By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission will be asked during its 8:30 a.m. meeting Tuesday to approve a resolution that will set a public hearing for Big Creek Estates.
The public hearing would be set for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 16, allowing the community to give their input to the commission on the proposed Reinvestment Housing Incentive District before final decisions are made.
The incentive district covers 13 homes planned southeast of Hays, with construction costs estimated at $650,000.
Local Environmental Protection Program septic grant extension
The commission will discuss the extension of its Local Environmental Protection Program and a $50,000 grant awarded by the Kansas Department of Health for the 2026 state fiscal year.
The grant assists with the cost of repairing or replacing failing septic systems for low-income households, using the 2024 Federal Poverty Guidelines to determine eligibility:
• 200% or below the federal poverty level gets 100% coverage with grant funds
• 201 to 250% of the federal poverty level gets 85% of coverage with grant funds
• 251 to 300% of the federal poverty level gets 75% coverage with grant funds
Text-to-speech automated dispatch solution
The commission will be asked to approve the purchase of text-to-speech dispatch software that would automatically send radio alerts and broadcast incident information through a digital voice over dispatch radio channels.
The Emergency Communication Center currently relies on 911 dispatchers to manually notify emergency responders and give information over the radio. At times, this requires the dispatcher to pause communication with the 911 caller to complete the process.
The commission will consider two proposals, including one that fits within the allocated budget at $63,153 and an estimated annual service cost of $3,028 after the second year.
Capital improvement projects
The commission is continuing its discussion on capital improvement projects, including the possibility of issuing a bond to fund more than $9.75 million in facility upgrades.
The projects would be funded mainly through sales tax and reserve funds. The commission will also review photos of the EMS and fire station facilities in the city of Ellis.
Other projects being considered include renovations to the Sheriff’s Office and Communications Department, replacement of fan coil units in the Administrative Building and an HVAC system upgrade at the courthouse.
Third draft of the 2026 Ellis County budget
The commission will review the third draft of the 2026 budget, which features updates to the general fund, capital, and road and bridge budgets.
Two changes include a $9,000 decrease in the appraiser's budget and any last-minute changes resulting from new personnel hires.
The current draft has a 1.84 mill levy increase, from 35.99 mills to 37.83. mills.
The mill levy increase includes the commissioners' request to add 1 mill ($542,695), which will replace the expected revenue decrease of the Oil and Gas Depletion fund ($425,865) in future years.
The proposed budget also includes a $200,000 increase in interest revenue. That will help reduce the overall mill levy by one-third of a mill for 2026.
Final changes can be made by Aug. 12, with the public hearing set for Sept. 9.
Other business
The commission will discuss potential dates for two upcoming meetings: a county work session and a joint meeting with the Hays City Commission.
You can view the full agenda here.