The Bourbon County commission meeting opened to a full house for the budget hearing. The hearing began at 5:35p.m. with public comments.
JD Handly began the public comment section by acknowledging that the county is not in good financial condition. He asked that the commissioners consider their positions as public service and be willing to forego their salaries completely, noting they are not immune to the financial problems that the county currently has.
Joe Smith also spoke. He was a member of the budget advisory committee. He said the budget they presented to the commission was feasible and seemed good to them at the time. He then said that the commission had added things to the budget that caused it to exceed what the committee recommended.
“There seems to be an attitude by the commission that excessive overspending is correct,” he said. Citing the commission’s decision to remove the IT personnel and replace them with a service based in Missouri, which cost the county “nearly a mill” in tax dollars, he said the commission had created an unacceptable state for the people of Bourbon County. He also said they had added a financial advisor who is cutting the county clerk out of her job as the financial advisor to the commission.
“You have overspent by about $345,000,” according to his understanding of the budget. That did not include the money spent on Stronghold (IT Department).
Diane Brillhart spoke on behalf of the Bourbon County Fair Association, asking them not to cut the fair’s budget by half. She said that the county’s allocation is appreciated and needed and has been unchanged for the last 10 years. She emphasized the fair’s service to the youth of Bourbon County and the statute that requires the county to pay for judges and premium amounts, which “well-exceed $10,000.” The utilities alone run $17,000 per year, and insurance is $6,000. They work hard and try to host lots of events for the area. She asked them to reconsider the fair’s allocation.
Lynne OHarah, said it was hard to make a budget, as he remembered from his time as commissioner. He disagreed with the idea of commissioners working without pay, saying it would lead to the need for a county manager to cover what they would no longer have time to do if strictly volunteers.
He then spoke on behalf of seniors and those in lower income brackets, saying they want to stay in Bourbon County, but their income stays the same as the taxes go up. He asked the commission not to raise their taxes.
Clint Walker agreed with chairman Beerbower that the county needs a maintenance program for all their vehicles and they “have missed the boat” in that regard thus far. He said it would save the county a great deal of money to do that.
Anne Dare offered appreciation to the commission for serving. She then asked for confirmation of her understanding of the current mill levy situation. Currently it is 59.9. To stay revenue neutral, they would have to reduce it to 57.55. She confirmed that liability insurance and health care benefits costs for the county have increased.
She asked if the 59.936 mill rate covers the increased insurance costs? A commissioner answered that it does not, and will cause the reserves to be even more depleted. Dare said it doesn’t seem to be possible to go revenue neutral in light of that increase.
She asked that they be very deliberate in how they carry out the numbers and remember the people that live in Bourbon County and want to stay here and how it affects them.
Susan Walker, County Clerk, made the comment that the commissioners are required by statute to be paid a minimum of $5,000. She also, confirmed that the insurance increases are accounted for in the current 2026 budget document.
She wasn’t as involved in the budget process as in the past and has real concerns about cash reserves. “Because if revenues don’t meet their targets then you don’t meet those cash reserves,” she said.
The commissioners closed the hearing at 5:52.
Mapleton City Council – Redfield Road
Ron Burton, mayor of Mapleton, spoke to the commission about the road, saying it is becoming impassible and that the county has historically maintained it. The city cannot afford to fix it. He is concerned about the safety of the road and may have to close it or give it back to the county.
Mike Houston, city council member for Mapleton, also asked for the county’s help. Historically, it has been considered a county road linking the south and north ends of the county. He pointed out that the county maintains the portion of Yale Road that is in Mapleton city limits. He also mentioned that the road needs maintenance as a mail and school bus route.
Houston said that if the city must fix it, it will no longer be a truck route as a city street. This will remove it as an option for county trucks coming through to maintain Yale Road, as well as for all other truck traffic.
“It would pretty well shut off the north end of the county if we make it a city street,” said Houston.
Beerbower asked how long it had been since the county had worked on it. Houston said it has been years, aside from salting it during an ice storm.
Melissa Bazone, representing Timber Hills Lake Ranch and Mapleton Cafe, which just reopened, said, “The road really is becoming impassible.”
“It would be a huge loss to us to not have that,” she said, referring to the loss of business if the road is not repaired.
Houston asked if the county would just make it drivable, not necessarily re-asphalt it at this time.
Jennifer Williams, Mapleton City Clerk, said that several county trucks have come through and bottomed out.
“It’s just cost-effective” to fix those holes, she said.
Mr. Handly said the road is classified as a rural secondary road, giving it priority over other county roads. “That road needs immediate attention, like this week,” he said.
Sheriff Bill Martin also chimed in and said it needs work to be safe.
Commissioner Samuel Tran concurred after driving it himself recently. He also mentioned the recently approved interconnecting link for Uniontown, which connects Maple Road to Hwy 3 through Uniontown.
He said the KDOT map classifies State Road 125, going from Highway 54 to Highway 31, as a major collector.
It will cost the county about $32,000 in materials and $2,200 in labor to fix it.
“I think we should fix it, and I think we should memorialize this so that this does not come up again,” said Tran. He said it is hard to find information on what has been done historically.
“I feel very strongly that we need to put this back in our fold,” he said. But he doesn’t think they have the manpower to take care of it this year. However, they can patch it now to reduce the safety issue and add it to the asphalting plan for next year.
Beerbower agreed that the county should take care of it going forward.
Tran made a motion to accept responsibility for the 2226 feet of the road in Mapleton, that the county will maintain it going forward, and that public works make a plan to add it to their asphalt plan in the future.
They also decided to create a resolution to make it a matter of record.
Former commissioner Brandon Whisenhunt spoke up, saying maybe they should create a list of all the heavy traffic roads throughout the county that run from highway to highway and do the same with them. The commission agreed with his suggestion.
Lynne OHara said there was a major lawsuit about who owns the roads in the county, which affects what roads the county is permitted to maintain. Tran said he understood that inter-connectors must be done by the county. Beerbower said they would refer it to counsel and get it in line with the law
Misty Adams – Fulton City Council
Adams, mayor of Fulton City, spoke to the commission about recent repairs Public Works had done to Old 69 Highway (206th St) from the flood damage. She said they didn’t resurface it fully as they have in the past, and she was told it was because of budget constraints. She asked the commission to remedy the situation.
She also said that the county’s culvert across from the RR crossing on 215th needs to be cleaned out for proper water drainage. The RR mowing tractor got stuck in the water there. They also have a major mosquito problem because of all the water.
She also said the ditches on 215 are overgrown causing visibility issues for drivers.
Tran will follow up with public works regarding mowing and the culvert clearing.
Road Concern –Lynne O’Harah
O’Harah spoke with the commission about the road, which was called 352. It runs from 95th St. passed 75th St. Terrace. The land it crosses has been in their family since the late 1800s. It has been abandoned but not legally closed. There are procedures that must be followed to close a road and there’s no record of those procedures ever taking place, per his research.
From 1936 to 2012 a short portion of that road still showed as an open road. He wants it recognized as open by the county for 1056 feet so he can sell a portion of the land and have access to it.
Laura Holdridge, Register of Deeds, said this has been brought up several times. The 1989 map shows it as a driveway.
O’Harah is opposed to getting a permanent easement because it has never been legally closed.
Tran said he drove out and researched the subject and spoke to the family. The county recently graded 1056 feet of the road, there’s a culvert there for property access that O’Harah paid the county to have installed, and a recently installed a 911 sign.
“You don’t put culverts on private property,” said O’Harah.
Milburn said GIS said it doesn’t appear to be a road. The last map it existed on pre-dates GIS. The county still maintains the road, which is listed as a road on the 2011 map.
Beerbower said he would like to visit with counsel about the legal situation.
O’Harah said the situation has been drug out for 4 years, and he’s in danger of losing his contract to sell the property.
Beerbower made a motion to add to the agenda an executive session with county counsel to discuss the matter. Motion carried.
The executive session failed because they couldn’t reach the county counselor on the phone to discuss the matter. It has been added to a later county commissioner meeting.
They then closed the subject.
Department Updates
Sheriff – Bill Martin
TUSA – Radios
The Sheriff’s department has decided to hire TUSA to do a study to determine what kind of radio system Bourbon County first responders should change to. They are required to change to an encrypted system. This will also apply to Fort Scott Police, EMS, Rural Fire, Fort Scott Fire, and all other first responders in the county.
Martin showed a video taken during the Jan. 2024 ice storm that shut the county down for a few days. He encouraged viewers to use their phone’s stopwatch functions and played the video of a Bourbon County officer who slipped and fell, hitting his head. He was unable to grab his radio because of his injury and lay on the ground for nearly one and a half minutes before his partner realized he was down and came to help him.
Martin asked the commission to consider what would happen if an officer were down for that long due to being shot when approaching a car in rural Bourbon County. He then went on to say that the new generation of radios is able to tell when a radio is horizontal and in less than a minute, will open the channel and turn on his mic so dispatch can check on him and he can get help.
Martin asked how the commission would like him to pay for the first phase of the study with TUSA to start the process of upgrading the radio system. Phase one will cost $32,600. He said their price is most reasonable for the product they will receive. Others they checked with don’t offer services that are as complete. The contract was reviewed by the sheriff’s office attorney and okayed.
Representatives of the various first responder departments in Bourbon County agreed that TUSA is the best choice for doing the study.
The second phase, at a cost of $47,000, is the vendor sifting and selecting phase, conducted by TUSA.
Milburn wants to take it out of the jail sales tax fund.
Susan Walker, county clerk, said they need to look at the long-term and their increasing debt service.
“If I were to make any recommendation, it would be out of the sales tax fund,” she said. She projects there will be $2 million in that fund, which she says is a conservative estimate.
Tran asked how much of the cost would be covered by other entities that will be involved. Martin said he was expecting the city to chip in, but he needs to do the upgrade whether they contribute or not.
Tran said that in this instance, he wants to support his sheriff. He also suggested the county might have to pay for the service over time, rather than up front.
Tran asked for suggestions from the sheriff’s finance advisor. The advisor said there are a number of ways to make it work and that having debt service over time is probably the best way.
Beerbower moved to take $80,540 from the jail sales tax to fund the contract with TUSA to upgrade the radios system for Bourbon County First Responders.
Tran said he had no issues with the project, but he had reservations about funding it completely. “I would feel much more comfortable about funding phase 1,” he said.
Beerbower said the phases are connected. The motion died.
Tran made a motion to fund the sheriff’s department completely for phase one from the jail sales tax. Beerbower seconded, and motion carried.
Crawkan – Phone & Internet
Martin said the former county IT department has historically taken care of the phones, but now the Sheriff’s department needs direction from the commission on how to fund it.
Martin also said the server that services their phones needs to be replaced, as it isn’t allowing them to make calls consistently. Crawkan wants $10,000 to update the entire phone system.
Sheriff asked where to pull the funding from. He suggested using the jail sales tax to fund it.
Beerbower made the motion to allow the sheriff $10,884 from the jail sales tax to upgrade his phone system. Motion carried.
Vehicles
The Sheriff revisited the plan of leasing his department’s vehicles from Enterprise. Eleven vehicles for $132,000 is the current plan. It will not start until January 2026, however, the portal to order cars is available for a limited time frame.
The department has 15 cars, and they are planning to lease 11 and get rid of 11, keeping the fleet number the same.
The current budget does not allow for any new vehicles.
Martin said his department operates under statutes, and the county is required by statute to provide vehicles for the sheriff’s department.
Tran asked how much it will be in the future.
Susan Walker said she will have more information on the debt service cost at the next meeting.
Public Comments for Items Not on The Agenda
Michael Hoyt
Hoyt asked what the justification was for the $8,000 paid to a law firm at the beginning of the meeting when the commission approved the payment of budget items. Beerbower said it was paid to progress a civil case between the county and a plaintiff. Hoyt said that the amount was not mentioned in the motion, which makes the payment illegal.
“We’ll take that up with our counsel,” said Beerbower.
Old Business
Budget Discussion & Approval of Final Budget
Milburn suggested tabling this item until the Sept. 22 meeting. Tran asked to meet in a special meeting and keep cutting the budget and not push it off another week.
They decided to hold a special meeting Tues. Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.
Liaison Procedures & Assignments
Beerbower read a statement apologizing to the public and to his fellow commissioners. He also said the authority of the commission is collective, and they are stronger when they are together than when they fight.
Mid-Year Valuation with Appraiser
Commissioner Milburn read a portion of a letter from the county appraiser explaining the valuation situation in Bourbon County.
Every year the state of Kansas does an evaluation of each county to see if it is in statistical compliance and following the guidelines the state laid out. The evaluation is based on property sales. Ideally, the valuation should be within 10% of the value the property sells for. Last year, Bourbon County appraised values were at 72.8% of the amount the properties sold for. Halfway through 2025 they were at 81.74%. They are still appraising for less than the market value.
“90 to 100 (percent) is where we want to be,” said the appraiser’s statement.
Courthouse Elevator
The county needs to either fix the elevator or apply for a variance per the Department of Labor, or risk a fine from the Fire Marshall.
Tran advised modernizing the whole elevator system. “Replace the whole thing,” he said.
Milburn moved that they give the clerk the authority to apply for the variance to continue current operations and report back to the commission if there’s a variance fee.
Network Real Estate, LLC – Approval of Letter
For AT&T, a letter stating that the county currently has no codes or zoning.
It was approved.
The sheriff said that some counties have agreements with tower builders allowing the county to add its first responder equipment to a portion of the tower.
Claim for Windshield Damage
A county truck threw a rock and broke a citizen’s windshield. The cost of the damage is $381.57. Rather than submit it to the county’s insurance with its $500 deductible, the commission voted to pay the repair costs.
County Clerk
CIC Payroll Conversion & PayEntry Contract
Walker pointed out some potential problems with the PayEntry contract, which requires the clerk to be the primary contact and take care of all the housekeeping items. There is also an $85 per hour charge, per payroll, depending on how many hours it takes them to process the payroll, per the provider addendum, and a $2 per print for W2s.
Milburn said she would talk to the company representative.
Road Records will now be handled by the clerk, since Laura Holdridge will no longer be doing them.
The commission also moved to take back the culvert approval from the consent agenda and set it aside to be brought back Sept. 22.
Commission Comments
Tran announced they have successfully hired a Director of Public Works, Kenneth Allen, who will start Sept. 22.
Milburn read a statement saying that outsourcing IT services has saved the county money and allowed it to keep up with industry standards. Also, the outsourcing of payroll services did not add new costs to the budget. The commission’s decision to engage an HR firm to help them deal with HR matters was necessary to create consistency. She also asked if the budget should be overseen by a single individual or by a governing body of three.