will be.
Commissioner David Beerbower expressed a desire to keep Elm Creek Lake in good condition. MIlburn-Kee asked about reports that the fishing is declining at the lake. George said that he doesn’t stock it as much as he used to because of the leak and how low the water gets, making stocking the lake a potentially poor investment. George also offered to take any interested commissioners on a tour to learn what his department does for the county.
When Tran asked about the conditions of the grant, George said that the Department of Wildlife was going to pay about 1/3 of the cost at $40,000 and the county pay the remainder of $121,000, the majority of which would be using the county’s workers, equipment, and resources. (Background: County Commission Discusses EMS and Elm Creek Quarry.)
The commission voted to terminate the grant, and George invited the county to submit a future application with current numbers for the next grant cycle in May of 2027.
Comprehensive Plan: Confluence Selected
Planning Commission representatives Brian Ashworth II and Pete Owenby recommended hiring Confluence to produce the county’s comprehensive plan — at a cost of $105,500 — along with an optional zoning-code update (costing $46,500), citing stronger community-engagement plans than competing firms. The proposed time line is 10 months from the beginning of work with an additional four months for zoning. One way the county could save money on the cost of the work is to work on the zoning in conjunction with developing the comprehensive plan. By developing a comprehensive plan, the county will provide leverage for various entities in Bourbon County that may wish to apply for grants. “It promotes growth,” said Milburn-Kee.
The commission voted to select Confluence, with Commissioner Gregg Motley abstaining, and authorized Ashworth to pursue best-and-final pricing. The selection follows the Planning Commission’s spring review of proposals (see May 13–14 Planning Commission agendas and the February RFP summary).
Clerk’s Requests: Website Access and Election Room
County Clerk Susan Walker requested front-page access to the county website for herself, the county treasurer and the emergency management department to keep required publications and the emergency status of the county current. No one is updating the finance page at this time. The commission deferred pending consultation with its IT provider, Stronghold.
Walker also formally requested use of the commission room for early voting and election school on specified dates. A motion by Commissioner Milburn-Kee to deny use of the room (while still allowing Public Works and custodial assistance with election equipment) split the vote and failed; a follow-on motion by Commissioner Motley to approve the clerk’s full request passed.
Milburn-Kee claimed that the commission room is the only space she can use on the courthouse for commission work. A heated exchange occurred between Chairman Tran and Clerk Walker over election-room security and tone.
Budget Process
Commissioners Beerbower, Tran, Motley, and Allen said they want department heads to present their budgets directly to the board — beginning with Public Works on June 29 — while Commissioner Milburn-Kee preferred letting financial advisor Baker Tilly handle the process. The commission approved read-only CIC remote access for Baker Tilly so the firm can pull budget information directly. The discussion continues the board’s budget work from its May 18 meeting.
The moratorium will be in effect for one year, or until Bourbon County adopts amendments to the zoning regulation of the county pertaining to utility-scale power generation crypto mining, data centers, and waste disposal operations, whichever first occurs.
Other Business
Signed previously approved Resolution 22-26.
Authorized Chair Tran to sign a real-estate (MLS) listing extension.
Appointed Michael Hoyt as the county’s representative to the Southeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging board, Milburn-Kee and Tran voting against.
Commissioner Allen praised first responders’ performance during a recent incident involving the sheriff and reported the DMV may reopen within the week.
Commissioner Comments
Beerbower: Asked that the commissioners give their opinion on the size of flag to fly from the 40-foot poll at the courthouse. The commission decided to bring it back to the table next week after some research.
Allen: Asked that documents be attached to the meeting agendas prior to the meeting to allow time to read through resolutions prior to voting on them.
He also gave a shout-out to public works for their work mowing and grading. He also commended the first responders with Sheriff Bill Martin’s collapse last week.
Mark Leon Christy, who was born on February 18, 1962, in Fort Scott, Kansas, and passed away on June 5, 2026, in Joplin, Missouri, will be remembered with deep love and lasting respect by all who knew him. He carried himself with quiet strength and a thoughtful spirit, and he touched the lives of family, friends, and coworkers through his steady presence and kind heart. Those who knew him best will remember his warm sense of humor, his practical wisdom, and the genuine care he showed in everyday moments.
Mark was a graduate of Pittsburg State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in history and psychology. He valued learning, thoughtful conversation, and understanding the world around him, and he brought those qualities into both his personal and professional life.
He devoted almost 40 years of service to Ward/Kraft, where he built a long and respected career. His dedication, reliability, and strong work ethic earned the admiration of his colleagues and the trust of those who worked beside him. He was known as someone who could be counted on, and his years with the company stand as a testament to his loyalty and commitment.
Outside of work, Mark found joy in simple and meaningful pursuits. He enjoyed fishing, where he could appreciate the quiet outdoors and the patience the sport required. He also loved cooking, and he took pleasure in preparing meals and sharing them with others. These interests reflected his appreciation for both solitude and connection, as well as his ability to find happiness in life’s ordinary but treasured moments.
Mark is survived by his wife, Angela, and daughter, Anastasia. He is also survived by daughter Allie Bloomquist and husband, Darin, and by his grandchildren, Brady and Isla Bloomquist, who brought him great pride and joy. He leaves behind his parents, Gene and June Christy, his sister, Gina Christy, and his sister, Samantha Christy-Dangermond and husband Tom. In addition, Mark is survived by his nephews, Colby Sisson and wife Rachel, Wil Sisson and wife Kristen, and Gerrit Dangermond, nieces MacKenzy Neal and husband Taylor, and Margot Dangermond, great-nephews Wyatt and Wade Sisson, Colter Neal, and great-nieces Estella and Maddie Sisson, and Quinlee Neal. His family was central to his life, and he cherished the bonds they shared. He will be deeply missed by all who were fortunate enough to know and love him.
His life was one of quiet accomplishment, devotion to family, and enduring integrity. He leaves behind a legacy of love, intelligence, and hard work that will continue to be remembered by those closest to him. Though his passing leaves a profound sadness, his memory will remain a source of comfort and strength to his family and friends in the days ahead.
Mark Leon Christy will be remembered with gratitude for the life he lived and the example he set. His presence enriched the lives of others, and his memory will be held close with affection and respect.
There was cremation. Pastor Tom Lewis will conduct memorial services at 10:30 AM Friday, June 12th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Interment will follow in the Marmaton Cemetery, Redfield, KS. The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 PM Thursday, June 11th, at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to the Hammond Community Building Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted online at cheneywitt.com.
Commissioners Gregg Motley and Mika Milburn-Key in person, and Samuel Tran and Joe Allen via video chat attended the County Commission Meeting which lasted less than 6 minutes.
TUSA was removed from the agenda for lack of attendance at Sheriff Bill Martin’s request.
Approval of Minutes 05.11.26, Special 05.18.26, 05.18.26
Minutes were approved pending changes to attribution requested by Milburn-Key.
Approval of April 2026 Financials
Approved
Approval of Tax Corrections
Approved
Approval of Accounts Payable 5.22.26 $139,611.15, 5.29.26 $456,069.98
Approved, Tran abstaining.
Allen and Tran asked that Motley sign the AP checks in absence of Allen. Motion approved.
There were no Public Comments, Department Updates, Old Business, Future Agenda Topics, New Business, or Commissioner Comments.
Commissioner Gregg Motley pointed out that the commission had been using attorneys in addition to county counselor Bob Johnson for legal opinions, which is costing the tax payers more money. He said that while he did approve the spending of the $4,500 on other attorney fees, the commission should “be cognizant of taxpayer dollars,” and use Johnson, as he is on retainer for that purpose.
Baker Tilly
Matt Lawn and Ben Hart from Baker Tilly addressed the commission about the budgeting process.
Motley brought up to Hart that Baker Tilly hadn’t shared the budget instructions that were given to the various departments within the county with the commission directly.
Hart apologized and said that he had understood that the commission has discussed goals, but it was not made clear to him that they have not agreed on them.
“These instructions really revolve around what the commission’s goals are in limitation to property tax revenue,” he explained.
Milburn-Kee said she reviewed the video of the last meeting where the commission discussed their goals and she is still of the opinion that she wants to lower property taxes.
Hart said he needs input from the entire commission, as they must have consensus to move forward.
Motley said his objection to the instructions given to county departments by Sam Lawn of Baker Tilly does not pertain to revenue but restricts “the department heads and elected officials from having input into their budget.”
He said that those instructions were not agreed to by the commission and they should be removed, as the commission has not reached consensus revenue or expense.
The bullet points in question state that wages, salaries, employee benefits costs will be prepared by Baker Tilly and departments should not modify personnel costs, and that the total of the 2027 budget request should not exceed the total shown in the 2026 budget column.
Allen expressed a desire to efficiently work on the basics the county should provide. He said they should keep taxes a low as possible and still be able to succeed as a county.
Hart read through the entirity of the budget instructions that Baker Tilly gave to county departments, pointing out that there was a place to explain in the notes about any changes department heads and elected officials needed to make. He emphasized that this part of the budget making process is an information gathering stage to be able to paint a complete picture for the commission.
Tran summarized his notes from the work session about county goals earlier this year. He said that Milburn-Kee wants to cut 10% off of everything, lowering the mill levy again. Motley said his priority is to restore trust tot he employees, the public, and financial markets to the county can get bonding sources. Allen echoed Motley. Beerbower wants to reduce property taxes by 155 and re-balance services. Tran said his priority is to stay revenue neutral. He also said that the commission did a good job with their budget last year and justified their expenditures.
Tran supported Hart’s statements that Baker Tilly is collecting information to present to the commission through this budget process.
Motley pointed out that county managers and elected officials were seeing a repeat of last year’s budget with no raises and a cut in benefits.
“I could have clarified,” said Lawn. “The instructions could have clarified more. I tried to separate out personnel costs and say not to worry about that because that would be for a later discussion.”
Motley said Lawn had no way of knowing the sensitivities in the county at the time.
Lawn said they need budget questionnaires back from the departments by the end of the month.
Motley said that explaining the situation to the department heads and elected officials should help address their concerns and get the process going again.
Milburn-Kee said that the commissioners need to be clear about what they are looking at doing with taxpayer dollars. She asked Tran to share his perspective.
Tran advised Lawn to collect the information they need and not change the questions. He said he’d rather have too much information than not enough.
Milburn began questioning the commission about their positions on taxes.
SEK Multi-County Health Department Budget Request – Rebecca Johnson: Administrator and Health Officer for the Bourbon County Health Department.
Johnson brought the health department’s yearly funding request. There was no increase last year.
2025 was a really rough year for the health department. They rely on federal and state grants, many of which were cut. Johnson said the health department is asking for a cost of living increase of 2.8% for a total of $93,291. They are currently operating at the minimum required staffing amount.
Further reductions in funding would affect accessibility and cause delays in services, as they’ve already cut personnel as far as possible.
They document animal bite reports, offer breastfeeding support, disease investigations, immunizations, lab draws, and local emergency preparedness work. They also facilitate WIC for Bourbon County.
Tran asked how much WIC has been cut by the federal government.
Bourbon County provides about 6% of the health department’s budget.
Johnson asked to be included in communication from Matt Lawn with Baker Tilly on budget information.
Department Updates EMS Equipment Request – Teri Hulsey
A computer that Stronghold has come to repare and a few times and is not working properly needs to be replaced. The computer is used daily for paramedics and EMTs to do their reports. Stronghold quoted $1407.88 for a new computer. Hulsey did some research to compare costs.
She asked if the county could buy the department a new computer using the county’s equipment fund, as she has no money in her budget for the purchase.
Milburn-Kee asked if they could use one of the mini-PCs that the county already has. “Whatever works,” answered Hulsey.
Tran agreed with the idea of using computers that the county already has. He offered to talk to Stronghold about how to get that working for the EMS department.
Public Comments
Anne Dare read a statement about her disappointment with the county regarding recent discussions on contracted services. She pointed out failings of the HR firm and PayEntry and questioned continued expenditures on technology required by Stronghold. She suggested that the commission’s efforts to lower the mill will result in a planned reduction of services. She asked that the commission put a fair and consistent policy in place for hiring services and called for an acknowledgment of the appearance of unequal treatment on the part of the commission.
Tran interrupted her statement to tell her her time was up.
Bob Reed: came on behalf of the fair board
Rodeo will be June 24-25 and Fair Week is July 11-17th.
They are seeking individual sponsorship for the fair board and rodeo. Historically, the fair board has asked for sponsorship for elected officials and those running for office. Sponsorship will lead to recognition on the handbill and during the event.
Old Business Hidden Valley Roads – Allen
Commissioner Joe Allen was contacted by Kaety Bowers about the condition of the roads. Kenny Allen, Public Works Director, discussed the load of work it would be to add the entire neighborhood to his crew’s rotation.
Tran asked Kenny Allen to come up with a plan. Allen then asked if there was a resolution in place to address the situation of working an HOA. He didn’t think working the whole neighborhood was feasible, but possibly the main road, and that the county could help if the neighborhood could supply the rock. Allen said he would consult with an employee who used to grade it and see what he thinks.
Auction Update – Allen
The majority of the items to be sold or gotten rid of have been moved.
There are quite a few toilets and sinks still in the EMS building.
Milburn-Kee moved to give Joe Allen the authority to auction it off. Motion carried.
New Business Solid Waste Plan – K Allen
It’s time for the annual update of the five-year plan. The only change from last year is that they are no longer taking beans.
The commission approved and signed the plan.
Allen said his department laid 572 tons of asphalt at Osage and 215th. There’s a small spot remaining. When it’s finished, next will be Maple.
Hale Fireworks Permit
To sell at 2325 S. Main. Permit approved.
Jarred Gilmore Phillips 2026 Audit Engagement
This is the regular audit that is done every year. Motion approved.
Commission Comments
Allen addressed Milburn-Kee’s comment she made during the budget discussion about dancing around questions.
Milburn-Kee said the commission needs to start engaging the public about the budget.
There’s no meeting scheduled for Memorial Day, May 25.
The work session began on time without Commissioner Samuel Tran or Mika Milburn-Kee present.
Tran came in while Commissioner David Beerbower was reading the introduction of the resolution aloud.
“The purpose of this resolution is to restore employees’ years of service for vacation and sick leave to their appropriate pre-2026 levels, correcting errors identified during a personnel audit. The resolution further provides updated vacation and sick leave policies that strengthen workforce support, simplify administration and ensure equitable treatment of all full time eligible county employees,” read Beerbower.
Commissioner Gregg Motley pointed out that despite the commission approving pre-2026 numbers for all employee vacation and sick leave, the current payroll clerk is using numbers from Jan. 14, 2026 and needs to be instructed to go back to Dec. 31, 2025.
One change that Beerbower made from the previous versions of the resolution was to remove the vacation time bank. He said that prior to 2026, there was no vacation carryover and that carryover is not a widely practiced policy among other employers. He said that those with carryover vacation at this time will be grandfathered in, but carryover will not happen going forward.
Beerbower said that the Kansas Wage Act calls vacation time earnings and the resolution has the county paying employees for their unused vacation time at the end of the year. County Clerk Susan Walker said that this may cause inflated budget numbers for the 2027.
Beerbower said he tried to keep the policy similar to the historic policies of vacation and sick leave accrual.
He said that the Kansas Wage Act says that if the county frontload vacation, vacation not used by Dec. 31 must be paid as wages. He also mentioned that if county employees were to abuse the system, the solution would be to remove the option of vacation for county employees altogether, since it’s not required by the law.
Sick Leave
Beerbower cut sick leave from 12 days to 10 days in the initial draft of the resolution based on national averages for sick leave.
Motley said he was in favor of less change and advocated for going back to 12 days, as many employees came onto the job with that expectation.
Beerbower asked Tran his opinion.
“It’s your show,” replied Tran.
“It’s not a show. That’s disrespectful,” said Motley.
Beerbower said he would change it back to 12 days of sick leave. Many county officials and department heads in the room thanked him.
The sick leave section had a grandfather clause for all employees hired before Jan. 1, 2026 to keep whatever leave they have already accumulated.
County Attorney James Crux said that the vacation and sick leave scale is very low for his office compared to other counties in the region. He said it’s very difficult to fill positions in his office.
Allen asked what smaller counties in the region offer their county attorneys for leave. Crawford county offers 96 hours of sick leave per year to their attorneys, said Crux.
Motley asked it if could be split for more highly educated hires, such as attorneys.
The EMS director spoke up and shared the leave offered to EMS workers in Miami County.
Beerbower gave a couple of examples of increased vacation leave times to see if it would be possible to get the county into a more competitive position with other employers in the area.
After a 90 day introductory period, new county employees will begin accruing 8 hours of vacation per month with rollover benefits from year to year. Once an employee has been with the county for 2 years, at the beginning of the following fiscal year, accrued leave disappears and vacation days based on the number of years the employee has worked for the count will be front loaded on Jan. 1.
One employee asked how long the resolution would be in effect before it’s voted out, if it was approved. Tran asked why he thought it would be voted out.
The employee cited the turmoil at the commissioners’ table and throughout the courthouse and county as reasons it may be overturned.
“I have no intention of reversing anything,” he said. It would be a bad move for him to make.
During Public Comments, Michael Hoyt addressed the commission about the Southeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging headquartered in Pittsburg. They are responsible for Meals on Wheels to the aged. They are hurting for funds and are not accepting new applicants for meals right now.
Hoyt said they have been defunded by the federal government. He asked that the commission keep that in mind when they discuss the county budget. He also said that 65% of the constituents in Bourbon County are over 65.
AAA provides a lot of other services for the elderly in addition to Meals on Wheels.
Resolution 22-26 – Beerbower
Commissioner David Beerbower moved to adopt the resolution “as discussed and consensus reached in the work session” that the commission held just prior to their regular meeting. Commissioner Gregg Motley seconded.
Motion carried with Commissioners Mika Milburn-Kee and Samuel Tran voting against.
Tran acknowledged Beerbower’s good work on the resolution.
Payroll & Accounts Payable – Motley
James Krux, County Attorney, addressed the board regarding issues with accounts payable.
Lack of communication between the board and other offices in the county has created financial issues. “We have to be able, as a county, to continue operating and to continue growing,” he said, “And at least work together enough to make sure that’s happening.”
Tran refused to sign the checks as they had been done previously which directly affects Crux’s office. His employees have been paid late two pay periods in a row.
Motley asked what it will take to get those checks signed. He said the county is incurring late fees because of the failure of the commission to sign the checks. He and Commissioner Joe Allen are not on the signature card and cannot sign the checks.
Tran said he has spoken to four lawyers and claims to understand the statutes. The statutes don’t require commissioner’s oversight to sign checks, according to Tran. The treasurer signs them when she cuts them and the clerk attests to them by signing, which gives the two requisite signatures.
“I understand the angst here, I do,” said Tran. “What do you propose?” he asked the commissioners.
Allen said he doesn’t know where this problem came from, as it’s been standard practice for years for the county commission chairman to sign the checks. He said he offered to sign them so that people can get paid, “but I don’t believe it’s my position to sign the checks.”
He confirmed that the whole commission reviews and approves the checks. “I just don’t understand why the chairman can’t sign them to get them moving along,” said Allen.
Tran said that because the statue doesn’t require him to sign the checks, he has chosen not to.
He proposed that he relinquish his ability to sign the checks and make Laura Krom, the commission’s executive assistant, the official signer.
Milburn-Kee said that the chairman should have a signature stamp so he doesn’t have to sign 200 checks. Tran said he had asked for one but has not received it.
Allen said he preferred a commissioner sign the checks.
Tran immediately moved to make Allen the check signer. Motley said that the statutes allow the chairman to appoint someone to sign for him, and he approved of that person being Allen.
Allen said that “if it gets people paid,” he’s willing to do it to keep the county moving forward.
Motley next made a motion to restore read-only access to Payentry for County Clerk Susan Walker so that she can process the accounting entries that she needs to every two weeks after payroll.
Milburn-Kee said that read-only access gives the clerk access to too many reports she doesn’t need.
Tran said he hasn’t told the executive assistant or Payentry what to do, but has advised Krom to talk to HR and Payentry to figure out what to do. He said to let Krom know what’s needed so she can handle it.
“That’s not my motion,” said Motley. He asked why there needs to be an intermediary between Payentry and the clerk, noting that Krom does not understand what’s required for the payroll accounting the clerk has to do. The reports that she sent weren’t adequate.
Allen asked Walker what she needs to do the accounting. She said she sends an email every time there’s an issue, but does not receive responses.
“I am ultimately responsible for getting your financial information into the general ledger,” she said. “The problem with the report I’m receiving is that it’s not broken down by cost center,” which requires her to spend hours digging through to get the information she needs to enter into the county’s ledger.
Walker also pointed out that she is not required to do all the accounting work of creating the general ledger, journal entries, and benefit payments that she does.
Tran said it’s a work in progress and more change will be coming due to resolution 22-26.
“Why was it necessary?” Motley asked. “We’ve got a part-time person who’s the intermediary for the clerk, who’s an elected official. It makes zero sense.”
“I’m very frustrated by that lack of communication,” said Beerbower.
Motley said that his conversation with Steve Cohen (HR) showed that Cohen was unaware of the accounting duties of the clerk that require her to have the information in the reports she is currently being denied.
Having Krom send reports to Walker is “grossly inefficient,” said Motley. “Give her [Walker] access to the reports she needs…It’s just common sense.”
Motion failed to pass. Beerbower, Tran, and Milburn-Kee voted against.
Allen asked if there’s a way to control the view only access. Milburn-Kee said she didn’t think so.
Tran said that Payentry told him they have to create the data bases the clerk needs.
Beerbower pointed out that he was led to believe the clerk had access to too much employee information.
“What it boils down to is I advocated for the employees,… because I could see what their hiring dates were,” said Walker.
“Isn’t the county clerk the custodian of the records?” asked Hoyt. Motley agreed that she is and that it is counterintuitive to give access to those records to a part-time employee while denying it to the clerk.
Beerbower said he doesn’t see the issue as clearly as he thought he was.
Tran asked to table it.
Beerbower suggested they have Cohen come to the meeting next week to iron it out. “That’s communication.”
Emily Franks with Jared Gilmore and Phillips, the firm that prepared the county’s 2025 fiscal audit, addressed the commission. The report she went over will be available on the State of Kansas website.
Financial statements were audited and found to be materially correct. The ending unencumbered cash balances in the negative are in violation of Kansas statutes. The ambulance fund was the fund that ended in the negative because collections from patients didn’t come in as expected.
“The user fees aren’t coming in as they should,” she said. She suggested reducing the estimated user fees to be collected to a more reasonable level in the next county budget. Despite the lack of collected fees, the department did stay under budget.
Jail Bond and Interest Fund also had a budget violation. It was over budget by $525,418.11.
General Fund remaining cash was $157,672.81. Franks said that it was good to see the general fund in the positive, rather than following the trend of more recent years.
Public Safety and Public Works both had cash left in their budgets.
Franks mentioned a number of items they came across in the audit process that the commission needs to be made aware of.
There were noted deficiencies in internal controls that could potential lead to material misstatements. The first one is credit card and charge accounts. They check to be sure the receipts were being turned in, and county credit care holders aren’t consistently turning in detailed receipts. “Every charge on a credit card should have a receipt accounted for it,” she said.
Commissioner Gregg Motley asked if it was more than one department and Franks said there were quite a few departments with the same trouble.
There were also unsigned checks that passed through the bank. “It would be beneficial if the statements were reviewed to make sure that those signatures are present on checks,” she said.
Motley said that banks now take the risk of unsigned or improper checks as it’s more cost efficient than inspecting each one.
Regarding old outstanding deposits, there were duplicate deposits that could lead to a misunderstanding. These errors happened under a different elected official and Franks said a journal entry adjustment should be made to rectify the mistake. “It was about a page of items that needed to be corrected,” she said.
County Clerk Susan Walker asked if it was accurate to say that the duplicate deposits lead to the EMS budget violation. Franks confirmed that they were a part of the reason for that violation.
Old Business
1. SEK Juvenile Detention – Allen
Commissioner Joe Allen attended a meeting at the Gerard juvenile detention center, along with 8 or 9 different counties represented there. It was the first time in 8 years that a Bourbon County representative attended a meeting there.
He brought back their projected detention fees for 2027. Montgomery County has decided to pull out of the Gerard system and use Johnson County. Lynn County pulled out last year. They say they are expecting the fees to go down by $25,000 for the year for Bourbon County.
They are putting together a plan to recruit more counties and add a secure care clinic for children who are not delinquents to increase revenues. Their facility was full, but Bourbon County has guaranteed bed space so long as it stays subscribed.
Allen mentioned the greater distance to Johnson County for families to visit their detained youth if Bourbon County were to leave the Gerard Detention Center system.
Commissioner Samuel Tran asked his opinion. Allen said he liked the Gerard facility and personnel. “Us pulling out will affect numerous other counties and tax basis,” he said. He also said that no other counties at the meeting mentioned pulling out.
Motley suggested he talk to the chair of the juvenile detention board as a next step.
2. Unclaimed Property – Allen
Jennifer Hawkins, County Treasurer, reports that there are $3673.05 in unclaimed property the state has that belongs to various County entities. She is in the process of claiming it.
3. Auction – Allen
The next step in removing unused and unwanted county items is to consolidate them at one location, then allow departments to come and pick up whatever they can use, and determine what to do with what’s left.
He suggested a Public Works building that is currently empty as the location to move it to. Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee moved to do so, allowing county employees to help. Motion carried. They will begin next Friday, May 15.
4. Sewer Issue – Milburn-Kee
Bob Johnson, county counselor, said that there will be a status hearing next week at which time they will try to get a date to finalize it. Then the party that’s not following the code will be made to do so by the court, if that’s what the court decides.
“We’re taking care of it. Or trying to,” said Johnson.
Regarding another sewage issue near the Evergreen Cemetery, Tran and Commissioner David Beerbower discussed the county’s next steps. They discussed modernizing the code, as well as have a third party look at the sewer issue.
Tran agreed with Beerbower’s suggestion of having the county’s code department conduct another test on the property. He then moved that the county test along the length of his east fence line, the south fence, and the pond.
Allen asked if anything has changed since KDHE sent the letter saying the county has done all it can.
Tran said that the ball has dropped too many times and the county needs to take action “once and for all.”
“The state’s email was pretty vague and was just another way of kicking the can down the road,” said Beerbower.
Allen said he would like to know the cost of the testing.
Tran modified his motion to allow Matt and Herb to go out and test the site at between 1 and 5 locations, at a cost not to exceed approximately $1,750. He also asked for authorization to speak to the home owner and work with him to bring back the information to the commission table.
The property owner said that KDHE said there is no issue because they were told that by Bourbon County.
“Test it and then enforce the standards. That’s it,” said Tran.
Motioned carried unanimously.
5. Attorney List Review – Motley
Motley selected four law firms to review the contract. They are all law firms that he knows personally from previous business.
Milburn-Kee asked to add the Fisher Patterson Law Firm to the list.
She also said she wanted the board to have a say in who they hire. Beerbower said that at the last meeting the board approved Motley as the point person for the legal review. The list of lawyers presented to the board by Motley is giving the commission a say in who is hired.
Tran said he thought that the Polsinelli law firm may have a conflict of interest. Beerbower asked if that firm should be removed from the list.
After discussion, Motley called for a vote on his motion to allow him to contact each of the law firms on the list as needed and see if they can do the contract review the county wants, including Fisher Patterson.
The motion passed, Tran and Milburn-Kee voting against.
6. County Dump Day
Milburn-Kee moved to have a free county-wide dump day on May 22.
A landfill employee , Diane, said that historically the cost of a free dump day was carried by the landfill. The last one was done in 2019. She said it took 6 extra employees and they spent more than $6,000 in tire disposal alone.
Allen asked if they could cap it at a certain amount of trash per day. Michael Hoyt suggested going by license plate by month. Tran said they should try to do something for the community. He suggested that they issue $20 passes with vehicle registrations good for that same month the following year.
Allen asked if other counties that have transfer stations do a free dump day.
Beerbower said that it doesn’t work with a transfer station as it would with a dump. “This year, I would say, that we’re not budgeted for it,” said Beerbower.
Diane also mentioned that the landfill doesn’t have money to give away, considering the age of the equipment they are using.
Tran asked Milburn-Kee if she wanted to table her motion.
“I’m not going to table it. No, I made a motion, and if nobody wants to second it, then the community sees that I am in support and everybody else is not. That is fine. We can move on,” she replied.
7. Forensic Audit Update – Motley
Motley asked for an update. Tran said that the RFPs have been sent out, but were delayed due to publication requirements.
8. Executive Session for Non-Elected Personnel – Milburn-Kee
Session to include the five commissioners and County Counselor Bob Johnson. Returned to session, no action.
9. Kanren Update – Milburn-Kee
Milburn-Kee said she couldn’t find anyone in the county who was using the service for Zoom meetings. Motley moved that she cancel the auto-renewal. Motion carried.
10. Excavator Lease Agreement – Tran
Public Works will be leasing a 2019 Caterpillar excavator. The commission approved the lease at a recent meeting. $152,842 is the cost, 60 months of annual payments at 4.99%. Tran moved to be allowed to sign the contract. Motion carried, Milburn abstaining.
11. Date Change on Resolution 16-26
Milburn-Kee moved to change the date from 2025 to 2026. Motion carried.
Department Updates
County Clerk
Susan Walker addressed the commission about the audit and the unsigned checks.
“That actually occurred out of our office and payroll,” during the transition to new commissioners in 2025 she said. “We’ll own up to that…and we have controls in place so that doesn’t happen in the future.”
She passed around a picture showing she’s been locked out of PayEntry access to secure reports and company reports, which she needs to do the general ledger accounts and get them into the system. She asked that access be restored. She has also been granted access to employee records and payroll, which she asked the commission to stop.
She said that if her access to PayEntry is fully revoked, more steps will need to be taken by others in the county to allow her to do her job of entering ledger information.
Tran said he would talk to Laura Krom, the commission’s administrative assistant, about it. Walker said that she needs the access as soon as possible, as she’s two payrolls behind on accounting entries.
Future Agenda Topics
Reminder: Work session at 5:30 PM, 5/11/26 on Vacation/Sick Leave to include elected officials and department heads and allowing employees to comment. Beerbower asked to make it a meeting at 7 PM rather than a work session so they can vote on the decisions made in the work session.
Commission Comments
Beerbower will be gone from May 18–June 15. County Clerk Susan Walker said she would work to reschedule his training, as the rest of the commission will be training on May 18.
Allen said he will be in Guatemala from May 31 to June 8, but he can attend the June 1 meeting via Zoom.
Milburn-Kee asked for clarification on the next week’s meeting agenda. “I’m going to make a motion in that meeting depending on how the work session goes,” said Beerbower.
The work session will run from 5:30–7 with a meeting at 7 to vote on payroll, tax corrections, and a possible payroll resolution.
April 27, 2026 at 5:30 PMBourbon County Commission
Approval of Minutes 04.13.26 and 04.20.26
Commissioner Samuel Tran had a problem with the minutes for 4/20/26, asking for a paragraph to be removed as the event happened in recess and should not be in open records.
Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee said the minutes are becoming “subjective again,” particularly on the topic of payroll, and asked to hold the April 20th minutes until they include her own comments in a more extensive manner. County Clerk Susan Walker asked Milburn-Kee for a written copy of her comments to include in the record. Motion carried.
Tran moved that the changes they asked for be made to the minutes of the April 13 meeting. Motion carried.
Approval of Accounts Payable 04.24.26 $103,573.61
Milburn-Kee said that Baker Tilly should be charged to the finance budget, not the commission, and the TEC invoice that was charged to the IT budget should be charged to the clerk’s office tech fund.
County Clerk Susan Walker asked to speak and was ignored.
Approval of March 2026 Financials
Milburn-Kee asked what they are approving. Walker explained that the financials show the balances the county has and they are required to to publish the first quarter’s amounts.
Commissioner Gregg Motley said he doesn’t know why anyone would oppose publishing financials as that is part of a commissioner’s duties.
Motley said he had read the whole item. Commissioner Joe Allen said he looked it over and it was extensive. Milburn-Kee said she needed more time to look it over.
Walker said that the financials would be published without Tran’s signature if necessary.
“Jennifer [County Treasurer] and I will not be in violation…we will do our duty,” she said.
Tran said they had 4 days to go over the 1566 pages.
Motley pointed out that all the details don’t have to be published, just the summary of simple fund accounting and the commission had already approved the expenditures. “I’m failing to see what the problem is,” he said.
“Can we just dispense with the hostility and do our duties, please?” he asked.
Immediately, Tran asked him who was being hostile.
“Everything that the clerk has done has been opposed,” Motley responded.
Beerbower moved to approve and publish the financials. Motion passed with Tran and Milburn-Kee opposing.
Public Comments
Michael Hoyt: Executive Sessions
Hoyt pointed out that KSA 7519(b)1 (the regulation that permits executive session) pertains to individual non-elected personnel, not departmental policies and practices for those personnel, as he said the commission had been using it.
He said he would bring a script for them to go by for making proper executive session motions.
Anne Dare: PayEntry
Dare is concerned that only one admin handling CIC and PayEntry does not provide the checks and balances needed. She asked the commissioners to regularly review the processes required to use CIC and PayEntry.
Planning Commission – Milburn-Kee
Wants an all-encompassing and growth-focused package from the firm hired by the planning commission.
Tran said he read over each of the proposals of the companies under consideration by the planning commission and agreed with Milburn-Kee’s position.
Meeting Resolution – Milburn-Kee
The resolution includes keeping every other meeting minimal to allow for work sessions.
Beerbower and Motley both expressed that the workload the commission handles is too great to finish it by only holding full meetings every other week. Allen agreed.
This resolution repeals resolution 36-25 and defining meeting times, work sessions, and payroll and AP approvals.
Motion passed with Motley voting against.
City of Fulton – Milburn-Kee
Fulton had joined with Bourbon County to file with FEMA for the most recent large flood. Former public works director Eric Bailey said that FEMA is supposed to send near $1 million for the flood, but someone has to keep after it.
Fulton is asking Bourbon County to come repair some of the flood damage to their roads.
Tran asked Kenny Allen, public works director, if his team can take on the project. Allen said he can take care of it.
Dustin told Allen that Fulton would have had to do their own paperwork to obtain a FEMA reimbursement. The $1.5 million that Bailey mentioned was an estimate and the $600,000 the county received is all they are going to get. Some of what they filed for was turned down as maintenance.
Department Updates
County Clerk, Susan Walker
Walker asked that a security camera for the election equipment and postage machine be replaced as it’s a security issue and required by the Secretary of State. She said the courthouse maintenance was denied a replacement. She has a camera but it needs to be installed.
Milburn-Kee and Tran said that several cameras in the county are in need of replacement.
“We do not have a lot of money in our equipment funds,” said Walker. “If we are expected to have to start paying for telephones and internet, then we will have to come and ask for more money during this budget season.”
Walker said that previously the phones have been part of the building proper.
Milburn-Kee said they had a discussion about the cameras in the past. She also said that Stronghold’s report claims the county’s cameras are illegal.
Tran said there’s no county-wide camera protocol and it’s time for them to make a audio-visual policy. He expressed concern about a hodge-podge of electronic equipment.
Beerbower suggested consulting with Stronghold or another security agency to determine what’s needed.
Allen suggested doing a quick fix for the clerk’s need for now and create a policy going forward.
Beerbower moved to bring Stronghold to the county commission meeting next week to find out what’s needed.
Motion carried.
Old Business
Vacation & Sick Leave Resolution – Beerbower
He started the resolution when there was a full-house of employees with problems with the vacation and sick leave hours.
“I believe that our employees need the best that we can offer them,” said Beerbower.
Since the resolution was tabled last week, he has received input from the community.
One question he received just before the meeting dealt with the grandfather clause. Right now, 480 hours is the current cap on sick leave hours, but about 10 employees have more than that saved already.
Milburn-Kee asked Allen his opinion about the handbook policies. Allen said he is comparing the county policy to the one he is familiar with through the school system. The main issue he has is the number of employees who had a problems with hours going missing.
Beerbower went over his resolution.
Milburn-Kee asked about paying out sick leave at full value, suggesting they stay with the policy of paying out sick leave at 25%. Beerbower said he was in agreement with that.
Allen said he wants to hear from department heads about their concerns with the cost of adopting the resolution.
Milburn-Kee asked why they are discussing the resolution if all the problems of accrual and employment start dates have been addressed. She said it will be “a nightmare” for the payroll lady and it is unnecessary to “flip the whole thing on its head.”
Motley made a motion to carry over the leave balances as of 12/31/25 and follow resolution 51-25, which is essential the grandfather clause in Beerbower’s resolution.
Beerbower seconded.
During discussion he said that he proposed his resolution as a work in progress and welcomed input from the commission, but what he got was opposition.
Motley completely agreed with Beerbower and said his motion is a bandaid to start. He encouraged Beerbower to keep working on his resolution.
Allen said he agrees with the idea of restoring employees to the time they had as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Tran said he finds it interesting that the product isn’t finished but there’s a motion on the table. It compared it to Nancy Pelosi saying “vote for the bill and you can read it afterward.”
After reading his detailed objections and potential problem scenarios for 12 minutes, Tran said that while he believes Beerbower’s intentions and integrity are good, the problems need to be corrected correctly to avoid the same problems going forward.
Beerbower said that he had received 9 of the AI-generated pages that Tran went over prior to the meeting. However, some of the problems the document cites refer to non-existent sections of Beerbower’s resolution.
Beerbower said that the employees have been force fed the current system and his resolution fixes that.
Video feed cut out.
When it came back, Motley called for a vote on his motion to restore benefits to the Dec. 31, 2025 levels. Motion carried with Tran voting against and Milburn abstaining.
Beerbower moved to set a work session for the commission, supervisors, and department heads to discuss in more detail his resolution for 5:30, May 11. Motion carried.
2025 Kanren Invoice – County Clerk
Walker said that the bill is generally paid through tech funds. It’s a bill from 2025. The services are for Zoom. Milburn-Kee will find out if the service is still in use in the county.
Discussion on $10,000 for legal action
Motley said there was nothing new to discuss.
Milburn-Kee asked who the county will hire and who their point of contact will be.
Motley said he hasn’t been given the authority to hire anyone, but they have ordered some title work done by Security First Title, yet to be paid, and asked for a legal opinion of it.
Tran said that nobody at the table can act unilaterally.
Beerbower motioned that Motley be the point of contact on the title work. Motion passed with Tran and Milburn-Kee voting against.
New Business
Landfill Hours of Operation – Milburn-Kee
Took a call from a constituent who was turned away from the landfill during open hours.
She moved that the gates of the landfill not be closed until the official stated operating hours end: 8-4, Monday-Friday, 8-12 Saturday.
Kenny Allen, Public Works Director, explained that the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) says not to take anything on the scale until 8:15 and to close the scale at 3:45. That allows the employees time to warm up their machines and to shut down operations and move money to the courthouse at the close of the day.
Beerbower said that the SOP has already been approved by the commission, and no changes should be made based on one person’s experience.
One landfill employee spoke with the commission and said that the best solution would be to be willing to pay overtime to the landfill employees so they can stay later to unload a truck or trailer that comes in just before closing.
Beerbower suggested posting more precise hours allowing for the times needed to close down operations.
Every load that comes to the transfer station is supposed to be in a bag, secured, or tarped.
Motion carried.
Hay Bid for Native Road – Presented Late
Bid for $100 by Patrick D. Murphy was accepted.
SEK Area Agency on Aging – Tran
Tran asked for another member of the board to take on representing Bourbon County Commission at the SEKAAA as he is unable to attend the meetings.
Commission Comments
Joe Allen: Attended the Fourth Grade Conservation Day at the Extension Office was a great success.
David Beerbower: Read a statement referring to the first amendment, saying it applies to county employees too and that no elected officials have the right to stop them from speaking up. He supported open communication and said he plans to bring future motions to further strengthen open communication at the county.
The north wing, east side of the Bourbon County Courthouse.
Hay Bid Opening 5:35PM
Commissioner Samuel Tran opened 2 bids, saying there was no bid for 225th and Native Road.
The first bid was for $5 for 255th at the Radar Tower. The other bid received was for $600 on 1999 Prairie Road, Fort Scott.
Bids were accepted as received.
Approval of Minutes 04.13.26
Milburn Kee took issue with the vote on coming out of executive session, saying she voted for no action.
She also wanted it on record that the employee payroll discussion contained incorrect statements.
Department Updates Jennifer Hawkins, County Treasurer
Taxes are due May 10, which is a Sunday, so May 11th will be the last day to pay without penalties. The Treasurer’s office will be open 7AM to 7PM on Thursday, May 7 and Friday, May 8. Hawkins will be doing remote tax collections throughout the county per the schedule linked here: Property tax reminder from the Bourbon County Treasurer.
Hawkins reminded everyone that there are no statements mailed for the second half of property tax payments due for 2025.
The online tax portal is now open to pay taxes online. The link is in the slip that came in each property owner’s tax statement.
Klenda Austerman is the attorney’s office that handles tax sales for Bourbon County. They are currently doing title work to prepare for a property sale in August or September. Hawkins said that they are working with multiple counties and auctioning off many parcels in the state Kansas.
Executive Session B1 for non-elected personnel regarding sick leave, called by Beerbower. The meeting included all commissioners and the employee and was held for 20 minutes.
After returning to regular session with no action, they voted to return to executive session for the same purpose for an additional 10 minutes.
They returned with action. Beerbower moved to continue the precedence set with the employee on his time to end in one week. Commissioner Gregg Motley seconded. Commissioner Joe Allen abstained.
Motion carried.
Public Comments
Mike Wunderly: Appreciated the joint session between Fort Scott Commission and Bourbon County Commission. He said that the growth of the county is encouraging, mentioning growth at Lake Fort Scott.
“My main concern here is Elm Creek Lake and the rock quarry,” he said. He mentioned the amount of activity that lake attracted in the past. Turning it into a rock quarry would remove the lake as an option for recreation.
Todd Miller: Ordained elder and county employee. Spoke to the commission as an elder. He thanked the commissioners for stepping up and trying to be part of the solution. “There’s not a long line of people who want to step up and sit in these chairs,” he said.
He also thanked them for opening their sessions with prayer. He said that many people in the county are counting on them to listen to the Holy Spirit they call on in those prayers.
He also reminded them that as leaders and elected officials, they are held to a higher standard than common citizens.
He mentioned Chairman Tran using the Lord’s name in vain twice during the April 13 meeting, which he found very discouraging.
“Are we just praying just to get the prayer over with and then to move on, or are you actually really wanting help from God and the Holy Spirit to move forward through this? I’ve never seen a council that needs the Holy Spirit more than this one…You guys are going to need as much help as you can get,” said Miller.
He then asked Tran to publicly apologize for using the Lord’s name in vain. He also suggested that Tran ask God to forgive him, as Miller said he himself has done when he made mistakes in the past.
Tran then interrupted Miller, telling him he had reached his time limit.
SEKCAP Representatives: This organization provides housing vouchers throughout counties in the region. They are currently applying for a grant to enable them to expand the housing assistance they currently offer with rapid rehousing services. They are planning to combine it with their tenant-based rental assistance program that helps with homelessness prevention.
They asked the commission for a signed letter of support to assist with the grant application process.
They also mentioned the transportation services they provide and their concern with being able to keep it going. They have received enough support from the community to continue services. Now they have realigned their calendar year to match the county’s fiscal year.
He gave documents to the commissioners information about their current use throughout the county.
Commissioner Gregg Motley asked for a general breakdown of how they are funded. The core of their funding is a federal block grant. The transportation services they offer are funded 30% locally, 30% by the state, and 40% federally.
They are seeking a total of $24,000 from the entirety of the county, including Bourbon County, the City of Fort Scott and other sources, to keep operational.
Old Business Planning Commission – Milburn
Brian and other committee members brought a report.
There were five firms who responded to the RFP. The range of cost is $38,000-$117,000. After consulting their mentor, they recommend interviewing three firms: Confluence at $105,000, MPC at $95,000, and Foster and Associates at $38,000 with some addition expenses possible.
Foster and Associates is the least expensive with the narrowest scope. Confluence seemed to have the most comprehensive scope, followed by MPC.
They each offered a 12-18 month time frame.
Milburn-Kee asked if the board had a favorite. Brian responded that the three they’ve chosen seemed like the best fit.
MPC, based in Nebraska, has done work in many counties in Kansas. Confluence, out of Kansas City, had a comprehensive presentation. Foster and Associates is based in Wichita. They did the zoning for Labette County.
The planning commission will be meeting later this week. Brian asked for a budget. He asked for the county commission’s approval to schedule the interviews and for their presence at that meeting.
Motley said he preferred to leave it in the planning committee’s hands to choose their preference.
The commissioners thanked the committee for their hard work thus far and noted how much work they will be doing going forward.
Juvenile detention -Sheriff Bill Martin, Angie Eads, Director of Sixth Judicial District Juvenile Corrections, and James Crux, County Attorney.
Eads offered data about the number of juvenile detainees from Bourbon county from 2018 through March of 2026. She also distributed a copy of HB 2029 and a brief about it in regards to detention stay changes.
Eads attended a meeting with Johnson County Community Corrections. They stated that their study shows a marginal increase in detention stays will most likely result from HB 2029. Eads agrees with their assessment. She also mentioned the provision for juvenile stabilization centers, the details of which have not been outlined yet, but could affect time spent in juvenile detention centers.
Crux said there was a total of 1225 billable days for Bourbon County juvenile detainees for the six year span from 2019-2024, and 543 of those days were one individual. Most of those days were spent on four juveniles.
“Most of the days we’ve had this year are outlier days. They’re not the norm.” said Crux, referring to an out of state runaway that was housed through Bourbon County juvenile detention.
He said Bourbon County does need a detention center somewhere.
Juvenile’s are those over 10 years old and under 18.
There’s no real consistency to the number of juvenile detention billable days from Bourbon County.
Johnson County charges $150 per day.
The county paid $134,000 in 2025 as part of their contract with Gerard. It’s a flat rate regardless of days used.
Martin said he doesn’t see an increase in juveniles needing detention and he wants to save the county money. He also mentioned the principle of getting kids back home as soon as possible.
Tran said that the county should create a slush fund to fund juvenile detention. He asked to do a work session to collect information and “do a deep dive,” so they can “put this to bed once and for all.”
Vacation & Sick Leave Resolution – Beerbower
Last week, the commission tabled the resolution to give the commissioners and legal advisors time to look it over. Beerbower said he made some changes based on feedback.
Changes include a change to the scale of vacation days allotted based on years of service. He also changed the rules to allow payout of unused vacation balance after 10 years of employment. He also added a provision to freeze employees current vacation accumulation until the amount banked matches the new schedule. He also wants to change accrual to begin at the beginning of the calendar year, not based on hire date alone.
Beerbower said he would not have brought the resolution if there was not a problem. His goal is to simplify the process.
Regarding sick leave, Milburn-Kee expressed concern about paying out sick leave to employees who leave before retirement age.
Beerbower said that he wants included FMLA leave in the sick leave hours.
Commissioner Joe Allen brought up the idea used in school districts of “discretionary time” which can be used for sick leave or dependent care.
Milburn-Kee read a statement of her opinion about the proposed resolution Beerbower introduced saying, “If the goal is to reduce complaints, I’m not convinced that it will be achieved.”
Tran said that he did “a deep dive” to help a number of employees with issues and never found any evidence that leads him to believe the system is faulty. “We need to work to give it a chance,” he said of the Payentry system.
He asked the commissioners to look over the information that Milburn-Kee brought to the table before voting. Milburn-Kee said that the documentation provided by County Clerk Susan Walker in last week’s meeting is inaccurate.
Milburn-Kee said that some employees were on accrual and some on front-loaded vacation and sick leave.
After some heated discussion, Tran called for a 3 minute recess and encouraged Beerbower and Milburn-Kee to calm down.
The commission came back after the recess and continued the discussion. Tran suggested that Beerbower do a deep dive on each of the employees who claim to have a problem with their vacation and sick leave hours. He also said that there’s a place for policy exemptions, but a full policy change is not going to fix the problems people have been having.
Beerbower said that gathering all that information isn’t going to gain anything for the county. Putting off passing the resolution will just prolong the problem.
Tran asked for one more week to go over the information.
Beerbower said the only thing he is in favor of is passing the resolution now.
Allen said that he came in as commissioner in the middle of the issue. He said that everyone on the commission is passionate about their jobs and it’s time to swallow pride and stop blaming the past and move forward.
“We’re just beating this dead chicken around the table, and we’ve gotta go somewhere,” he said.
“I just want one thing: whatever anybody thought they had on 12/31/2025, I want that restored. I don’t care how it got there,” said Motley. “I don’t care how it’s done, it just needs to be done, cause it’s not their fault.”
“A lot of them have already self-corrected,” said Milburn-Kee.
“A lot of them is not all of them,” said Motley.
Allen said he would like time to go over the changes that Beerbower made to the resolution before voting.
They decided to table the issue until next week.
Executive Session B4 to discuss contract negotiations with five commissioners and Bob Johnson by phone.
Returned to regular session with no action
Elm Creek Quarry Discussion
Tran said that the Elm Creek Quarry has enough rock in it to last a generation. The lake is leaking. If they use it as a quarry, they can produce their own rock, they’re not in danger of loosing a lease, and it’s good rock. It was approved under a previous commission’s administration.
Milburn-Kee said that she has been told that the lake was put into Bourbon County’s hands for the enjoyment of the people. She moved that they hold it. Motion was seconded.
Beerbower said he was against using it as a quarry back when it was approved by the previous commission. He said there is other land in that area that the residents have expressed interest in leasing.
“There’s a lot of potential at that lake,” said Beerbower. He suggested an RV park may be a good idea and that a rock quarry would hurt that. He said he is more interested in working on making the lake a tourist attraction than in using it as a quarry. He questioned the financial benefit of the county quarrying it’s own rock, suggesting a deep dive into whether or not it’s profitable.
Motley asked Mike Wonderly why the lake isn’t as popular as it used to be. Wonderly said that Fort Scott lake is closer and bigger.
Allen said he grew up in the area and it was very popular when he was growing up. He still takes his kids out there fishing and he suggested camping with RV hookups would be good for development.
New Business
Resolution for Disaster Proclamation
Tran read the proclamation stating a state of local disaster emergency exists covering all of the county as of April 17, 2026. This will remain in effect for 14 days unless terminated early.
Micheal Bryant spoke to the commission about the forensic audit the commission voted to conduct 3 weeks ago.
He referred to his question at the last meeting regarding a completed audit on the sheriff saying that the document given to him by commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee was “more of a distraction than anything.”
“There’s been no audit completed,” he said.
After multiple emails to all the commissioners, he received no response. He said that the vote taken 3 weeks ago on the forensics audit was based on inaccurate information provided by Commissioner Samuel Tran.
“This group are the only people that can hold each other accountable,” he said. “It’s incumbent on you guys to bring that back to the table with the additional information and do an additional vote on it, in my opinion. I don’t know how else to hold dishonesty accountable.”
Brad Matkin, Fort Scott City Manager, updated the commission on several changes in Fort Scott.
The Value building has sold and the new owner will start hiring in 2027, planning to bring in 60 jobs initially and more over time.
Last week the city entertained a manufacturing company from California that made an offer on the Timkin building. The company is expected to bring in 200 new jobs to the area, as well as expanding the building.
“They are a true blue manufactoring company,” said Matkin, similar to what Timkin was.
The Moody building is in the process of being donated to the city once the title paperwork is complete. An investor is considering turning it into either apartments or a hotel.
“Hopefully we can get that eyesore taken care of and turn it into a beautiful building,” Matkin said.
He also praised Mary Wyatt for her help in getting these companies to come look at the properties.
“We are very excited,” said Matkin about the new businesses moving into the area.
Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(4) – Motley
The executive session lasted 30 minutes and included the five commissioners, County Attorney Bob Johnson, Pamela Lenier, Rick James, Tim Shallenberger, and Brad Matkin.
Upon return to regular session, Commissioner Gregg Motley moved to allocated $10,000 for legal and title work fees to explore legal action based on a county contract. Commissioner Joe Allen seconded.
Milburn-Kee said she wants further discussion before allocating funding. Tran agreed and said they need to collect more facts before allocating the funding.
Commissioner David Beerbower agreed that the situation is critical and more information will probably come out as this thing moves forward.
Motion carried, Milburn-Kee and Tran voting against.
Senator Tim Shallenberger updated the commission on Kansas State Senate actions that directly affect the county.
Changes include a change to contract law; form changes with the State of Kansas for cities of fewer than 35,000; raising the competitive bid requirement limit to $100,000; Kansas Sport Tourism grant program establishment; increase in penalties for driver cell phone use in construction zones; several election bills that affect the county clerk; and a bill affecting the treasurer.
Asked the commission to give him a letter for the secretary of transportation to increase the speed limit between Pittsburg and Fort Scott.
Also mentioned regulation of pharmacy management companies that will help independent pharmacies and increase in scope of practice for optomotrists.
“I wish that Bourbon County could take a deep breath,” he said. He gets more calls about Bourbon County that both of the other counties he represents combined.
Stronghold Update
Adam from Stronghold Data reported that currently the county’s core systems are all stable and under active monitoring, with security tooling across the board, and a 98% security score in the Microsoft 365. After a full hardware inventory across the county, a handful of machines are scheduled for updating.
Regarding the project Stronghold was hired to do for the county, network segmentation is beginning to be implemented. They are working with the phone server and the criminal justice department.
Initiatives to highlight include configuring the conference room to better support the public live streaming. Also moving everyone to an official .gov domain for emails and the county’s website address will build trust and professionalism with the public.
“We feel that the county systems are more secure and better documented,” than a year ago, he summarized.
Tran had the Stronghold representative confirm that the project his company has been working on for Bourbon County is complete and is now in the “maintenance phase.”
Charles Gentry is a member of the Emergency Room Sales Tax Monitoring Committee, appointed by the commission. The committee’s job is to make sure that the 1/4 cent sales tax is used for the purpose of funding the emergency room.
Gentry said that 2025 taxes collected per the Kansas Department of Revenue totaled $549,675.12, in addition to the dedicated emergency room use tax of $156,053.54 for a total of $705,728.66. Those funds are in Bourbon County Fund 399. There was already money in there prior to January 1, 2025, as taxes were collected for the emergency room starting in October of 2024.
Payments to Freeman Fort Scott hospital in 2025 totaled $710,909.75, leaving $53,609.94 in the fund.
He said his committee would provide a quarterly report at the end of May.
“The promises made with respect to the emergency room sales tax have been kept. And the money is going where it needs to go and is being spent appropriately in funding the emergency room,” he concluded.
Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) – Job Performance – Allen; Five commissioners, Bob Johnson, and Sheriff Bill Martin.
Returned to session, no action.
Department Updates Payroll – Motley sponsoring Walker
County Clerk Susan Walker represented employees to the commission, speaking on their behalf to support a fair and equitable work environment for Bourbon County.
Walker said that several departments in Bourbon County have tried to work with the commission on these issues behind closed doors only to receive bribes or a response telling them that that’s just the way it is for everybody.
Walker claimed that many employees who report directly to the commission are in fear of losing their jobs.
“It seems that doing this publicly is the only way for a resolution,” she said.
She began by recounting January 18, 2022 meeting minutes where she and other employees talked to the county commission about sick leave policies. At that time the county was still struggling with Covid-19 and the need to hire more employees. New employees had to wait 7 months to use sick leave and to accrue vacation time, which affected single mothers working for the county. The commission asked her to take it back to the department heads to discuss options. Bobby Reed and Alvin Metcalf were both affected by moving from exempt to non-exempt status, which was addressed by a resolution the commission approved.
Walker explained that resolutions are used to enact laws where no state laws address the subject. Resolution 6-22 was adopted on Jan. 1, 2022 to replace the language in the 2002 handbook and was followed until Walker handed off payroll to the executive assistant to the commission, Laura Krom, at the end of December 2025.
The county commission passed resolution 51-25 on Dec. 18, 2025 stating “Any remaining vacation or sick leave will carry over at the end of 25 for the 26 fiscal year.” This was discussed at length and done to not adversely affect employees during the transition to the new policies in the handbook, according to Walker.
Currently, employees with two full years of employment with the county have their vacation is frontloaded after the second pay period of the year. The amount is based on the employee’s most recent hire date. This year, several did not have the correct amount frontloaded to their vacation and were told that an internal audit was being conducted on records due to the information not properly coming over during the conversion from the clerk’s office running payroll to Payentry.
“I have many department heads that will attest to these statements I am making,” said Walker. She said that the employee information was put in by Payentry personnel.
“It is easy to cast blame on my office for clerical errors. However, this commission rushed the transition of the payroll…and most recent accusations help me understand why,” she said.
Currently employees are locked out of being able to view their vacation or sick leave; and adjustments were made to their time without any communication to the employee about what was happening or why.
On 2/9/26, resolution 6-22 was repealed. This was not made to retroactively take away sick leave from employees, but that still happened to employees hired in 2025.
ON 12/2/2025, Walker’s office printed out accruals of vacation and sick leave, employee files, all date and time stamped, which match the spreadsheet that she gave to the commission at that time.
Walker ran a report on 3/30 showing accrual balances are inaccurate.
According to the Kansas Department of Labor, accrued vacation is considered wages once it has been earned under an agreement or policy, and retroactive reduction of accrued vacation balance is generally viewed as an illegal withholding of wages. The same applies to sick leave, such as that earned under resolution 6-22, said Walker.
Under Kansas KORA laws, a county commissioner does not have the authority to unilaterally access or examine an employee’s personal records that are otherwise closed to the public. Currently a sitting commissioner, the commission’s executive assistant and another unauthorized county employee all are not keeping with the KORA laws regarding county employee records, according to Walker.
Before the payroll was completed, on Nov. 13, 2025, the clerk’s office printed off employee records to audit them. During this audit four employment dates were identified that needed to be addressed. On March 30, 2026, her office again printed the same report and identified 21 employees with an altered hire date.
This is important because hire dates are used to match resumes when calling up employment history, and for calculating KSPERS retirement and benefit eligibility.
In the Payentry system, hire dates are changed to most recent position change date, regardless of original hire date, affecting the employee’s accruals.
The employees affected by changes to their accrued vacation and sick leave were in attendance at the commission meeting. Walker said that 41 county employees have been affected by these issues.
“From 2016 to the present, the county has had numerous different payroll clerks,” she said. They handled records various ways, but all changes and the person who made them were recorded.
“For months my office and other offices have over-communicated to this governing body to get silence. If silence is your way of responding to the retention of employees and treating them fairly, then maybe you should resign your position,” she said.
The county employees deserve communication at the very least, she said.
“These employees deserve better,” said Walker as she handed the mic to employees in attendance.
One said that a retroactive handbook was unprecedented and current employees should be grandfathered in.
Another said he had an executive session with the commission to get his leave issues straightened out. He said that after 16 years working for the county, he is being treated like a 2-year employee. He is receiving silence from the commission. He spoke to the HR department and they recommended an hourly increase in his wages.
“I’m not fine with accepting a monetary, hourly increase in my wages. I want my time,” he said. His family ended up cancelling a cruise they had booked because of the errors in vacation time accrual. He claimed that he had earned 160 hours of vacation time prior to Jan. 1.
“Somebody swallow the pride pill and just do what’s right for the employees,” he said. He then thanked Susan for advocating for the employees.
Tanner O’Dell, public works employee, said his Feb. paystub has 13 hours of sick leave removed. He said he spoke to Laura Krom, the commission’s executive assistant, who told him she was told to block out the employees while she was making the changes.
“Who told her to do that?” asked O’Dell. Tran said he didn’t know.
Lora Holdridge, Register of Deeds, called Payentry for a problem with her own hire date, which is off by more than 10 years. Payentry told here they are only allowed to communicate with commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee and Laura Krom. Holdridge has asked Krom to fix it five times, as she is nearing retirement herself.
Holdridge pointed out that Milburn-Kee is not supposed to have access as a commissioner, and Krom doesn’t have the training she needs to handle payroll. She suggested that payroll go back to the clerk’s office.
Commissioner Tran said he hears a lot of issues and problems that are specific to them. He said that a supervisor failed to correctly identify a double overtime, which delayed payroll last week and Krom had to fix it.
Tran said he doesn’t believe someone is purposely messing up the system. He dealt with four pay issues last week that were caused by human error, either supervisor or employee. “Either way we fixed it,” he said. He went on to defend the Payentry system.
Walker asked to speak again, claiming he was saying false things.
“A lot of people have said false things tonight, Susan,” replied Milburn-Kee.
Commissioner David Beerbower asked for a 3 minute recess to make copies.
An argument between Walker and Tran ensued.
Tran began collecting details from employees who have issues with their vacation and sick leave accruals.
One employee pointed out that it’s wrong to retroactively enforce the new employee handbook policies and take away their vacation and sick leave. He suggested a motion be made to remove the retroactive portion.
Beerbower made a motion allowing all county employees to access their time entry and make additions and subtractions until the end of each pay period, as they do with the Sheriff’s Department and EMS. This would be instead of clocking in and clocking out. The supervisor still has to approve the time card.
Motley seconded.
Milburn-Kee is concerned with the errors that would be generated, adding to Krom’s load.
Tran expressed concern with unintended consequences of making this change.
Motley said he gets five emails about Payentry for every one he gets about another issue every pay period.
“It’s ridiculous. We have to change the way we’re doing things,” he said.
Another employee suggested that supervisors should be given training on Payentry.
Commissioner Joe Allen pointed out that there’s obviously an issue as nearly half of the county employees were in attendance at the meeting.
Terry with EMS said that not allowing the county employees to put in their own time makes it look like the commission doesn’t trust the employees.
Tran said that it’s not about trust, but having standards.
He then declared he would abstain from the vote because he doesn’t know enough about the issue yet.
Payentry also has issues with the time clock program.
Motion carried with Milburn-Kee voting against.
Beerbower moved that all sick and vacation time be made visible to the employees. Motion carried unanimously.
Beerbower then motioned that the chair contact Krom with the changes. Motion carried unanimously, Tran abstaining.
Beerbower has been working on a resolution. He read it in the meeting. It includes front-loading vacation at the beginning of the year with a carry-over maximum of 200 hours. Excess vacation for employees with 10 or more years of service may convert up to 40 hours of unused vacation to sick leave.
Sick leave hours for full time employees will be front loaded as well at 80 hours for the year. Sick leave has no carryover limits, but 180 hours is the maximum collectible.
Beerbower suggested basing their years of service on their longevity pay received at the end of 2025.
Motley asked how the resolution will impact the missing vacation and sick leave hours employees are currently dealing with. Beerbower said the resolution would frontload all those benefits.
There will be no payout of sick time and vacation if employees leave the county before retirement age.
Tran asked what would happen if an employee burned through his vacation and sick leave and then quit.
Beerbower said his resolution is a proposal, but he recognizes it needs work.
“We shouldn’t be doing this as a deep dive. This, to me, is a fix to the problems that we’ve got now,” he said.
Terry with EMS said she approved Beerbower’s resolution and the employees in the room clapped.
Beerbower asked Bob Johnson, county attorney, to look over the resolution.
Beerbower said that his understanding of Kansas labor laws leaves it all up to the county to make employment policies.
Motley said his desire is to restore everyone to the levels they had Dec. 31, 2025.
An audience member pointed out that the last resolution the commission passed in 2025 was to carry over leave earned.
Another one mentioned that the hire dates need to be corrected.
Beerbower asked that the human resources department train department heads on the handbook and that Payentry come do a work station time to fix the problems employees are having.
The north wing, east side of the Bourbon County Courthouse.
Public Comments
Susan Walker, County Clerk
Elections: Commissioners for Districts 1, 3, and 4 are on the ballots for this year and all the clerks in the townships of Bourbon County, as well as one precinct committee man in each precinct and one precinct committee man for each of the political parties.
The deadline for candidates to file is June 1 at noon. The primary will be held Aug. 4 for the precinct positions.
Commissioner David Beerbower asked about deadlines for adding questions to the ballot. Walker said she would find that information for him.
Accounts Payable Process for Internal Controls:
Walker gave a handout to commissioners to point out to the commissioners some controls to add to the county’s accounts payable process. The first is to have the commissioners sign the vouchers they are asked to review. The chairman signs the checks.
If there are issues with things not being filled out properly, the clerk’s office will ask the departments to resubmit them for coding purposes.
“In the future if we have commissioner expenses … we will just send those to the commission and you can just have your administrative assistant fill out the information and code it how it should be coded,” said Walker.
“We are probably going to be a little bit more strict in the process,” she added.
Commissioner Samuel Tran asked why the commission’s administrative assistant would code for accounts payable. Walker explained that all the other departments do their own coding of bills.
“We may need another assistant,” said Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee.
Walker offered to continue to code the commission’s expenses.
“I asked one question. I don’t need to open up Pandora’s box, thank you very much,” replied Tran.
Walker asked if the commission wanted her office to continue to code their expenses. Tran said he would take it under advisement.
Micheal Bryant
Last week it was mentioned that there was an external audit done on the sheriff’s department. Bryant requested a copy of that audit through the clerk’s office, but was told there was no audit completed.
“Am I missing something that’s not public that was referenced?” he asked.
Milburn-Kee handed him a document (KORA Audit). He asked if it was a completed audit. No commissioners answered.
“Until I read this, I’m going to go under the assumption that it was not completed,” Bryant said.
He then referenced a 2021 audit with three discrepancies in the sheriff’s accounting where they had 100% control of those accounts, in violation of KS281004.
He said that excluding the sheriff’s department from an audit, knowing there is a history of issues doesn’t make sense.
Empirical evidence that there is fraud afoot should go to the sheriff’s department, he said, not cause the commission to spend thousands of dollars on an audit.
Then he referred to previous allegations that went through a sheriff’s investigation and referral to the county attorney and on to the state attorney general who determined that there was no fraud in that case.
The commission refused to respond to his questions about the accuracy of his recounting.
“We continue to have discrepancies in some of the facts that are presented. From a commission, that’s a huge issue. Obviously you guys can’t interact with the public, you can’t even answer emails, can you?” Bryant asked. “I would challenge this commission….to reopen the audit that was voted on last week and….at a minimum to include the sheriff.”
“How do we get a response from a commissioner on a question that we have? Do I need to be a part of the neighborhood club? What has to happen here?” He concluded.
Commissioner Joe Allen offered to take his call at any time.
Sewer Discussion with County Attorney James Crux
The commission conducted a work session about the sewer problem, however several county residents with an interest in the topic attended the regular meeting.
Tran summarized the work session saying that the codes are “very hard to enforce,” and the issue has not been resolved. They discussed adopting a new code making non-compliance a Class A misdemeanor. It would require a trained employee to enforce.
“It may end up going to the planning committee,” Tran said. “We are working the issue.”
Crux said that some civil suits have been filed about this issue as well.
Milburn-Kee said that there is also a possibility of adding assessments to properties. “Which gives a little bit of motivation to fix those things.”
Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) Subject: Employee Performance – 5 commissioners, Terry Halsey, Leslie Heron and Jennifer Hawkins for 30 minutes. Motion for session carried with Milburn-Kee opposing.
Returned to session no action.
Reentered for another 5 minute session.
Returned to session with no action.
Department Updates Clerk, Treasurer, ROD, County Attorney – Courthouse Space and Destruction of Property
County Attorney James Crux asked for clarity about the basement clean out project. Beerbower clarified that files, maps, and historical books are not included in the clean out.
Crux asked who is moving the items and where they are going.
Beerbower said that any department wanting to keep their items is fine, but the goal is to “create space where space can be used.”
Crux also clarified that the evidence room is not in the list of places to be cleared out.
Commissioner Joe Allen said the plan is to consolidate the items and then asking various county departments to take what they need before disposing of the rest. The majority of the items in question are desks, chairs, and cabinets, as well as items left behind by previous tenants of a building the ER department now has use of.
Allen asked for a week to get loose ends tied up before going ahead with moving the items.
Old Business
SEK Juvenile Detention Contract
The commission moved to end the contract last year, it was too late to end it at that time. The new commission needs to decide their action regarding the letter that will official end the agreement.
Bourbon County is part owner of the detention center, has about $450,000 in equity in the center, and pays $130,000 per year to remain part owner.
Motley mentioned that the Sheriff thinks the letter of termination should be signed.
Tran read the letter and the commission decided to bring it back at the next meeting with updated dates and commission names.
Commission Comments
Motley: Will attend the SEK RPC board meeting this week.
Allen: Stay positive and remember the meaning of Easter.
