L&T STAFF OPINION
During last night’s Seward County Commission meeting, Commissioner Presephoni Fuller read her resignation letter effective immediately. She said she and her family were planning to move to a home they recently purchased in Florida.
Following her resignation, Chairman Scott Carr announced he would be resigning earlier this morning, and Tammy Sutherland-Abbott followed suit.
For Sutherland-Abbott and Carr, recall efforts were under way after they both signed grant application letters that required matching tax dollars but took those actions without a vote of the commission.
There’s no question the public had turned on the three after they voted for the largest tax increase in Seward County history, and there was no effort being made to involve the public in discussions. Those who spoke at the Revenue Neutral Rate hearing Sept. 15 had no effect on the outcome. The tax increase was passed 3-2 by Fuller, Carr and Sutherland-Abbott.
Since that time public pressure has been directed at them to either rescind the tax increase or resign.
They have chosen the latter.
There has been an abrasiveness to the public discourse during the discussion of a tax increase and since.
Complaints about the process have been filed with the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, and there is a hearing scheduled for Jan. 27 to address the issues.
There are several key challenges facing the Seward County Commission, and all will now be addressed by new commissioners who will be appointed hopefully within a short period of time.
Seward County can continue to function, albeit on a limited basis, until at least two new commissioners are appointed.
Hopefully the new commissioners will learn from this tragic period in Seward County history so the healing process can begin.
For one, the relationship between the people and its elected leaders should be a bond of trust. Simply electing or appointing someone to an office does not end the relationship. Good leaders seek many counselors and listen to a variety of opinions before making decisions. Had that occurred three months ago, we might not be where we are today.
Second, rebuilding trust will require a new approach to fiscal responsibility. The public has asked for a Chief Financial Officer to oversee the expenditures of the county, and that may now be a reality. Then, and only then, will the public trust the financial management.
Third, we can’t linger on what went wrong too long. There is too much at stake to be trapped in the past few months.
Seward County has to move forward as a unified community. There are several joint efforts that need to be addressed, and Seward County needs to be a seat at the table alongside the City of Liberal, the City of Kismet, Seward County Community College, USD No. 480 and USD No. 483.
While the county has some unique challenges, like addressing the county roads and bridges, there are common challenges like economic development that require cooperation across all taxing entities.
Isolationism of any of the entities hurts us all.
The new commission will have to address what type of leadership structure it believes is best, and hopefully those decisions will be a reflection of the desires of the people in Seward County.
While we did not always agree with the decisions they made, we support Fuller, Carr and Sutherland Abbott in their decision to step down, and that should bring this chapter to a close. It’s now time to start rowing the boat as a united community in a common direction.
