Bourbon County Commission Meeting Agenda 02.02.26 Revised

Date: February 2, 2026 | Time: 5:30 PM

Meeting Opening

Oath of Office: Joe Allen was sworn in to his new position as commissioner of District 3.

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Executive Sessions & Department Updates

Executive Sessions

The Commission will enter three private sessions under K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) to discuss non-elected personnel matters.

1. Session 1: Led by Greg Motley regarding specific personnel. 15 minutes. Returned with no action.

2. Session 2: Led by Samuel Tran to protect the privacy of individual personnel. 20 minutes. Returned with action: Allow Tran to sign payroll change forms for the reviews discussed in the meeting. Approved.

3. Session 3: Attorney Client Privilege. Called by David Beerbower. 10 minutes.  Returned to regular meeting with no action.

County Clerk Susan Walker addressed the commission regarding the need for the County Clerk, Treasurer, and Register of Deeds offices to change to a new independent mail server, managed by CrawKan.

“This change is needed due to decisions made regarding our technology system,” said Walker. “As well as several ongoing security concerns.”

Because each of the offices is separately elected and responsible to the citizens of Bourbon County, this is the most responsible path forward, Walker stated.

The new server is on order. New email addresses will be implemented in the next 7-10 days. It will be housed in the clerk’s office and the network system is already set up for an easy transition. It will be a separate network from the remainder of the county.

This change is necessary because all the offices have had several issues with CIC (Computer Information Concepts, the county’s accounting software provider) when doing entries throughout the day, causing duplicate and triplicate entries in their software. It will also ensure that their data is protected.

Walker said their biggest concern is that they were unable to issue accounts payable checks because of year-end issues that delayed payment almost a month, resulting in penalties to the county.

They contacted the county’s IT company, Stronghold, multiple times and were told that backups four times a day is their standard procedure. Walker also contacted the head of CIC, who told them that they weren’t getting the software updates they should have. She said they have asked numerous times for administrative access to their machines to do updates. When the access has been granted, it’s been temporary.

“This is the only way that we can get our updates timely and make sure that our data is secure,” she said.

Tran said he wished the conversation had come to the table so they could be sure all actions were necessary. He asked if she had gotten a second opinion on the need for a new server.

She said that neither she nor the County Treasurer nor the Register of Deeds trust Stronghold. They do trust CrawKan and RTS.

Tran said that without one entity having control of all the county’s IT, which oversees it “from the 30 thousand foot level,” there’s a lack of safeguards.

Walker said that she was not consulted about the use of Stronghold as the county’s IT department.

“I seriously think this is an ill advised move,” said Tran.

Regarding paying the invoice for the server, Tran said he had serous reservations.

He went on to say that he has personally called Stronghold on numerous occasions on behalf of county officials who had issues. Those officials and some county employees don’t understand the concept of a help desk being there to help you, not fix it for you.

“That’s how the industry is,” said Tran.

Sheriff Bill Martin said they’ve had several issues and he has asked his employees to start documenting them. Most recently, he couldn’t update the software the county uses for accident reports.

He asked Stronghold for administrative rights to his equipment, but they were unable to help him and told him it was an internal problem.

“I would have to agree with Mrs. Walker” about the issues, he said.

Tran said he wished he had heard about these problems earlier so the commission could address it.

“Having one IT department keeps us safe,” said Tran.

Martin reiterated his position that he doesn’t want Stronghold to continue to have the county’s IT contract once the project it is working on for the county is completed.

Tran predicted budget creep would be inevitable in a county with multiple separate servers and no overarching IT department.

Accounts payable were approved, including the new server for the Clerk, Treasurer, and Register of Deeds offices.

Citizen Comments:

Clay Walker: This county commission didn’t even honor a guy that retired after more than 20 years of service. “We need more transparency,” he said. “I don’t see this county taking care of their employees. I’m sorry,” he said as he left the table.

Dereck Ranes came to talk about the noise issue and find out where the county is at in addressing it.

Commissioner David Beerbower responded by saying that he inquired about how to gather evidence and they are looking into who they are going to assign that to and what equipment they will use. He said he would work on it the next day.

“I’d like to file a complaint every day until something gets addressed,” said Ranes.

Department Reports

• Payroll: Update provided by Milburn-Kee.

Milburn-Kee read a letter to the commission from their administrative assistant requesting permission to put the county’s health insurance payments on auto-withdrawl to minimize manual paperwork and the possibility of missing a payment, which nearly happened in January.

Commissioner Greg Motley looked at the paper work and said that someone on the county’s signature card with ACH authority would have to fill out the form for Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Susan Walker again addressed the commission, saying that on Jan. 1 everything was handed over to the new administrative assistant. She offered multiple times to walk her through everything and gave her the files and other information she needed to do her job, offering to go over it with her.

“When I handed that off, I just assumed they were being done,” said Walker. There are several things that are late. Walker said she passes those notices on to the administrative assistant as soon as she gets them.

“I do not feel like the ACH is the best approach for us because of how our system is set up,” said Walker. She wouldn’t know when it’s being withdrawn to have the Treasurer transfer the money into the account in time. The money doesn’t go into the account until it’s time to pay the bills.

“There are things hitting our bank account that we cannot say what they are for,” she said. “The communication [with the administrative assistant] is very much lacking.”

Milburn-Kee moved they allow the ACH. Tran seconded. Motley said they need a procedure in place to notify the clerk with the amount and exact date of withdrawl in order for the ACH to be workable.

Milburn-Kee rescinded her motion. She then made a motion for an executive session for non-elected personnel. Motion carried, Motley and Allen voting against. They returned with action.

Tran moved to pay Blue Cross Blue Shield through an ACH and ask the clerk to provide a list of potential bills that the administrative assistant would be responsible for. Motley reminded Tran of the need to give the clerk notice ahead of the bill. The motion was amended to have the clerk notified 5 days in advance of the ACH withdrawl with the exact amount being withdrawn.

Motion carried.

• County Clerk, Susan Walker gave a comprehensive discussion on inventory management, commission minute procedures, resolutions, and the 2025 end-of-year financials.

The commission voted to make a number of adjustments to various department budgets to close out the 2025 financial year.

Walker said she had yet to receive inventory for what the commission is responsible for. She gave a partial report and asked for a commissioner to do inventory for the commission, including the  emergency management, IT, the commission proper and the executive assistant.

Walker also requested that custodial services to her offices be resumed. She wants keyfob access limited to her employees but not the custodial staff.

Tran asked how much security is required for her election equipment and they discussed it.

She also addressed the job description of the administrative assistant which includes taking minutes of the Commission, reminding them of the state statutes requiring the County Clerk to take the minutes.

Walker also brought up several issues with communication between the board’s administrative assistant and her office.

She also brought up a memorandum that was reported on Fort Scott.biz as having gone out to all the county employees. She said it didn’t go to her office or anyone else housed in the courthouse.

There was then some finger-pointing among the commissioners as to where the memorandum originated with no conclusion.

She then read some minutes from March 29, 2022 saying that elected officials are exempt from following the handbook if they so choose. She also went over records of previous commission meetings where front-loading sick leave was approved, prior to the handbook being updated.

Walker says that the amount of sick leave listed for employees now under the new system begun Jan. 9 is incorrect. She also says several employees have come to her because their sick leave and vacation hours are not right. She then asked that there be, “some cooperation” to have someone from payroll come in and go over it with her.

Finally, Walker presented a letter to the commission from Lora Holdridge, apologizing for her behavior in the last meeting.

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Old Business

• Policies & Planning: Follow-ups on the County Handbook and updates on Strategic Planning and the Commission Calendar.

Milburn-Kee said she talked to KCamp and got an example handbook with updated legally correct languages.

The commission is awaiting a return of the updates in the handbook from the HR department.

• Strategic Planning: Greg Motley

This will be budget focused planning. He started with the statutes that govern the commission and working to define the commission’s goals and a commission calendar with all their deadlines in one place.

They set a date for a work session for Feb. 12 at 6 PM.

The commission scheduled a special meeting to interview applicants for the position of Emergency Manager right before the Feb. 12 work session.

• Sewer project progress:

County Attorney Bob Johnson said he spoke with KDHE and the neighbor to the property in violation. KDHE will come out to reinspect and if it’s not fixed, they will file the appropriate action.

• Administrative Contracts: Ongoing discussions regarding County Benefits. Tran

Tran began by stating that it has been said numerous times that we do not direct public officials and their employees. Tran said his issue is that the commission pays employee benefits for employees hired by those department heads. He asked that the department heads and elected officials notify the board when they hire someone so they can watch the budget.

Milburn-Kee suggested making employee benefits a part of each department’s own budget rather than the having benefits paid by the county.

The Bourbon County Commission gained one new member this week, with another on the way. Citizens of Bourbon County had voted to change the county from a three-commissioner district to a five-commissioner one. In the fall of 2025, Greg Motley was elected to district 4 and Mika Milburn to district 5. Milburn was already serving as the old district 3 commissioner, which lead to an interesting situation.

 Oaths of Office

Prior to taking the oath of office to serve as commission of the new fifth district, Commission Mika Milburn officially resigned her position as commissioner of the third district of Bourbon County.

County Clerk Susan Walker administered the oath of office to Greg Motley as commissioner for district 4, and Mika Milburn for district 5.

Chair of the Bourbon County Republican party, Kaety Bowers thanked Motley for his willingness to serve and Milburn for her service in 2025. She then read an excerpt from President Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speech.

The Republican Party will appoint another commissioner to serve for district 3. Those who live in the district and want to serve in this way should contact Bowers.

Reorganization of Board

Appoint Chairman: 2025 Chair David Beerbower nominated Samuel Tran. Milburn seconded and the nomination passed, Tran abstaining.

Appoint Vice Chairman: Tran nominated Beerbower for vice-chair, Milburn seconded, nomination passed, Beerbower abstaining.

Tran took his position as chair of the board.

Board Memberships

After discussion the commissioners will serve as follows:

Beerbower serves on the SEK Mental Health and SEK Health Department boards.

Milburn serves on the Fair Board and Soil Conservation Board.

Motley will serve on the SEK Regional Planning Commission and the Juvenile Detention Center board.

Tran serves on the SEK Mental Health Board, Bourbon County Senior Citizens, and SEK Area on Aging.

When the new commissioner is appointed for district 3, he or she will take board positions as well.

Liaison Assignments

David Beerbower: Public Safety including EMS, Sheriff/Corrections, Emergency Management

Samuel Tran: Public Works

Mika Milburn: Courthouse

Greg Motley: Finance

Motley said his vision is to get the commission off to an early start and keep them on schedule regarding creating a budget for 2027. He said he would want to identify the county’s priorities via work sessions early in the year and then put numbers to them closer to the end of the year.

Motley pointed out that tying the county’s priorities to its budget helps keep continuity of purpose within the county.

Beerbower suggested putting the fifth commissioner onto an economic development and grant writing liaison possition.

Motley then suggested that he work on the grant writing and economic development and the courthouse liaison position get split into two parts, one to deal with the building and the departments it contains and the other to liaise with the vendors who serve the county.

Milburn said she isn’t clear how to divide those positions out right now.

Tran suggested they keep everything the same for now, adding economic development with the new commission.

Milburn formalized the decision with a motion and the motion carried.

Public Comments

Mark McCoy is the community emergency response team (CERT) leader in Bourbon County. He spoke with the commission about the importance of having an Emergency Manager in place. Reasons a manager is needed include: emergencies don’t happen on a shared schedule; preparedness is a full-time mindset, not an occasional task; liabilities and legal exposure; the manager has the ability to lead, guide, follow, and assist throughout the county. Disasters don’t wait. Volunteers need official plans and connections with entities facilitated by the Emergency Manager.

Beerbower said that the part-time position of Bourbon County Emergency Manager is posted on the county website.

County Clerk Susan Walker showed the commission the program HeyGov for making meeting agendas. She demonstrated it for the commission. It creates the minutes from the YouTube video as well as linking to the county’s website. The program allows the commissioners to work on the agenda without violating the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA). It can also be used by other boards in the county such as the building commission. The cost is about $1,100 per year.The commission voted to purchase the program.

Old Business
Handbook Review

Beerbower said he received his copy of the revised handbook the day of the meeting at noon. Motley said he hadn’t received a copy yet.

Jennifer Hawkins, County Treasurer, spoke to the commission, expressing concerns with several parts of the handbook including the handling of complaints, who qualifies as full-time, definitions of longevity, vacation and leave policy, and dress code.

Tran said he wanted to have another work session before approving the handbook. Milburn said they received the changes everyone requested last week.

Sheriff Bill Martin joined the conversation, saying elected officials should have an opportunity to see the changes before the commission votes on the new handbook. He said that military leave and take-home cars aren’t addressed. He was concerned with the time crunch the commissioners put on the other elected officials regarding their feedback on the proposed new handbook.

Milburn said that the process of updating the handbook was started in 2022 and never completed.

Terry with EMS said that the department heads haven’t seen the updated copy yet.

Susan Walker, County Clerk, said that the department heads should be in on the discussion to make changes to the handbook. “Right now, I don’t feel like we have a voice,” she said.

Beerbower and Motley both said that a work session with the other elected officials and department heads seemed like a good idea.

Tran said that a meeting will not lead to a 100% consensus, as we don’t live in a perfect world. The handbook is intended to be a guide, but is not written in stone.

“You’re not going to get everything you want,” he said.

He then moved to have a special meeting to include elected officials and department heads on Jan. 13 at 4:30 with a 2 hour limit.

“It’s going to be better than what we had and we’re going to keep improving upon it,” said Tran of the upcoming new handbook.

New Business

Kansas Public Employees Retirement System

The commission appointed its executive assistant, Laura Krom, as the KPRS designated agent, with Mika Milburn as her alternate.

Kansas Department of Labor and Unemployment

Milburn said that the unemployment claims need to go to the HR department, Dr. Cohen, who will contact their department heads. This only applies to employees of the county working for the commission, not those working for other elected officials.

Disposition of Body K.S.A. 22a-215

Susan Walker, County Clerk, said that no next of kin could be found for an individual who died in Bourbon County last summer, so the county paid for the body’s cremation. Next of kin have since been found, but are on a fixed income and have asked for a waiver of the policy that they should pay cremation costs in order to recover the body.

The commission was in favor of waiving the fee.

November 2025 Financials

Susan Walker said she and the county treasurer have run into issues with past entries that were made in the county’s books. They will have a quarterly report ready at the end of Jan. The county’s audit is the last week of February.

Build Agenda for Following Meeting

Motley asked to plan to set work sessions for the budget and strategic planning in the first quarter of the year.

Milburn also asked to add a first quarter meeting with the City of Fort Scott.

Commission Comments

“I’m going to need each and every one of you to assist me as I chair the helm,” said Tran. He then thanked Beerbower for his work as chairman in 2025 and Milburn for her work on the commission as well. He welcomed Greg Motley aboard and adjourned the meeting.

Bourbon County Commission Chambers, 210 S National Ave.
Monday, December 01, 2025, 5:30 PM

Consent Agenda
Approval of 11.21.25 Accounts Payable (sent 11.21.25) $93,276.25

Approval of 11.26.25 Accounts Payable (sent 11.26.25) & Payroll (sent 11.25.25) $327,304.73

Commissioner Mika Milburn brought up a dispute with the cost of a new firewall for the sheriff’s department. Commissioner Samuel Tran said it was “mission creep,” that the commission hadn’t approved. Sheriff Bill Martin addressed the commission, saying that the quotes for new phones and a firewall were approved in the Sept. 25, 2025 meeting, to be paid for from the jail sales tax.

Commissioner David Beerbower moved to table the issue for a week to iron out the disputes as to when the approval was given.

There was also a dispute about which fund should pay for the mapping services needed to redistrict Bourbon County to 5 districts.

Beerbower said it needed to be paid for regardless of where it comes from.  Milburn said she wants to be sure the commissioners’ fund doesn’t get spent without the commission’s direct order. They decided to pay for it from the general government fund.

The remainder of the consent agenda was approved.

Emerson and Co. regarding longevity, insurance

Emerson, County Clerk Susan Walker, and Dr. Cohen addressed the commission.

Emerson addressed the need for the commission’s approval of a quote for COBRA administration, FSA, and HSA. The commission so voted.

Emerson also said that they need to address when the new insurance deduction amounts should be collected from the employees. Until now the process has been to collect them the month prior to their due date in order to have the funds on hand to pay at the beginning of the following month. However, with the new employee navigator integration, funds will not be collected in advance, and the start date of the deductions will be the first payroll in January. Manual deduction entries will need to be added in December, 2025. Emmerson recommended making the change.

Blue Cross Blue Shield requires the county to pay a month in advance, per County Clerk Susan Walker. She said that if they don’t do the deductions in the previous month, the county may not be able to pay for their premiums.  She said the county had already planned to manually enter everything by the cutoff date of Dec. 3.  She said this problem will come about each December.

She said that employee navigator doesn’t allow for automated employer contributions, so they have to be manually entered.

The clerk also said that they would have to change benefits availability to 30 days after first hire date for county employees. Tran and Cohen both said that is standard industry policy. Tran said he had no problem with that.

Emerson recommended finding out what the cash flow amount shortage would be. The clerk told the commission that the amount needed is approximately $8,800.

Milburn moved to follow Emerson’s recommendation. Tran seconded with a discussion.

Handbook — Dr. Cohen

Cohen brought his current copy of the handbook. He asked for the commissioners’ individual input, then plans to take it to the elected officials and department heads, receive their input and comments, and make changes, then bring a final document to the commission for approval by the first of the year.

Cohen also brought a recommendation to the commission to have them fund an administrative assistant position for the commission. That assistant would cover matters related to personnel, records, benefits, and more.

“It’s become abundantly clear that you need a person that’s accountable to you and you only,” he said. He also said that the funding for that position would come from existing funds currently allocated elsewhere.

Milburn said that up until 2025, the commission had that person in the position of county clerk.

Tran does not oppose the position but has concerns about how they would pay for the person.

Beerbower said funding is the number one issue as well. Cohen said he thought they could find the money and that the commission should approve the decision to fill the position contingent upon finding the funding.

The motion was passed to move forward with recruiting for the position, pending funding.

Tran said they should look at the inmate housing fund to pay insurance for employees and for the commission’s administrative assistant.

Beerbower said he was not willing to do that.

Longevity pay — Dr. Cohen

Cohen addressed bridging, which is when an employee leaves and then returns. He recommended not giving them longevity pay, per his recommendation. He said that if the bridged time is shorter, continuing longevity pay may be a good idea, so long as they return to their original position. He recommended that as a consequence for employees who leave and want to come back.

Beerbower, Milburn, and Tran agreed with Cohen. They agreed that if an employee leaves and is paid out, they cannot come back at the same level they left.

Victory Foronberry, from county corrections, asked about a problem with longevity pay. Tran and Beerbower spoke to her. One of the problems was that a funding stream they voted to use to cover it was contested.

Longevity pay approved by previous commission was put into each department’s budget, but most departments didnt have it in their budgets for this last paycheck.

Tran said they did what they thought was best at the time, but within 72 hours of the commission’s decision, the revenue source was contested.

Davis asked the commission to leave the longevity as is and pay it to the employees. He said that their decision to add a new position, although it is pending the ability to find funding for it, was a terrible decision and makes the entire commission look like they put county employees second.

Sheriff Bill Martin said he doesn’t know who would contest using the inmate housing revenue to pay the employees their longevity.

Another audience member asked the commission to use the inmate housing fund to pay employees what they were promised.

Janet Harper, who works in the appraiser’s office, said that the money sent out on that stub, which was not paid by the county, was her grandchildren’s Christmas.

Tran moved to pull the inmate housing fund and put it into the general fund. Milburn gave a second with discussion.

Sheriff Bill Martin said he came to the commission offering them a 60/40 split a couple of months ago, and they wouldn’t take it. Asking to take all of it is an insult to the sheriff’s office. He said they should only take out what it costs to meet longevity pay requirements.

Clerk Susan Walker said that her projections show that a lot of the inmate housing money will be needed for the sheriff’s budget amendment, and the commission should speak with his financial advisor before moving the money.

“Everytime we try to do something, we’re getting our legs chopped off,” said Tran.

Tran then amended the motion to pull $200,000 from the inmate housing fund. Motion carried with Beerbower voting against.

Tran proposed that they take $55,100 from the general fund to pay for the longevity pay.

Beerbower moved to leave 2025 longevity as it has been and make the changes in 2026.

“We didn’t create this mess. We’re trying to fix this mess,” said Tran.

The motion to pay longevity through the end of 2025 carried, Milburn opposing.

Sheriff Martin said that his 2025 budget was created by two other individuals without input from him. The outgoing commissioners at the time told him his budget was “screwed.”

He asked why Tran made the comment about him choosing to sue the commission. Tran replied that he knew Martin had been “done dirty,” in the past and he wanted to help him. However, Martin’s continuous referral to the requirement that the county give his department what it needs to function seemed like a threat of suing the commission.

Tran said that as an executor for the county, he will take care of the county, and give the Sheriff’s department what it needs, but maybe not what it wants.

Sheriff Martin said the conversation should have happened in his office one-on-one. He told Tran that they (the commission) are confusing everyone with the numbers game. He said he appreciated Tran’s honesty.

Tran and Martin each accused the other of not reaching out to communicate about their issues outside of an open meeting.

Lines of Communication – Susan Walker, county clerk

Walker told the commissioners she needs direction from them about how they intend to communicate with her.

“I’m having trouble getting responses, and it’s very difficult for me to do my job,” she said. “It is very hard for me to do my job as clerk if I cannot get a hold of you,” she said.

Walker said she can’t set up meetings if she can’t get a hold of anyone. She asked for clarification about expectations.

“For the most part, I think that communication works well, especially by the email,” said Beerbower.

Solar Litigation

Beerbower said that the commission has been in litigation with solar developers over agreements signed with the 2024 commission. They are working to find a solution outside of court via mediation.

Next week, the commission will be voting on resolutions to change the moratorium that will exempt these two companies from moving forward with their projects. They will also vote to amend the development agreement, including setbacks for battery systems and emergency training.

There have also been some settlements on pilot money that include settlements totaling about $320,000 per year paid to the county for the next ten years.

Counsel will send to the clerk the needed information for the resolutions, which will be voted on in the December 8th meeting.

Jackie Demott with the appraiser’s office spoke to the commission. She said that while folks have issues with solar, bringing businesses into Bourbon County will help solve the county’s funding issues.

“Maybe you need to start thinking about, not just what is best for each individual, but what is best for the county. What’s going to bring this revenue in?” she said. She suggested they form a committee to bring businesses into the county.

Planning Commission — Bob Johnson

County attorney Bob Johnson attended the new Planning Commission meeting before Thanksgiving. They discussed the procedure going forward, as well as hiring a part-time individual who has helped neighboring counties with their planning commissions.

District 3 Vacancy — Bob Johnson

The Kansas Secretary of State’s legal team has said the commission can either have the replacement for the District 3 come from the old district, or from the newly created District 3, which is preferable and makes more common sense, but either option passes statutory guidance.

The commission passed a resolution for the correct political party to appoint a commissioner for the new district 3 when current district 3 commissioner, Mika Milburn, becomes the commissioner for district 5 in January 2026. That commissioner will hold office until January 2027 with the person elected in November of 2026 is seated on the commission.