ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Though part of the budget cuts for Seward County for Fiscal Year 2025 included not transferring just less than $1.2 million to the Special Highway Fund, Administrator April Warden said the county is still moving forward with some road projects for the upcoming year.
Those projects include an overlay project, which includes 20 miles of asphalt roads in the county, and working on Road O, a gravel road project.
“We will be doing a bond issue for the overlay project, and that allows us to leave the $4 million we have in Special Highway for other projects,” Warden said. “We’ll be able to make a payment on the bond issue and spread that out further over the years instead of paying that $6 million up front in cash.”
The county too, Warden said, is moving forward with plans for the rodeo arena at the Seward County Fairgrounds, as bids were approved recently to replace bleachers and lay concrete to make the facility ADA compliant. Money for that project will come from funds the county received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
“The bleachers at the rodeo arena were damaged in the storm four years ago, and this has been an ongoing project where different options were reviewed such as moving the entire rodeo arena in front of the grandstands, but after doing the studies and the research and looking at everything, it was determined we would replace the bleachers and leave the rodeo arena where it is,” she said.
Though a 3 percent cost of living increase has been eliminated for FY 2025, Warden said the county has been able to maintain its current benefits package, which she considers a huge recruitment tool.
“We are not always competitive in pay compared to the market for both public and private businesses,” she said. “Our benefits are the one thing the employees have been able to count on. We were very fortunate this year we did not receive a huge increase in the cost.”
Warden said this cost was also offset by moving additional contributions of $50 a month for coverage to employees themselves.
“With that being said, employee benefits are still on the rise,” she said. “When we talk about employee benefits, it’s not just our health and dental insurance.”
Warden said other benefits such as the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and the Kansas Police & Fireman’s Retirement System increases employers’ share of the percentage the county has to pay each year.
“Because we are self-funded, we’re taking partial responsibility for the claims, so we have to make sure we’re putting enough money aside for that,” she said.
The elimination of the cost of living increase, Warden said, will be re-evaluated by commissioners at the end of 2024, but she urged caution when addressing the matter.
“When you give a raise like that, you have to be able to sustain that for years to come,” she said. “It’s not just about what the bottom line is at the end of the year.”
Other projects for FY 2025 include the completion of remodeling and weatherization at the Seward County Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center, which will be paid with ARPA money as well.
“We will continue with our five and 10-year road plan,” Warden said. “We will be completing the Restlawn Cemetery digital directory project. We are making some changes to our safety program and our maintenance program, and we will continue to collaborate with the city, school, college, Chamber and hospital on different projects.”
Warden said the budget problem will likely not see an end for a while.
“Commissioners are elected as our leaders, and they have to make decisions on behalf of the community, all of the community,” she said. “Those decisions create the reality of how we move forward and continue with financial planning for the future.”
Warden said remaining revenue neutral comes with swift consequences and responsibilities to provide services for the future.
“We’re going to continue to be faced with aging equipment and infrastructure, inflationary concerns, valuation unknown, protest of taxes, workforce issues and financial stability for years to come,” she said. “This is not something we’re going to recover from in a year or two, but we will continue to work diligently for all of the citizens of Seward County.”
While things may look bleak now, Warden did say some exciting things are coming to the community.
“The Seward County Development Corporation along with community leaders have worked hard to make some very positive additions to our tax base and our community,” she said. “There’s three new housing additions going in. You had the groundbreaking at SAFFiRE, the jet fuel pilot program, APEX Clean Energy, the National Beef expansion. You have the truck center expansion.”
Warden said new restaurants and retail are going into place, and small businesses, both old and new, continue to help the community thrive.
“With that being said, though, it does take time for some of these businesses to get established, and we have to have the patience as it goes through the proper channels and the process,” she said. “Everybody wants everything now, and it does take some time.”
Warden said with every decision made by county leaders, good and bad points must be weighed out.
“This year’s budget is a reflection of what I feel every business and household is facing,” she said. “We all go through ebbs and flows and ups and downs, and this year was a challenging year for Seward County. I think we took some risks to remain revenue neutral, and that burden falls on our staff and those department heads who are providing those services we’ve all come to expect.”
With this said, Warden is confident the county will persevere.
“Our employees have grit and determination, and they are loyal to this community,” she said. “The current commissioners we have in office have worked hard to be transparent and request public input and feedback in their presence, and we are getting that. With that comes the good, the bad and the ugly, and now, we have to determine what we’re going to do with that information and how it benefits the community as a whole.”
Warden gave a brief update on where the county is at with its ARPA funding.
“We have approximately $2 million left in ARPA funds, but with that, they have allocated those funds,” she said. “We still have the courthouse and Law Enforcement Center remodel to do. Those bids came in at $859,750. They had a budget of $475,490 still left for that, but they also had $500,000 set aside for the Masoni Bridge.”
Warden said ARPA money will not be able to be used on the bridge project because funds have to be allocated by December as to how they will be spent.
“You have to have the funds expended by 2026,” she said. “There’s not a bridge that will be able to be built by 2026.”
Warden said in addition to these and the rodeo arena, which she said is estimated to come in about $100,000 less than originally allocated, other projects have been earmarked for ARPA money.
“IdeaTek is still doing that expansion on Highway 83 from Seward County all the way to Scott County,” she said. “We still have $37,500 that’s to be allocated for that. In order for them to receive that, they do have to finish that project on time.”
Other projects at the fairgrounds such as the recently completed Kai wall at the Activity Center and roofing projects for the livestock barn and grandstands, as well as a possible relocation of the Communications Center to the Liberal Recreation Department building in the former South Middle School are likewise part of the possible ARPA equation for Seward County.
“We still have some funding allocations we have to make decisions on,” Warden said. “Those decisions have to be made by December. In December, we have to report what we’re spending the ARPA money on, and that cannot be changed after that.”
