L&T staff report

A recall petition has been filed against Seward County Commissioner Todd Stanton and has been sent to Seward County Attorney Russel Hasenbank for review.

The petition, signed by Randall McVey, B. Kyle Hayes and Matt Lynn, alleges Stanton committed misconduct in office regarding the retirement benefits of former Seward County employee Greg Standard.

The petition alleges Stanton obtained a list identifying county employees enrolled in the KP&F retirement plan and contacted the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System directly and questioned Standard’s eligibility.

Standard served in a variety of capacities during his tenure with Seward County, most recently as the Emergency Management Director which is not listed as eligible for KP&F benefits but for KPERS instead.

The petition continued that Standard also served at various times as assistant fire chief, advanced EMT, Hazmat technician and storm tracking team lead.

The petitioners also allege while Standard’s benefits were delayed pending a review he was provided fully funded benefits.

The petitioners allege that sharing Standard’s employment arrangement with KPERS violated KSA 21-6002(a)(3) which involves using confidential information acquired through public office to intentionally cause harm to another.

“(Stanton’s) unauthorized use of confidential data caused needless harm to a 37-year county employee’s earned retirement livelihood and required significant staff time and resources to correct,” the petition claims.