LETTER TO THE EDITOR, David Box, Seward County

At the June 1 Seward County Commission meeting, Commissioner Todd Stanton raised concerns about payroll coding, budget authority, and the use of county funds. I am not writing to argue those questions here. I am writing because I believe those concerns should not be reduced to personalities or politics. They should be understood in the context of the responsibilities each commissioner assumes upon taking office.

Commissioner Stanton wasn’t acting as judge and jury. He was asking the Board to examine potential statutory and budget concerns. I applaud any commissioner willing to ask hard questions. Commissioners, whether elected or appointed, are not placed in office to avoid uncomfortable issues. They serve to protect the public treasury, follow the budget, and ensure county government operates within the law.

Kansas law gives the BOCC exclusive control over county expenditures and authority to examine county receipts, expenses, and accounts. The Board also has responsibility for managing county business where no other law provides otherwise. When a commissioner becomes aware of circumstances suggesting that county funds, payroll, or budget authority may not align with legal requirements, that commissioner has a duty to bring the issue before the Board for examination. A commissioner may prefer to avoid an issue because it is uncomfortable, inherited, or politically disruptive, but once a serious question is raised, inaction is no longer neutral.

Seward County’s Employee Handbook includes a Code of Ethical Conduct that expressly uses public-trust language. It states that the legal powers and responsibilities conferred on county government are given by the community “as a public trust,” and that duties must be exercised “on behalf of the public interest.” It also says the code is officially adopted for county government by the BOCC and applies as ethical standards for county officials, employees, contracting agencies, and board volunteers.

Seward County also has a posted Code of Ethics for commissioners. It says service as county commissioner is a “sacred trust,” that stewardship of the public trust requires allegiance to the law, and that commissioners should be dedicated to honesty, openness, and accountability in public matters. It also states that a commissioner should actively practice stewardship of the county’s human, fiscal, and material resources.

These standards are not hidden. They are reflected in Seward County’s own public materials, including the Employee Handbook, the Code of Ethical Conduct, the posted Code of Ethics for county commissioners, and the County Commission’s stated values of stewardship, fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. I encourage anyone interested to review those materials on the County’s website and decide for themselves what level of oversight the public should expect from its commissioners.