Small Town News

Regional planning group worries Alma resident

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The concept of non-elected big government taking rights away from the local county concerned a local resident enough to bring him to the Wabaunsee County Commissioners' Monday meeting.

J.C. Rivers said he read about the proposed regional planning committee and wanted to know whether it is true.

When Commission Chairman Rodney Allen verified that it was, Rivers said the time to begin talking about his concerns is while the committee is in its infancy stage.

"Have they asked for any money yet?" Rivers asked.

Commissioners said they haven't yet, and County Attorney Norbert Marek said when the committee presented they had not yet arrived at numbers for participants to pay. He added the committee had hoped most of the funding would come from the federal government.

At the current time, commissioners said the main participation Wabaunsee County has is sending Economic Development Director Abby Dechant to the committee's meetings.

Rivers then asked whether the county commission is an elected government, which commissioners affirmed. He then asked where the commission's authority comes from and Allen deferred to Marek, who said it is constitutional.

Rivers stated he feels regional government is a gradual encroachment of power.

He said it was started to bring order to metro districts and it is as effective if not less effective than not having it.

Rivers said regional government began under former President Richard Nixon and divided the nation into 10 federal regions, and he commented that he should have protested the consolidation then.

With that in mind, he said he is asking that his elected government doesn't give over their authority of vote.

Allen assured Rivers he will not allow people who are not Wabaunsee County citizens to make Wabaunsee County decisions.

"I was thinking it was more of a grouping to perhaps create more commerce," he said.

Rivers said that is one of the hooks the regional governments are using.

He said the goal then is to get an appointed person to sit on the larger committee to represent the county, which usurps authority because that person is not an elected official.

Allen said Wabaunsee County finds itself in a unique position because the county is small but is in between larger communities. He said larger communities have come to the county for support, but the county doesn't tend to throw its money around.

He cited the Manhattan Regional Airport as an example of a request the county turned down.

Allen said he couldn't see sending a large sum of money, if any, to a regional group.

Commissioner Jim Suber said he agreed with much of what Rivers said.

"I tend to line up with J.C. on a lot of his remarks," Suber said. "I don't see how you can avoid usurping local power."

"On the other hand, it may be the only game left in town," he said.

Suber said the county already has no input on a number of topics, including education, and has to accept mandates from the state and federal governments.

Allen said any time the county gets involved in something it enters with a skeptically cautious mentality.

Suber added that he feels it is a good idea to send a token representative because it is a benefit for someone to be aware of what is going on.

Rivers said it is an issue of taxation without representation.

"Once it's instituted, its claws are there," he said.

He said if the money is available, he could see better uses for it, including sending Dechant to grant writing school so Wabaunsee County could administer its own grants.

"I'm not before you because you've made any decision," Rivers said, adding that he is before the commission to stop the decision.

Commissioners discussed having Dechant report on the meetings she has attended so they can stay informed.

Commissioners also looked at money in relation to water usage at the courthouse.

Marek said courthouse employees have been tracking water use daily since July, and the reports show an average usage of 1,000 gallons daily. He said there are some exceptions, including Aug. 5, when the total was 400 gallons and Aug. 12, when outdoor plants were watered and the day's usage totaled 2,500 gallons.

Marek said he wasn't sure if changes had been made in the sheriffs department and jail and he added he would check with Sheriff Doug Howser to see if changes have been made, in order to determine whether that would have any impact on the total water bill and sewer fee.

Marek said the sewer fee is based on the number of gallons used each month and there is a 25,000 gallon threshold each month.

If the courthouse continues to exceed the threshold the sewer fees could change by several hundred dollars a month.

The next option, Marek said, is to negotiate with the city to see if that price could be lowered.

Deputy Clerk Shannon Wertzberger talked to commissioners about updates on time clock and payroll systems.

She said the county's current time clock soon will not be supported and she is looking for ways to interface a new time clock into the current payroll program. She said a link could be created for $3,000 and there is potential that amount could be split with other counties needing the same programming.

Wertzberger said she would like to have three time clocks, at a cost of $800 each, including one for the courthouse, one for the sheriffs department and one for the highway department.

Commissioners discussed how to mandate time clock use and Allen said he wants to help create distance between Wertzberger and the need for her to adjust hours and make determinations of who actually worked how much.

Marek advised bringing in the department heads when the new systems are lined up and outlining the expectations for supervisors to enforce time clock rules.

Wertzberger also said she will be going to a 28-day pay period to accommodate the sheriffs department, which means employees will be paid every four weeks, 13 times a year.

Sheriff Doug Howser also talked with commissioners and said he is working with Wertzberger on the pay policy and is hoping to do a dry run once the new time system is in place.

Howser said he also has heard rumors that the Red Dirt concert at Interstate 70 and Wabaunsee Road has been doing large-scale advertising and he said he suspects it may be more than 1,500 people, with as many as 5,000, in attendance. As a result, he plans to have all his deputies on duty that day.

Howser also reported his department went to Dover Saturday to help with traffic control during a hostage situation there.

He said he heard some complaints about communication between departments during that situation, as well as unmarked patrol vehicles from other counties racing down the Interstate at 100 mph, but in the end the situation worked out alright with the hostages escaping. (Please see related story.)

Extension Agent Karaline Mayer gave commissioners a report on the Extension office and outlined some upcoming highlights.

She said the Ranch and Range tour will take place Oct. 3 at the Downey Ranch and the Wabaunsee County Fairgrounds.

She said area agronomists, the noxious weed department and she have put out chemical plots in the Eskridge area to see how they work on killing sericea lespedeza.

She said they also have formed a chapter of the Kansans Optimizing Health, which is geared for people with chronic conditions and caretakers of people with chronic conditions.



Copyright 2009 The Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise, Alma, Kansas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 The Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise Alma, Kansas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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