ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Many of the questions centered around the recent adopted budget for Seward County that increased the county’s mill levy more than 14 mills over the Revenue Neutral Rate have focused on how much the county actually has compared to what has been reported by county staff.
Monday, Treasurer Mary Rose answered some of those questions with her annual treasurer’s report to the county commission. She said the year in the treasurer’s runs from January to October, with Oct. 31 marking the end of tax season.
Commissioners unanimously approved the report. Rose said the grand total balance through Oct. 31 is $28,123,026.47, and she emphasized the treasurer’s office has to balance to the penny every day showing that money is in the bank.
“We have to balance, or we don’t move forward for the day,” she said.
Rose also said the $28 million-plus number represents what Seward County has in the bank.
One concern commissioners was a negative balance of $19,600 in bad checks shown in the report. Rose said once bad checks are obtained, they are credited to that account.
Commissioner Tammy Sutherland-Abbot asked Rose if the almost $20,000 in bad checks had not been collected. Rose said it is not that the checks had not been collected, but the treasurer’s office was still in the process of collecting.
Sutherland-Abbott asked if there was a process which set a time by which bad checks had to be collected. Rose said treasurer’s office officials put a policy together a couple of years ago to move some of the debt to the bad checks account.
“We go over that with District Court,” Rose said. “We have stuff we’re still waiting for it come through. It’s not that it’s forgotten. It’s not that it’s trying to be collected. It’s in the process of being collected.”
Commission Vice Chair Steve Helm asked how many years worth of bad checks the account represented.
“So this could be 10, 15, 20 years worth of bad checks?” he said.
Rose said the checks in the account were not from that far back.
“We don’t do that,” she said. “We wait every quarter. Some of these checks are with the attorney with District Court to get that money back.”
With insufficient checks constantly coming into the treasurer’s office, Rose said the account is never zeroed out.
Sutherland-Abbott asked if Rose could provide a ledger to see what the oldest bad check on record is. Rose said she could provide such information via e-mail. She added no debts are written off in the treasurer’s office.
“We collect it, and if it’s government funds, it’s considered a felony,” she said. “It goes to court, and there’s a warrant out for your arrest. If you write a bad check with the county and it’s under $100, it goes to CBK for collection. If it’s over $100, it goes to the sheriff, which then goes to District Court for a warrant.”
Helm said he noticed no line item in the report for the money being set aside to potentially pay back Arkalon Energy due to an ongoing appraisal dispute. Rose said that money is earmarked funding and does not have an account.
“This is where the clerk’s office comes in,” Rose said. “I do not see a separate fund for Arkalon. It is an earmark within the general fund. It’s an earmark. It’s not a separate fund.”
Sutherland-Abbott asked why there cannot be a separate line item for the Arkalon money.
“We can always add all kinds of different items to any accounting system to designate funds for a specific account,” she said. “Why do we not have one for this?”
Administrator April Warden said there is a separate line item within the general fund for the Arkalon funding.
“It’s in your general fund,” she said. “It’s not restricted. Most all of budgets are done within the general fund for a reason, and that’s outlined in your Kansas Association of Counties desk book and in what your auditor has told you.”
“If it has its own designated asset or line item, you know that’s what those funds are for even though by law they’re in general and deemed unrestricted,” Sutherland-Abbott said.
Warden said the money is set in the general fund to give commissioners spending authority.
“Any money we deposit that goes into your daily statement, you see those individual line items,” she said. “The money that is there, if we gave an expense or a deposit for that, you would see that line item in your chart of accounts.”
Sutherland-Abbott asked Rose and Warden to clarify if a fund is in place with sublines that specializes and breaks down in accounting the designated use of the funding.
“It may be in a total fund, but we want to know there’s an individual sub account under this fund that’s designated,” Sutherland-Abbott said. “This money is earmarked.”
Warden said the funding is itemized out of the budget commissioners approved earlier this year.
Sutherland-Abbott said if all line items, funds and sub accounts could be broken down, this can show specific charts of accounts, expenses, liabilities and assets.
Rose said reports show all accounts going in and out of the treasurer’s office throughout a day and a month.
“That is a request you can ask for, and it’ll show all those accounts and some funds in that general,” she said.
Sutherland-Abbott said she was asking about the Arkalon funds because of concerns brought forward by taxpayers.
“We’re not the ones who’ve had the issue with it,” she said. “We’ve understood it’s earmarked. It’s outside questions that have arisen.
