LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Todd Stanton, Seward County
In the Aug. 25 edition of the Leader & Times, Robert Pierce reported on a suggestion card by an anonymous county employee read to the County Commission the prior Monday.
The anonymous writer raised some valid concerns but strays from facts in three instances.
Mr. Pierce reported the person wrote, “No politician should ever run on ‘I will not increase property taxes’” with the implication being I stated this. First, I am not a politician, and second, at no time have I ever made such a statement. In fact, my early August letter to the editor clearly stated, “… we should not expect a revenue neutral budget.” Perhaps the writer referred to someone else. It is worth noting Senator Caryn Tyson has stated 55 percent of all taxing entities in Kansas (school boards, municipalities, counties and others) have produced a revenue neutral budget for 2025. Only a 45 percent minority have given notice they intend to increase taxation.
The writer also took issue with the idea of a comptroller/budget director, and I know not everyone understands the proper function of such a person. Time will tell if Seward County embraces the idea, but it is not new and any organization this size with a complex department structure will benefit from a competent person in this role, saving the county more — likely significantly more — than the expense. I have not suggested this person would be a full-time county employee. It may be such a role is best filled by someone who is not an employee.
The “Big Book of Wishes” is not unknown as the writer states. It’s actual title is the “Seward County 2025 Budget Work Session.” It is several hundred pages long in a three-inch ring binder including just under 60 separate budgets and weighs nearly six pounds. Absent a budget director, who is expected to have a comprehensive birds-eye view of something of this scope and the necessary skill set to find redundancy as well as creative and innovative ways to help county government better operate for all citizens?
If my letter to the editor about the current budget process and the size of the mill levy increase contemplated at that time (20 percent is not just “a few mills”) has made some uncomfortable, then, let that be the start of productive discussion now and by whomever sits on the next county commission. There are always ways to improve things for the citizens of Seward County. Continuing to do things in the same way while hoping for a better outcome will end in disappointment for all.
