All posts by Loretta George

Business, Government

New Federal Money Reporting Requirement Proposed, with Backlash From Bankers

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Bank

A Biden Administration tax plan proposal will ask banks to give information on the unreported income of their bank customers to U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Two local bankers sent information to help the public understand the proposed requirements.

“Congress is expected to begin considering a new tax reporting requirement that would require banks to report information on account flows to the Internal Revenue Service,” according to a press release from Gregg Motley, Southeast Kansas Regional Manager of Landmark National Bank.

“Specifically, we would be required to report on all customers with gross inflows (credits) and outflows (debits) above $600 in an effort to crackdown on tax avoidance,” Motley said.  “The proposal is concerning because it would likely increase tax preparation costs, particularly for our small business/sole proprietor customers, and could undermine public trust in banks.  The proposal presents a significant reporting burden for the bank and customer privacy and data security challenge for our customers.”

It is still a proposal under consideration, and customers are encouraged to contact their congressman/congresswoman to share their concerns, according to the press release from Motley.

“The independent community bankers of America (ICBA) has put together the most information on this rule,” Bryan Holt, Union State Bank President said.

The following is a link to the organization’s website:

https://www.icba.org/bank-locally/consumer-alert-from-icba

 

Motley sent this link to help with understanding the issue:

doc06400220210914133623

 

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Minutes of Sept. 7

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September 7, 2021                               Tuesday 9:00 am

 

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners and the County Clerk present.

 

Susan Bancroft and Rob Harrington were also present.

 

The RNR hearing and the CBDG hearing was open to the public and the rest of the meeting was closed to the public due to COVID precautions, but broadcast on YouTube.

 

Clifton made a motion to approve the previous meetings minutes, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

RNR hearing: the RNR hearing was published, Lynne made a motion to open the RNR hearing, Clifton seconded and all approved.  Public Comment: Michael Hoyt presented the following, “Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) hearings to increase property taxes are going on now! KPI has posted a list of hearings scheduled in counties across the state: http://www.kansasopengov.orp/kog/databank#report id=90 KIS

(Keep it Simple); if the governing body votes to go above the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR), they have the option to increase the amount of money collected in property taxes from the previous year.  If they do NOT vote to go above the RNR, they cannot collect one penny more than the previous year in property taxes.

The mil levy may decrease, but if the governing body votes to go above the RNR – then they have the option to collect more money in property taxes.  That is what matters to most Kansans – will you be paying more money in property taxes.

Transparency in government has been and should be a top priority.  After hearing from Kansans on our complex property tax system, I led an effort to find solutions for Kansas.  As a result, last session, legislation was passed to eliminate automatic property tax increases as a result of the valuation of property increasing.  Senate Bill (SB) 13 requires local governments, including schools, to provide notice and vote at a publicized hearing before they can collect more money in property taxes than they did the prior year.

The governing body cannot tax in excess of the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) without public notices (next year these notices will be letters mailed to property owners) and a RNR hearing held between August 20 and September 20.  At the hearing there will be time for public comments and the governing body to vote on a resolution or ordinance that approves the body to collect more in property taxes than the previous year. Taxpayer funded lobbyist and some government officials testified that this legislation wasn’t needed because they are transparent.  That is apparently not the case.  I’ve been listening to constituents complain about the lack of transparency on the meeting notices and proposed increases.  Last week, a county commissioner told county employees to show up to the RNR hearing, but didn’t mention it to others.  Only one Commissioner in that County voted No on an 8% increase, the rest voted Yes. Ouch!

Some officials are voting YES on the resolution/ordinance to go above the RNR, but saying they didn’t increase property taxes because they lowered the mil levy.  When they vote to go above the RNR and collect more money than the previous year-that is a tax increase! Taxation with representation – let your voice be heard.”

Clifton compared the 2021 budget to the 2022 budget and said the 2022 budget is $44,000 less than last years.  Michael Hoyt said the RNR is a shell game being played in the state of Kansas and said this is a tax increase; he said the purpose of SB 13 was to freeze the rate. Clifton said anyone concerned with SB13 should call the Senators and House of Representatives since they voted for this. Susan said that the County needs $7,127,242 in ad valorem taxes to operate and said because the assessed valuation went up, they are able to capture more money. Jim made a motion to close the public hearing, Clifton seconded and all approved.  Clifton made a motion to adopt Resolution 26-21 and to give Chairman Oharah permission to sign this resolution, Jim seconded and all approved and Lynne signed the resolution.

Clifton made a motion to open the public hearing for the CDBG Rural Water District, Jim seconded and all approved.  Amber Dean with SEKRPC was present for the hearing as well as Michael Hoyt.  Jim questioned the County’s financial responsibility in this grant, Amber said this all falls on the Rural Water District.  She said the County or City has to apply for the grant on behalf of the Rural Water District; she said this is a $1.5 million project (to install water lines) and said they were applying for a $700,000 grant. Susan Bancroft said the insurance company or legal counsel might have to litigate if there are any problems in the field on the project.  Amber stated that Rural Water is responsible for all finances of this project and said any change orders have to be approved by the County.  Mark Pohlmier (by telephone) stated that they want to replace the water lines on Maple Road that are 60 years old.  Mark said an outside contractor (that is insured and bonded) will install the lines.  Mark said this is a $1.5 million project that they will pay ½ of and said they were aware that any change orders would cost them more money.  Clifton made a motion to suspend the CDBG public hearing for approximately 45 minutes until legal counsel looks at the contract, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Public Works Eric Bailey: Eric said the northern and the northwestern part of the County received 6” of rain this past weekend, so they are hauling rock to that part of the County.

 

Crack sealing machine: Eric said a new machine cost $50-$55,000 or they can rent a machine for $500/day + materials are approximately $1,300/pallet.  Eric said they may be able to share the City’s machine.  Jim said Liberty Bell Road and Locust Road needs some crack sealing done.

 

KDOT Safety grant: Eric said they applied for this grant in April and Bourbon County was chosen to receive the grant.  He said they will do a safety plan on the 257 miles of collector roads and the 16 other miles. Bourbon County’s share of this plan will be $5,265.  Eric said Justin Meeks had reviewed the contract.  Jim made a motion to approve Eric working with KDOT on the safety road grant and our portion being $5,265, Clifton seconded and all approved and signed the document.

Windmills: Eric said there are three up in Bourbon County.

 

Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to move the discussion about CIC until after Susan talks and move the County Counselor after Susan as well, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Susan reported that the Rural Water District for Allen/Neosho/Bourbon County requested $18,251 in ARPA funds for meters, she said Shane Walker requested $26,000 in ARPA funds to upgrade the EMS software (computers used for maps and reporting).  SEK Mental Health requested $212,500 in ARPA funds (Susan said she hasn’t asked if this money will stay in Bourbon County).  Clifton suggested waiting to decide on the EMS request.

 

Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda for an executive session, Jim seconded and all approved.  Clifton made a motion to go into a 7-minute executive session for KSA 75-4319(b)(4) to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in the Commission room at 10:18, Jim seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Rob Harrington and Susan Bancroft).  Clifton made a motion to resume with no action, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

CIC annual contract: Susan said she and Shane had a conversation with CIC and CIC dropped the ball on issues. She said they are trying to resolve issues, but said she didn’t think the work order portion would work for Bourbon County and said they are looking at a different software company for this.  Susan suggested waiting until the issues are resolved before signing.  This will be discussed again next week.

 

Jim made a motion to move forward with the $18,251 of ARPA funding for the Allen/Neosho/Bourbon County Rural Water District for new water lines, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to move the County Counselor portion of the meeting until after the Commissioner Comment, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Commissioner Comment: Jim made a motion to amend the agenda for an executive session, Clifton seconded and all approved.

 

Justin Meeks arrived at the Commission meeting.

 

Jim made a motion to have a 10-minute executive session for KSA 75-4319(b) (1) to discuss personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy to discuss job performance, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in the Commission room at 10:34, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Susan Bancroft, Justin Meeks and Ashely Shelton).  At 10:34, Clifton made a motion to resume the meeting with no action, Lynne seconded and all approved.

 

Lynne made a motion to suspend the Commissioner comment and resume the CDBG grant hearing, Clifton seconded and all approved.  Justin said he had reviewed the CDBG grant before and felt it was good to go. Clifton made a motion to adopt Resolution 27-21, Jim seconded and all approved. Clifton made a motion to accept Resolution 28-21 and that Lynne be able to sign the CDBG documents, Jim seconded and all approved.  Clifton made a motion to close the CDBG public hearing, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Commissioner Comment: Lynne said he had been the “keeper” of the KMDO radio spot, but said he wanted to make a motion to assign this duty to Susan Bancroft, Jim seconded the motion, Clifton asked that Susan reach out to the other agencies or public officials

we support to see if they want to participate in the radio spot as well, all approved the motion.

 

Justin Meeks apologized for being late, but said he had to be in Linn County this morning.  Justin said he received a call from legal counsel from a person representing a sewer issue outside the City of Redfield.  He said the County has done some sewer variances before and said they are looking at a parcel that could have an easement for lateral lines, he said he is still reviewing this.

 

Justin said he may have the Lake Sewer District agreement next week.  He said the 1st tax sale will be October 7th.

 

Clifton made a motion to allow the three Commissioners to attend the Republican party meeting on September 9th when a new County Clerk will be appointed, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Justin briefly mentioned the shared services for the HR director between the City and County, (25 hours at the City and 15 hours at the County).  Jim made a motion to allow Chairman Oharah to sign for a shared services for HR director at 15 hours/week for the County beginning January 1, 2022, Clifton seconded and all approved.

 

Clifton made a motion to allow Chairman Oharah to meet with Justin and whoever else is needed regarding the sewer district agreement, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Clifton made a motion to go into a 7-minute executive session for KSA 75-4319(b) (1) to discuss personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy to discuss job performance and job function, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in the Commission room at 11:06, Jim seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Eric Bailey and Justin Meeks).  At 11:06, Clifton made a motion to resume the normal session with no action, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to allow Eric Bailey to discuss equipment, Jim seconded and all approved.  Eric said he found a replacement truck; it is a 2014 Mack truck in Fort Worth for $51,000 with 271,000 miles.  Jim made a motion to allow Eric to move forward with purchasing this truck for $51,000 with Eric’s approval, Clifton seconded and said this money will come from reimbursed money from the insurance company, and all approved the motion.

 

At 11:10, Jim made a motion to adjourn, Clifton seconded and all approved.

 

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman

(ss) Jim Harris, Commissioner

(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner

ATTEST:

Ashley Shelton, Bourbon County Deputy Clerk

September 14, 2021, Approved Date

 

Fort Scott, Government, Schools

News Release of the USD 234 Sept. 13 Board Meeting

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NEWS RELEASE

 

Monday, September 13, 2021

 

Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at the Fort Scott Middle School Commons on Monday, September 13, 2021, for their regular monthly meeting.

President James Wood opened the meeting.  The board approved the official agenda.

The board approved the consent agenda as follows:

 

A.    Minutes

B.    Bills and Claims

C.    Payroll – August 20, 2021 – $1,293,655.87

D.    Financial Report

E.     Activity fund accounts

 

Patrons spoke in the public forum, and the board heard from community speakers.

The board reviewed the Operations Plan.  In addition, Ted Hessong, Superintendent; Gina Shelton, Business Manager/Board Clerk; and Dalaina Smith, Director of Academics, gave reports.  Principals from each building shared written reports with board members.

The board approved the following:

 

·       The Summit on Professional Learning Communities at Work for administrators and faculty

·       Memorandum of Understanding with Freeman Health Center for an athletic trainer

 

Board members reviewed the first day enrollment count.

Board members shared comments and then went into executive session to discuss personnel matters for nonelected personnel and returned to open meeting.

The board approved the following employment matters:

 

A.    Resignation of Kourtney Harper, high school paraprofessional, effective September 3, 2021

B.    Resignation of Joy Gray, middle school paraprofessional, effective September 2, 2021

C.    Extended leave of absence for Becky Howard, middle school paraprofessional

D.    Work agreement adjustment for Patsy French, Eugene Ware paraprofessional, from a 7.75-hour day to an 8-hour day for the 2021-22 school year

E.     Work agreement adjustment for Allen Davis, 8-hour middle school custodian, to a 6-hour middle school custodian/2-hour central office custodian for the 2021-22 school year

F.     Work agreement adjustment for Dee Peters, Winfield Scott paraprofessional, from a 4.5-hour work day to a 7.5-hour work day for the 2021-22 school year

G.    Employment of Makyah Goldsby as a middle school paraprofessional for the 2021-22 school year

H.    Employment of Gregg Sweet as a Eugene Ware paraprofessional for the 2021-22 school year

I.      Employment of Jenna Bunn as a Winfield Scott paraprofessional for the 2021-22 school year

J.      Employment of Mary Jo Harper and Alex Chesney as high school assistant musical directors for the 2021-22 school year; transferring Kelli Davis, high school freshman assistant volleyball coach, to high school head freshman volleyball coach for the 2021-22 school year

K.    Stipend for Angie Kemmerer, middle school social studies teacher, of $3,500 for gifted education support

L.     Addition of a nurse for the preschool center, part-time or full-time

 

The board adjourned.

 

Bourbon County, Business, Food, Fort Scott

New Service Station Opens on South Hwy. 69

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K.C. Mart owner Harjit Kaur waits on a customer on Sept. 8.

A new gas service station/convenience store, K.C. Mart, has opened at 946 S. Hwy. 69, near the LaRoche Baseball Stadium, south of Fort Scott.

The station was opened August 23 by the owner Harjit Kaur.

In addition to gasoline, the station offers dine-in seating space for customers to enjoy food, beer, and soft drinks.

Offered also are off-road diesel fuel, regular diesel fuel and racing fuel (leaded 110), and Octane 93 premium fuel, Kaur said.

“Semi-truck parking is allowed in the back of the station,” Kaur said. “No prior arrangements are necessary.”

Semi-truck parking is allowed in the back of the K.C. Mart Station at 946 S. Hwy. 69.

Harjit and husband Binder Singh also opened a K.C. Mart at 2191 Soldier Road,  hear Hammond, north of Fort Scott in October 2020. KC Mart: Gas Station Service to Northern Bourbon County

“We wanted to establish more business,” Kaur said. “People would come from this area to our store near Hammond for Opie’s Pizza that we serve. We thought we would come here to provide it.”

Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information or to order a pizza, call 620-644-9867.

K.C. Mart, 946 S. Highway 69, across from the LaRoche Baseball Stadium.

 

Business, Food, Fort Scott

Dry Wood Creek Cafe: New Business Owners at the Former Lyon’s Mansions

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In front is Seraphine, with Jackson, Marty, Carrie, and Caleb Elton. Submitted photo.
A new family to Fort Scott has purchased the two former Lyon’s Mansions on National Avenue.
Marty and Carrie Elton moved their family into the north mansion on June 1.
The south mansion’s main floor, formerly known as Nate’s Place, will be a restaurant called Dry Wood Creek Cafe, Carrie Elton said.
The Elton’s will be offering delicious food, and a comfortable space to enjoy it, Carrie said.
“Marty has been in the restaurant business his entire life,” she said. “He has been both in the back of the house and the front of the house. He is past president of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association and most recently the owner and operator of a successful catering company.”
Marty Elton. Submitted photo.
Carrie grew up north of Buffalo, NY among “amazing bakers and cooks” and desires to bring those flavors to the people of Fort Scott, she said.
The Eltons were looking for opportunities to move to a small town, she said.
“We found this property and immediately fell in love with it,” she said. “A perfect confluence of events made this dream a reality for us.”
“We are currently living in the former bed and breakfast with our three children and two dogs,” Carrie said. “Once the children are grown we may look at reopening the  north mansion as a bed and breakfast.”
They have been preparing to open the restaurant soon, possibly next week if staffing and licensing issues are resolved.
There is office space available on the second floor that they “look forward to partnering with someone as they begin their journey,” she said.
The third floor is a two-bedroom apartment that is currently a vacation rental on  Vacation Rentals By Owner, VRBO, she said.
The restaurant is slated to have hours of operation: Tuesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Contact information for Marty or Carrie is 620.224.2970. Like the restaurant on their Facebook page, Dry Creek Cafe.
“We look forward to holding special events a couple of times a month, at night,” she said. “More information will be available on these once we get up and running.” 

The menu is taken from their Facebook page:

From the Dry Wood Creek Cafe Facebook page.

Entertainment, Food, Fort Scott, Sports

Register for Sept. 18-19 Multiple Sports Events at Gunn Park by This Sunday

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Runners in the October 2015 Tri-Yak-A-thon.

Next weekend, two annual sports events will be combined: the Marmaton Massacre with the  Tri-Yak-A-Thon and additionally a separate golf disc tournament.

Local businessman and bike enthusiast, Frank Halsey is the organizer of the bike race called the Marmaton Massacre and the kayak-run-bike contest called the Tri-Yak-A-Thon.

The Marmaton Massacre is still seeking participants, according to the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page.

The deadline to register is this Sunday,  September 12, at midnight.

Frank Halsey, the event organizer, hugs his grandson following a first-place win in the kids’ race in July 2018.

“The Gunn Park Trail Volunteers (the sponsors of the events)are super excited! It’s going to be a very busy weekend in beautiful Gunn Park,” Halsey said.

“We’ve combined our annual Marmaton Massacre Festival and The annual Tri-Yak-A-Thon into a really fun-packed weekend, September 18th & 19th,”  Halsey said.  “In addition, Danny Craig is hosting a disc golf tournament on Saturday, the 18th.

“We kick off the activities with the Tri-Yak-A-Thon, at 9 a.m. Saturday,” Halsey said. “This is our 8th year for this charitable fundraiser of running a 5k on the trails, kayaking a 5k on the Marmaton River, and finishing with a 10k ride on the trails.”

Participants may go solo, or as a relay team.

“Solo is for those hard-core athletes, while the relay team is not easy, it’s definitely easier,” he said. “I don’t run any longer, so my daughter, Libby, and I will be a team. Proceeds of the Tri-Yak-A-Thon are donated to proceeds go to Fort Scott Paws and Claws Animal Shelter.”

“At 1 p.m. the Massacre officially starts with the marathon race,” Halsey said. “This is a 3-hour race, where participants complete as many laps as possible on our trails.”

To participate in the events see the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page, registrations must be sent by Sunday, Sept. 12.

The whole community is invited to watch.

“While most of the events are not really spectator-friendly, we’d love to have the locals show up for the Saturday evening festivities,” he said. “These start about 5:30 p.m. with the always fun Kid’s Bike Race. We create an open course, through the park, so not on the trails, for kids 10 years old and under. This is a hoot watching these kids, and everybody cheering.”

At 6:30 p.m. a father and son, Ed and Exander Schilling, St. Joe, MO will give a demonstration on bike skills.

Halsey describes the two as “extremely talented.”  “Ed can do things on a bike that most can’t do on their feet, and Exander likes to get big air,” he said.

“Around 7:30 pm we have live music with DJ Brown & The Bourbon County Revival performing until about 9 or 9:30 p.m.,” he said.  “They are a local band, that plays a little bit of everything.”

“The Beech Street Eats food truck will be onsite for refreshments,” Halsey said.

“This is a great family atmosphere, and we hope the people of Fort Scott, and the surrounding area, will bring their lawn chairs, kid’s bikes, enjoy the evening in beautiful Gunn Park,” he said.

“We could not do this without our volunteers and our generous sponsors, including:

  • Eric’s Bike & Board of Overland Park
  • The Lockton Companies
  • UMB Bank
  • Sharky’s Pub & Grill
  • Cheney Witt Funeral Home
  • Sonic and Typhoon Bay Car Wash
  • Landmark Bank
  • City State Bank
  • Keys
  • Mid-Continental
  • Brock Electric
  • Labconco
  • Ward Kraft
  • CK Pro Photography
  • New Wave Broadband”

 

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Minutes of Sept. 2

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September 2, 2021                                                              9:00 am

 

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session for a 2022 budget session, all three Commissioners and the Deputy County Clerk were present.

Susan Bancroft was also present.

Due to COVID precautions, the meeting was closed to the public, but broadcast on YouTube.

Susan presented the Commissioners with a revised 2022 budget. She said that there is $256,000.00 more requested. Ambulance will be discussed at the next meeting because Shane is wanting to do some updates to move them from iPads to computers so they can use GIS and CAD systems.

Susan stated the main budget increases that were made this year were: Treasurers for publication costs; Register of Deeds for part time help; Courthouse General for increased insurance costs; District Court for legal defense; IT for shared services due to a part time person moving to full time and being shared with the city, but that will be reimbursed back by the city; Conservation requested an additional $3,800.00 in funding; Road and Bridge so they will be fully staffed and additional $50,000.00 for material on the roads; Special Bridge asked for an additional $40,000.00 for material; Public Safety increase due to wages and supplies and for the Jail Sales Tax we moved capital outlay from public safety over to jail sales tax from the Sheriffs funds; everyone is budgeted to get a 3% raise except for elected officials.

Susan stated she did include in the budget document a 10-year recap for each department as well. Sheriffs’ department tab includes a trend report that was requested to see what has been happening in that department. Major changes are from the time when the jail was built, commodities and contractual both stayed about the same but there was definitely a shift in personnel services. She said that contractual for Corrections has gone up in 2020 due to the food services industry and having a lot of inmates; depending on how many inmates there are will determine that cost.

Susan said that Road and Bridge section has their 10-year capital improvement plan and equipment replacement plan for reference.

ARPA funding is included behind the APRA budget so in case there were any questions you could refer to that tab and it will show what the ARPA funding can be spent on. Jim asked if there was another year to spend the ARPA money or if it had to be spent this year. Susan stated that the County actually has a couple of years to spend the money, it does not have to be spent this year.

Susan stated there is a debt service schedule included through 2035 that show when debt will fall off to help with decision making in the future when things come up. Jim stated there are several things coming off the schedule next year including the Landfill backhoe. Lynne stated that the jail pods on page 5 shows them coming out of fund 220 and that is not correct. Susan said that should be fund 370 and she will correct it. Lynne said that the lease payments for road and bridge are down tremendously from 7 years ago. Jim stated that several things were bought with cash and Lynne said several things were paid off when we had the cash too.

Susan said that what she needs permission for publishing page 28 and 29 the Notice of Budget Hearing to let the public know that September 14th at 9:20 is when the budget hearing will be. The cemetery board will have to have their own RNR hearings but those have been scheduled at the Courthouse on the same day 5 minutes apart and there are 4 of them that need to have those hearing and hopefully Kendell can get ahold of them to let them know that they need to be present.  It was recommended by the State that those boards approve their own budgets. Fire District #3 is under the County and is under the revenue neutral rate. Susan asked for permission to publish the 2 pages in the newspaper if they are comfortable with the numbers.

Susan stated that the mill levy last year was 64.931 and this year it will be 62.5 mills, the revenue neutral rate was 62.130 mills. Lynne said that when you look at the houses sold and the appraised values going up and the new businesses it is phenomenal that we are at this point. Susan said that she looked at the school district, FSCC and the County compared to the City and all of their assessed values are trending up and the City’s is trending flat. We are seeing things grow in the County.

Lynne said that hopefully in Susan’s future we will see a packing plant but that is a 10-year plan. Susan said that she needs to get with the County Commissioners because there have been requests for improvements to the industrial park for the packing plant and we may need a partnership. The City may request to use some of the County ARPA funding in addition to the City’s, because the request is about $500,000.00 to get water and sewer to that plant. Lynne said that there would be a discussion in the future about this.

Lynne asked if EMS is part of what can be funded by ARPA and if any had been used this year. Susan said yes it can be used for EMS and they have not used any this year, but are requesting $26,000.00 to improve their equipment. Lynne said he was thinking a little bit bigger request such as for a new ambulance. Susan said she would want to get an opinion from the State on that.

Jim asked if the request was a must before they could start building the packing plant and felt it was late for a request to be made. Susan said that the request just came in. Susan said that the City will not get any kind of a tax benefit from the plant and that is why the City wants to ask the County for part of funding. She said that would be a valid use of ARPA funding. Lynne said that all the requests are valid and the funding is needed so we will have to set our priorities. Susan said the plant will be creating jobs. Clifton stated that we have to sustain an emergency room and that should be our main priority. The other commissioners agreed that healthcare should be the main priority. Susan recommended another joint City/County commission work session to talk through ARPA funding and make sure that we are accomplishing all of our goals because she knows the City is going to be asked also for healthcare as well. Lynne thinks that is a good idea.

Jim made a motion to allow Susan to publish the notice of budget as these numbers are given to us; Clifton seconded; all approved.

Susan gave an update on the audit stating that Terry will have a copy to the County next week to review. Jim asked what the purpose of a draft is. Susan said because it is the county’s financial statement as well as the audit and since he had to make so many adjustments that he wants to make sure there are no errors before the final draft is published. Susan said that he will be meeting with each commissioner individually this year. Jim asked if it was normal for him to meet individually with each commissioner and Susan responded that it is not the normal process. Lynne stated that this a new concept. Jim said he has not been through this process so he has to ask questions. Lynne said he understands the process is going to be different this year than it has in the past.

At 9:17 am, Clifton made a motion to adjourn; Jim seconded; all approved.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman

(ss) Jim Harris, Commissioner

(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner

ATTEST:

Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk

September 7, 2021, Approved Date

 

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Minutes of August 31

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August 31, 2021                                   Tuesday 9:00 am

 

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners, the County Counselor and the County Clerk present.

 

Also present were the following: (some were present for a portion of the meeting and some were present for the entire meeting) Susan Bancroft, Shane Walker, Bill Martin and Ben Cole.

 

Due to COVID, the meeting was closed to the public, but shown on YouTube.

 

Clifton made a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Eric Bailey presented the following permits that have been completed: 1741 Soldier Road, 1686 Express & 379 40th, the Commissioners signed the permits.

 

Eric said there has been a problem with the Landfill phone, he said AT&T is working on this issue, he said they may move this phone number to a cellphone.  He said the hours for the Landfill are Monday-Friday 8-4 and Saturday from 8-12.  If anyone has questions before the phone is fixed, regarding the Landfill, they can call the Courthouse to talk to the Road & Bridge secretary.

 

Eric said the valve is still leaking on the asphalt truck, they are working on it again today.  Jim said in the past they had Van Keppel do repairs to the vehicle; Eric said Van Keppel would’ve taken three weeks to do the repairs.

 

Bean permits: Eric said they will be meeting with John George this week and are working on getting a composting permit.

 

Eric said he had a request for a school bus stop ahead sign at 1436 Wagon Road; Eric felt it warranted a sign there.  Jim made a motion for public works to post a bus stop ahead sign at 1436 Wagon Road, Clifton seconded and all approved.

 

Eric said he will check on an area near the asphalt plant that has a school bus stop ahead sign posted.

 

Eric said another windmill is going up at 20th & Eagle.

 

Mini excavator discussion – Eric asked if they wanted to go out for bids to purchase one or not; Lynne said he would like to let Eric do what he needs to run his operation or at least put it out for bid.  Jim said he went and looked at the machine; he said they have a difference of opinion and said he sold equipment for 13 years and said he would classify this machine as a mid-sized machine and not a mini.  Jim said they will eventually need to spend money on two motor graders and one backhoe and said they could get by without the mini excavator.  Clifton said they have a lot of road problems and culverts that need to be replaced.  Susan said they could look at the State procurement contracts.  After discussion, Lynne made a motion to go out for bids on a mini excavator, Clifton seconded, Jim said he opposed the motion and said they can’t afford the machine.

 

CIC software discussion: Clifton asked Eric if CIC was fully functionable for his department; Eric said it wasn’t and said it was very hard for them to use. He said there was a glitch in the system and Jennifer lost a lot of work that she had done on CIC.  Clifton said if we pay for something he expects it to work.  Shane Walker said the software had been sitting there, but it just wasn’t utilized.  Clifton said he expected it to be fixed in a timely manner.  Lynne asked for a guarantee on a timeline for it to be fixed.  Susan said the City doesn’t use CIC, she said when they had it, it was very limited on what it could do, but said the customer service was good.  Jennifer Hawkins, the Road & Bridge secretary, discussed some of her issues with CIC: she said she did numerous months of entries for the Landfill billing, but the data didn’t balance and, in the end, CIC deleted all her entries and she lost 4 ½ months of data.  She said she wanted to use the map-it program, but was told it would be years before it worked.  She said she asked about the work order program, but said they are still working on it 4 months later.  She said they have problems with employee reports, A/P vouchers and problems with reports showing rock tonnage.  She said their old program had signs data and bridges data, which was supposed to be imported, but said it still isn’t done.  She has problems with reports on equipment. She said she is trying to utilize CIC; Lynne asked for a timeline on the fixes, Jennifer said they told her they are working on them.  Susan discussed the CIC symposium; she said they take money and work on areas where people want the program improved.  Susan said she would help Jennifer get the data she needs.  Shane said he didn’t use the software and didn’t know anything about it other than he has it on the server; he said the public works software is old.  Clifton questioned Eric about using a different software that Linn County uses.  Eric said they needed a program documenting where every County sign is, bridges and a program for work orders; Shane suggested they use Teams for some of this, Eric said that Jimmy had set this up, but said it wasn’t an easy program to use.  Shane said people had to know how to use Excel, he wanted to get people from the college here to teach Excel.  Lynne said they needed to get CIC to work or find something that will work. Shane said we have a yearly maintenance agreement with CIC and said they have good support.  This will be discussed again next week.

 

After collecting more data, next week Eric will discuss the crack filling machine that the City has.

 

Jim said the belly-dump trailer is still sitting; Eric said they are looking for a truck.

 

Lynne said they had a report that 140th & Ivory needed gravel.

 

County Counselor: Justin Meeks said he had reviewed the yearly CIC maintenance agreement and asked for approval for Lynne to sign it; Susan said they could hold off paying the public works portion of the contract.  Clifton made a motion to allow Lynne to sign the maintenance agreement, Jim seconded and all approved.  Kendell questioned if they were paying the full amount or excluding the public works portion; Clifton made a motion to withdraw his last motion until Shane has a discussion with them, Jim seconded and all approved.  This will be discussed again next week.

 

Justin said they should have a final draft soon on the Lake Sewer District agreement.

 

Justin said they are ready to close on the BAJA Investment building.

 

Tax sale: Justin said this should happen at the end of September or the 1st of October.

 

Justin said next week they should have information out for the public on a subject they talked about last week.

 

The Commissioners will have a budget work session at 9:00 am Thursday, September 2, 2021.

 

Susan discussed the Spark MOU for Baja Investments; she said there is a clause in the MOU that states if the contract has been breached the property goes back to the County, she said the County did what they were supposed to do.  Justin said the property will transfer to the County and then immediately to the new owner.

 

Susan said she received a request from Mental Health for ARPA funds; she said the County could consider this in the next round of funding.  She said she has requested the Rural Water districts financial statements and will discuss the ARPA funds again next week.

 

Susan said the 2020 audit is in the draft stages and said she hoped to present it during next week’s meeting.

 

Bill Martin, Ben Cole and Beth Tatarko with The Austin Peters Group (by telephone) met with the Commissioners to discuss a salary study that Bill that asked them to do.  They compared other counties and cities and a few private employers and reported that the average pay was $20.32 compared to $15.56 for Bourbon County employees (non-elected), she said it would cost an estimated $322,122 (cost of wages only, doesn’t include benefits) to bring the hourly employees wages to the average.  She said Bourbon County doesn’t have a scale for pay wages and all employees will eventually make the same amount if they do the same job.  She said the elected officials (with the exception of the Attorney) are less than the average as well.  She said Bourbon County does have a more generous benefit package and leave time than others. Lynne said Bourbon County is behind and asked Bill what we could do to start moving forward.  Lynne suggested having Susan review the study and give them recommendations.  Clifton said they know they don’t pay enough.  Beth said at times other governments have spread out over a two-year time frame to get their employees to the average.  Jim asked Bill what his recommendations were: Bill said the Commissioners plan to reduce the mill levy by 2.5 mills, he suggested leaving the mill the same and setting that money aside for wages.  The Commissioners thanked them for the presentation.

 

Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda for an executive session, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Clifton made a motion to have a 10-minute executive session for KSA 75-4319(b) (1) to discuss personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy regarding job function and job performance, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in the Commission room at 10:35, Jim seconded and all approved.  At 10:35, Clifton made a motion to return to the regular session with no action, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Commission Comment: Clifton said they have talked about wages for months and know this is a problem.  Jim said they hear from business owners daily that taxes in Bourbon County are too high.  He said the County needs to grow and if that happens, maybe they could take some of those funds from growth to use for the employees.

 

At 10:38, Clifton made a motion to adjourn, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman

(ss) Jim Harris, Commissioner

(ss) Clifton Oharah, Commissioner

ATTEST:

Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk

September 7, 2021, Approved Date

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Minutes of Sept. 1

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September 1, 2021                                        Wednesday 9:00 am

 

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session for the CDBG-CV close out hearing with Commissioner Harris and Beth present, the County Clerk was also present.

 

SEKRPC representative Taylor Hogue and Economic Development Director Rob Harrington were also present.

 

Jim made a motion to open the public hearing for the CDBG-CV close out grant hearing, Clifton seconded and all approved.

 

Jim asked for questions or comments regarding the grant. Rob Harrington said he didn’t understand why the Bronson Locker wasn’t able to get a portion of this grant, he said the State had told Taylor that they weren’t awarded any of the grant money because they didn’t lose money; Rob said, however; they took out a loan (for equipment/expansion) to stay open.  Taylor said that the Kansas Department of Commerce said meat lockers were denied because they were more in demand.  Rob said there was a meat locker in Allen County that received Spark funding; Taylor said that Spark funds and CDBG-CV funds were different.

 

At 9:19, Clifton made a motion to close the public hearing for the CDBG-CV grant, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Clifton made a motion that Chairman Oharah sign the CDBG-CV close out forms, Jim seconded and the motion passed.

 

At 9:21, Clifton made a motion to adjourn, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman

(ss) Jim Harris, Commissioner

(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner

ATTEST:

Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk

September 7, 2021, Approved Date

Bourbon County, Government

New County Clerk: Ashley Shelton

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Ashley Shelton. Submitted photo.

Ashley Shelton was selected for the county clerk position at the Bourbon County Republican Party Convention on Sept. 9.

“I have worked in the Bourbon County Clerk’s Office since June of 2020,” Shelton said.

Shelton graduated high school at Yates Center and moved to Bourbon County in 2002 to attend Fort Scott Community College.

She and her husband Scott and have two boys ages 10 and 3.

“I have learned a lot from Kendell (Mason, the current clerk) during my time in her office and I feel that I could fulfill the duties of the county clerk position although I know I have big shoes to fill and a lot to learn,” Shelton said.

“Since I am deputy-clerk I will be acting clerk as of Sept. 14, until I receive my appointment from the state,” she said.

Shelton replaces Kendell Mason who resigned after nine years as county clerk. Mason’s last day is Sept. 13.

“The Republican Party notifies (the governor)  who they selected and the governor will send a letter appointing her to that position,” Mason said.

“She will serve until November 2022, when there will be an election,” she said.

The clerk’s office is located in the north wing of the Bourbon County Courthouse on National Avenue.

The Bourbon County Clerk duties, taken from the county website are:

  • Serves as Secretary to the Board of County Commissioners; attends Commission meetings; prepares and posts agendas and keeps meeting minutes; maintains proceedings of Commission meetings, including all contracts and agreements entered into by the County.
  • Prepares annual budgets for most townships and fire districts and all cemeteries, watersheds, and light districts in the County.
  • Receives and compiles all budgets submitted by County entities, cities, townships, the community college, school districts, and all special districts.
  • Compiles, calculates, and prepares tax levies.
  • Prepares real estate, personal property, and state assessed tax roll, including special assessments, and certifies to County Treasurer.
  • Accumulates and files a bonded indebtedness report for all taxing entities in the County.
  • Carries out all elections and certifies to the Secretary of State; maintains voter database; accepts filings for public office; keeps financial statements of expenses from the county, city, school district candidates.
  • Provides Accounts Payable and Payroll functions for all County departments; receives all claims filed against the County.
  • Provides checks and balances to property transfers, motor vehicle collections, and Treasurer’s daily ledger activities.
  • Serves as the County Freedom of Information Officer.
  • Maintains fixed asset inventory for the County.
  • Provides assistance to County residents in preparing Homestead Property Tax Refund  and Food Sales Tax Applications for the Kansas Department of Revenue.
  • Issues Cereal Malt Beverage Licenses to establishments outside the city limits and issues Firework Permits to stands throughout the County for 4th of July week.
  • Issues Kansas Wildlife and Park permits.
Art, Fort Scott

Museum of Creativity Starts Fall Activities

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From the museum’s Facebook page.
The Museum of Creativity has craft classes for children, some playgroups, and a ladies craft time starting this week.
The building is located at 201 S. National Avenue in the Beaux Arts Centre.
Owner Lorina Bowman, said the following are available:
Play Group – [Open Play] every Monday from 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Maker Monday – [Beginner Crafts] ages 7-18 – every Monday after school – 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
From the museum’s Facebook page.
Lego Club – [Challenge Builds] ages 7-18 – every Tuesday after school 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Ladies Craft Night – [Crafts] every Tuesday Night from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Friday Fun – [Open Play] every Friday from 3:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Game Night – [Board Games] every Friday from 8:30 – 11:30 p.m.
Entrance fee for all groups is $1 for each person.
“There will be an extra kit fee for craft groups and that will always be posted at least 24 hours in advance on the group event page,” Bowman said.
“We are accepting reservations for field trips, birthday parties or any other type of event you would like to have here,” she said. “It is only $100 to reserve the museum and classroom. Please contact us to see how we can make your event special. We will not host events or be open on Sundays.”
“If you would like to volunteer time or money to help out our non-profit we have lots of opportunities,” she said. “Come talk to us!”
More details can be found on the Museum of Creativity Facebook page, then click on the events tab to find each group for more details.
Text Bowman at  209-204-9743 or email:
Fort Scott, Government, Schools

Debate Over USD 234 Revenue Neutrality

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Dave Trabert. Submitted photo.

Dave Trabert, Chief Executive Officer of the  Kansas Policy Institute, Overland Park, sent an email response to fortscott.biz‘s feature on the USD 234 Budget on Sept. 2.

“Under the new Truth in Taxation legislation, mill rates are reduced by law so that new valuations produce the same dollar amount of property tax…hence the name ‘revenue-neutral rate,'” Trabert said.  “If the school district wants to take in more property tax dollars next year, they have to notify taxpayers of their intent, hold a public hearing, and then vote on the entire tax increase they impose.”

USD 234 Board Clerk/Business Manager and Certified Public Account Gina Shelton’s answers to Trabert are in blue ink.

“Correct – which we did,” Shelton said in a response to the Trabert email that fortscott.biz sent her. “What is missing from that statement is that we are to adopt a revenue-neutral rate based upon an estimated assessed valuation.”

Gina Shelton. Submitted photo.

“In general terms, it is a simple formula: Assessed Valuation (a) X Mill Rate (b) = Property Tax Assessed (c).  If (a) and (b) stay the same, an entity would be revenue-neutral.  If (a) increases and (b) stays the same = higher property tax assessed.   If (a) increases and (b) decreases = lower property tax assessed/revenue neutral (depends on how much (b) is). “

“The school district only controls (b).”

” What the formula does not consider are things like 1) Collection Ratio 2) Neighborhood Revitalization (or other economic programs administered through other entities) and 3) the Assessed Valuation is an estimate.”

  “This year, we received two separate revenue-neutral rates due to an error on the part of one of the utility companies.  We also know that there is a larger taxpayer in our county that has applied for exemption, yet it was not backed off from the estimated assessed valuation.  The exemption is retroactive to the date within the application.  These are all factors that were considered when recommending being Revenue Neutral or not.”

“There is also a timing factor.  We are very early on in a bond payback.  Our bond is why the school district’s mill rate is as high as it is.  We are committed to being good stewards of our taxpayers’ commitment.”

 “When we reworked the bond in 2020, we were able to save our taxpayers $5,792,515.15 and will be able to pay it back five years earlier.  However, we still have a way to go before that bond is paid off – September 1, 2035.”

  “I don’t believe it is fiscally responsible to adjust the bond mill.  The bond mill has to be considered because for the school district to qualify to be revenue neutral – we would have had to adjust our mill rates in all of the other funds (since the 20 mills in our General Fund is set by statute).”

” We know we have capital outlay needs for our district to maintain our facilities.  Deferred maintenance costs more money.  We did not feel it prudent to reduce the mill in the Capital Outlay fund.”

  “In our LOB fund, we use a big part of this to pay for utilities.  We were advised to budget 6% increases in electricity and 18% increases in gas.  What would we cut to make up for those increases?  What opportunities would we cut for our kids?”

 

“Gina Shelton’s claim that the LOB resolution has no impact on property tax is simply not true,” he said.  The only way that could happen is if they adopted the revenue-neutral rate of 13.431.  They choose to increase property tax… by 1.7% if they adopted the proposed mill levy. If the district adopted each of their proposed mill rates, they increased the burden on taxpayers by close to 2%.”

“In fact, it is claims like hers that drove taxpayers to demand the Truth in Taxation legislature,” Trabert said.

“I’ve never spoken to Mr. Trabert, to state that ‘claims like hers’ without having a single conversation with the person shows how very political this is.”

” I believe in transparency in government.  I also firmly believe in being fiscally responsible.  Our board has always been transparent about the challenges and positives of our school district to our community.  Our board considered the pros and cons and made the decision based on the recommendation we made.”

Trabert included a chart:

http://www.kansasopengov.org/kog/databank#report_id=90&County=Bourbon

“We collected the information from each county clerk via Open Records requests,” he said.

“Any entity that does not follow the Truth in Taxation law is prohibited from spending above the revenue-neutral rate,” Trabert said.

“We are fully aware of this requirement,” Shelton said.  Prior to the due dates set by the state, we discussed publicly what Revenue Neutral means for our taxpayers as our board meetings.”

“At the board’s July 12th board meeting there was a motion made to allow us to submit paperwork to the county to allow us the option to not be revenue neutral.”

“We declared to the county by the July 20th due date.”

“We held a detailed special budget/RNR presentation on July 30th, where we had one member of the public attend.  This was an hour-long meeting meant to educate our community.”

 “We then published in the  Fort Scott Tribune newspaper on August 11th.  After publishing, I only had one taxpayer come into ask questions and look at our budget.”

“I have always encouraged our taxpayers to please sit down with me to look at our budget to help explain what we do with those funds.”

 “We then held a hearing on August 25th at 5:30.  We received no comments or questions from the public at this hearing although the intention of that is to allow for that feedback.”

 “We held our budget hearing on August 25th at 6:00.  We also received no comments or questions during this hearing as well.  Both were well attended.”

 “Our community supports our kids.  I’m sure Mr. Trabert has concerns regarding property tax – as we all do – however, he does not live, work, or send his kids to school here.”

  “As someone who attended public schools in Fort Scott, lives here and has a student attending USD 234, my continued commitment has always been to be fiscally responsible of the dollars our taxpayers trust us with.”

“I believe our students are worth more than a political debate on property taxes.  Mr. Trabert has not taken any time to call and discuss our particular district with us, but decides to contact the press?  This leads me to believe that his concern is more with taxes in general versus our particular district or the challenges we face.  Let’s work toward a workable, positive solution – our kids deserve that.”

“Kansas Policy Institute is a nonprofit research and education organization that protects constitutional rights and economic freedom,” Trabert said.  “I am the CEO and work in our Overland Park office. Here is some background on our history and mission.  https://kansaspolicy.org/about/”

“We were instrumental in getting the Truth in Taxation law passed.,” he said. “Senator Caryn Tyson, who represents most of Bourbon County, can also provide information on the legislation.”

 “I have great respect for Senator Tyson.  We have had several conversations where we discussed the challenges that face school districts.  Challenges in addition to the fiscal side of schools.  She knows how important our students are and how much our great state depends on their success.  Public education provides opportunities that no other state program provides -both in the “right now” and for our future.  The success and education of our students warrants our investment in them.”