My first year serving on the county commission has been both challenging and rewarding. I am proud to serve this community and committed to doing the best job possible. We have a great group of county employees who are the backbone of our organization.
There have been some controversies over the past year. I believe it is important to make sure the public knows what the County Commission is doing and to allow citizens to share their thoughts and comments. We are asking for accountability and fiscal responsibility through communication with all county department heads. No one is being treated poorly; however, we have received responses indicating that “this is the way we have always done it”, and questioning the status quo has ruffled some feathers. I am sorry the Treasurer and I could not find common ground on hiring a Financial Officer. I hate to see her many years of experience leave her office before were able to fill the Financial Officer position.
During my campaign, I shared how strongly I believed we needed a Financial Officer. After this past year of being on the commission and working through a budget process, that feeling has intensified. Some employees may feel I think they are incompetent or not needed due to my desire to add this financial position. This is not the case at all. Our county budget is too big (43 Million Dollars) to not have a person dedicated to the health of our finances. We have had several outside organizations inform us that our internal controls are lacking. In 2019, the past commission reduced the capital improvement one mill to stay under budget. This is not the way to budget sensibly. The current commission tried to replace that this year but was unable to. It must be a priority to replace this mill, and that might mean making cuts elsewhere.
In 2020, during the beginning of the pandemic, the federal government passed the emergency sick leave act to assist with those exposed or diagnosed with COVID-19. First responders were exempt from this act due to being essential personnel. The county commission at the time, decided to allow our law enforcement to utilize this act, which I wholeheartedly agree with. The Act limited the amount for each employee to 80 hours total. Fifty county employees went over the 80-hour limit, some receiving several hundred hours while still accumulating sick leave and vacation. In total, employees used 7,000 hours of admin leave, 6,500 of those hours were in the Sheriff’s office. I checked with the Riley County police department which also runs their jail, and employs more than double what Geary County does; they used only 459 hours in the same time frame.
This administrative leave was to prevent people who do not have leave to take to be able to be paid during this pandemic. Our county employees receive great vacation and sick leave benefits, and many of those who used this benefit had enough of their own time to use. 7000 hours is over $100,000.00, which I feel is excessive and abusive. No one was monitoring this to make sure it was being used correctly. When the current commission was informed the administrative leave had continued to be used, it was put to a stop. No administrative leave can occur without the County Commission and Human Resources’ approval.
If county departments do their own thing, I believe it ends up costing the county more money. We have numerous contracts with different, internet, phone, and cable companies. We are trying to bundle things up for savings, but we have the departments signing their own contracts and not checking with other departments.
Employee benefits were not being reconciled after payroll was done and we were paying for benefits employees were not receiving or double paying each month. Names of employees who hadn’t worked for the county for a long time were still in the program, costing the county money every month to keep their profile. Both issues have been resolved.
One employee signed a multi-year contract for billboards that INCREASES every year. It is not smart business to sign a multi-year contract that doesn’t save money.
I discovered one department had numerous late charges on their credit card statements this past year. These are just a few inefficiencies found recently. I am sure an experienced Financial Officer will be able to locate many more.
Geary County Commissioners make $42,000.00 annually, plus insurance and retirement. We are the highest paid commissioners of a county our size in Kansas. Saline County has 5 commissioners and their salaries combined are less than what our county pays for three commissioners.
We are still searching for a Finance Officer. A qualified, experienced person is going to some cost money, but will pay for themselves in the long run. One commissioner was worried we would make some department heads mad if we paid the Financial Officer more than them. I believe the commissioners should reevaluate our pay to offset the cost of the new Finance Officer because that is how much I feel this is needed.
We need to quit sticking our heads in the sand, believing there is nothing wrong. Our taxes are out of control. 45% of the property tax collected goes to the County. The average percentage going to counties in Kansas is 29%. Why is Geary County so much higher? No one can answer that question for me.
I did not write this to embarrass anyone or any department. This is a problem that needs to be addressed now. We need a 3 to 5-year strategic plan on capital improvements and equipment replacement, along with fiscal transparency on where our taxes are going. No one should be offended about this. Commissioners are elected to make hard decisions about finances. We cannot continue to act like we have a blank check from our taxpayers. Please reach out with any questions or comments. [email protected]