ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
A portion of the commission comments and suggestion cards items on Monday’s Seward County Commission agenda had one commissioner and Administrator April Warden voicing concerns over some community issues.
In commission comments, Vice Chair Tammy Sutherland-Abbott talked about some remarks made by local leaders following the results of the recent August primary election.
Sutherland-Abbott began her remarks by praising the work of county employees and Warden.
“I wanted to start by telling our employees and our administrator how we value your dedication and appreciate how good of employees you are,” Sutherland-Abbott said. “I wanted to also address my fellow commissioners and tell you although we don’t always agree on everything, I support you 100 percent as a commission and stand with every decision we make. There were some public comments made recently about one of our commissioners, which I think were totally inappropriate and unprofessional.”
Sutherland-Abbott said while workers with the City of Liberal, USD No. 480, Seward County Community College and the county itself have different jobs that make the community work together, she wanted to recognize and address this issue.
“Every one of us who are elected officials, we’re trusted to be good leaders of our community, and we should be respectful of each other and not bash each other,” she said. “Even though we may, as it appears to some, work slow as a county, we have different items we have to do that take our decisions out that we would like to move faster, but legally keep us from acting on. We always are very aware of the decisions we make and how the affect our taxpayers. We do our research, but mainly, I want us all, be it the city, USD No. 480, the college and the county, to always be respectful because we are the elected leaders and should be supportive of each other. If we have issues, they need to be behind closed doors. We need to be unified to support Seward County and the City of Liberal. The negativity puts strains on our relationships.”
Sutherlnad-Abbott may have been responding to remarks made by City of Liberal Mayor Jose Lara on a social media post announcing the primary election results.
“Sad day for District 5,” Lara posted, refering to Steve Helm’s district. Helm was re-elected after facing a challenge from Bee Symons and Dr. Lamberto Flores. “Hopefully someone runs a write-in campaign. Out of all five Seward County commissioners, his removal would have been the most beneficial for the community. And yes, I say this as an official stance as Mayor and city commissioner of Liberal. Congratulations to the other two positions!”
Lara confirmed the statement to the Leader & Times on a broadcast of the “High Plains News Today” and clarified that his statement only represented himself and was not representative of the City of Liberal or the commission as a whole. That video was posted Aug. 9 and is available for viewing on the Leader & Times Facebook page.
On the same thread, Sutherland-Abbott posted, “The citizens of Liberal have spoken, and their voices should be respected.”
Just prior to Monday’s meeting coming to a close, Warden read two suggestion cards, and one from a county employee who did not identify themselves talked about recent criticisms of the county’s budgeting process.
“I have watched all three days of budget work session video meetings,” Warden said reading the card. “I have also read the letter to the editor by (Todd) Stanton in the newspaper. I heard everyone talking of inflation and upping the mill levy and can’t afford this or that, complaining of the budget process. Every commissioner comes in thinking they can change the world. It isn’t that easy.”
The employee said while some believe wages cannot be raised beyond a 3 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA), some only see that the proposed mill levy for this year is being raised by a few mills and that it increases taxes.
“No one wants to see the mill levy raised,” Warden said as she continued to read the card. “I hear the commissioners talking of their constituents and being fiscally responsible. I hear all of the above, yet I did not hear one time how it would affect the employees. Maybe you don’t think about it, but your employees, most of them are also taxpayers. You raise property taxes, say $25 per month.”
The employee said those who criticize the proposed budget do not see employees’ property taxes and insurance going up, as well as utilities for county buildings and constituents themselves.
“Employees are also constituents,” Warden continued reading the card. “Insurance on property, vehicles, work comp and other insurance is rising. You keep speaking of changing employee benefits, maybe employees paying more towards their insurance. Seward County does have excellent coverage for their employees, but let’s look at this another way.”
The employee said county workers received a 3 percent COLA in 2024, which equated on average to 50 cents an hour, $40 more per paycheck and $1,040 more annually. This does not include increases in mortgages due to increased property taxes and insurance.
“I’m assuming that means increased $50 approximately per month, $600 annually,” the card said. “Food increase, utility increase, fuel increase, inflation was 8 percent – ballpark $150 a month. That is a low guesstimate. $1,800 annually for food, utilities and fuel insurance increases family $50 per month, $600 annually.”
The employee later talked about the county paying a consultant around $33,000 from non-budgeted funds.
“At this rate, he will be paid roughly $65,000 for 2024, which is roughly two employees wages for the year at 40 hours per week,” the card said. “In 2023, the consultant was paid $28,638.24, almost the cost of one employee working a 40-hour week, unsure of how many hours the consultant turns in as the warrant register only shows a total cost.”
A maintenance program recently started by the commission which runs just less than $20,000 annually was also discussed. The employee said only a small portion of county employees use and are trained on the program, adding the money spent on the program was about the amount of average annual wages for one employee.
“The original cost of the program was around $60,000, not budgeted,” Warden said as she continued reading the card. “The commissioners started a safety program, which only a handful of departments are a part of. Why are not all Seward County departments part of the safety committee, which is supposed to be for the employees’ benefit?”
The employee referred to recent letter to the editor in the Leader & Times criticizing how the county is running, adding a comptroller was needed to streamline the county’s budget.
“He is starting off with a new employee who will make much more than your employee, the heart of the county, with probably an annual cost of $60,000,” the employee said. “I am unsure of what the book of wishes is he’s referring to. The department heads run their departments as cut down as possible with ask for normal wear and tear or needs to provide the Seward County constituents.”
The employee continued by explaining many of the county’s department heads are taxpayers themselves.
“Cutting back and cutting back is part of why we are in the situation we are in now,” the suggestion card said. “No politician should ever run on ‘I will not increase property taxes.’”
The employee finished the suggestion card by saying the county is not a private business, nor is it a corporation.
“There are rules, policies and statutes that must be followed, as you speak of constituents and being taxpayer conscious,” Warden said reading the card. “Please remember your employees are also taxpayers. We do our jobs for all of Seward County because we are passionate about what we do. We do our jobs for all of Seward County because we want to make our county shine. We do our jobs for all of Seward County to provide the best services we can as Seward County employees.”
