L&T OPINION
We applaud Seward County Treasurer Mary Rose for her efforts to serve the community by providing the proper paperwork to those who wanted to protest what they believe to be an illegal tax levy.
We concur that the tax levy was done improperly and is highly likely to be overturned by the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, and it is the right of tax payers to protest those taxes.
As the treasure, Rose is charged with collecting the taxes. She doesn’t set the rates. That’s done by the Seward County Commission and must be done properly to exceed the previous year’s tax rate. If a property owner does not believe the process was done correctly, they have the right to protest, and there are documents available for that purpose.
Rose was familiar with protests of a property’s valuation, but when people started to protest the illegal levy, she had to communicate with BOTA to find the proper method for handling such protests. She followed that guidance.
But those who simply want the public to accept whatever is decided were not happy with Rose providing the public with the proper documents.
It does little good to revisit the asinine comments of Tammy Sutherland-Abbott and Presephoni Fuller, who have since resigned, but took advantage of their last night as a commissioner to berate Rose for serving the public. Sutherland-Abbott and Fuller had long since abdicated that duty.
But Rose has not, and she provided the proper paperwork the way a responsible elected public official should.
Fuller’s comment showed her contempt for the independence Rose had as an independently elected official.
“You just said, ‘I decided,’” Fuller snapped at Rose while Rose was explaining to the commission why the documents are available. “Who’s over you?” Fuller added.
That shows just how little Fuller understood about elected office. Perhaps Fuller believed she was under the Administrator, because she truly believed Rose answered to some supervisor.
Rose answers to the voters and to the Kansas Constitution. She follows the established laws in carrying out her duties.
But she answers only to the voters of Seward County.
And she serves the voters of Seward County. She has done so with distinction and has not joined in on the anti-public position to make it difficult for the people to get information or to utilize every legal option to protest an illegal levy.
And while the comments from commissioners who can no longer be held accountable were bad enough, comments made by Administrator April Warden were also disgraceful.
Without evidence to the contrary, Warden stated that taxpayers were just “signing their name and turning it in to her,” as if Rose was filling in the complaint.
That is absolutely false. Rose has provided a sticker with a statement about the tax levy being illegal that aligns with that already filed with BOTA, but it is up to the tax payer to use that sticker or to list their own reasoning.
When Commissioner Todd Stanton asked Warden to name the people that made such claims to Warden, he retort was, “No, because you aren’t willing to tell us yours, either.”
This is what she said to one of her supervisors in an open meeting, as if there are sides.
This is the problem within the Administration Building, the constant soap opera drama taking place. Instead of focusing on serving the people, the administrative level seems more focused on being engaged with a battle with what was a minority on the county commission.
But the majority resigned en masse.
Using staffers to comment as “constituents” to try to push an agenda may be at play here, it may not, but with public trust completely eroded we will never really be able to tell while the current administration and its antics do not change.
And attacks on anyone who dares challenge the administrative position must come to a halt.
Fuller, Sutherland-Abbott and Scott Carr may have carried the water for the wishes of the administration without public consideration. But that ship has sailed.
Whoever is appointed needs to be prepared to solve this issue and quickly. Otherwise, very little will change, and public confidence will not be restored.
