By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
County Attorney Aaron Cunningham asked Ellis County commissioners on Tuesday to restore funding for the county's victim witness coordinator position after eliminating the role last year as part of an effort to reduce costs.
Cunningham said the office determined that a dedicated traffic clerk was no longer necessary, but the past several months have shown that the victim witness coordinator is essential because of the increasing number of cases involving victims and the need to provide notice for hearings, sometimes with less than an hour's notice.
"The most important part of what our job does is try to serve victims and the public, and so I do not want to see any balls dropped on that front," Cunningham said. "There were some times this last year, really in just the last six months, we felt the loss of Abby Anderson in that role."
Cunningham said legal assistant Lori Dryling is being trained in the office and, if commissioners approve funding, would be promoted to victim witness coordinator in 2027.
He said the office also expects to be fully staffed with attorneys for the first time during his tenure if a prospective hire passes the Kansas bar exam and begins work in September.
Darin Myers, county administrator, said the budget figures presented reflected the amounts included in the original budget book, with no changes at this time.
Myers said updated numbers will be presented during the commission’s Aug. 4 meeting if there are any personnel changes affecting the budget.
He also clarified that recent decisions to delay staff adjustment raises, cost-of-living adjustments and appointed attorney raises would not impact the County Attorney’s budget.
Commissioners confirmed funding for the reinstated victim witness coordinator position was included in the proposed budget.
Environmental services
Justin Craig, environmental services director, presented three agenda items to commissioners. He first reported that two new digital drum scales were purchased through a Household Hazardous Waste grant, with no impact on the county's budget.
Craig also updated commissioners on the county's Local Environmental Protection Program septic grant, saying the county approved two septic system replacement projects and spent just less than $25,000 of the $50,000 grant awarded in 2024.
The remaining grant funds will be returned to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, although Craig said a bookkeeping error caused the money to be transferred into the county's general fund instead of remaining in the grant fund, creating the appearance of a $50,000 budget shortfall even though the funds are accounted for elsewhere.
Craig also presented proposed changes to the Ellis County Landfill's Saturday operating hours.
He said landfill traffic drops significantly during the winter months, prompting staff to recommend reducing Saturday hours from the current 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule.
Commissioners discussed two options: closing the landfill on Saturdays from December through February while operating from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the rest of the year, or keeping the landfill open year-round but reducing winter Saturday hours to 8 a.m. to noon.
Commissioners decided to table this item until the first meeting in August.
Library Board Bond
Ellis County Library Board Treasurer Jennifer Teget updated county commissioners on the board’s bond insurance request. Teget said there was confusion during a previous meeting about the coverage amount, but clarified the total bond insurance policy is $80,000, not $160,000.
The coverage applies to two positions on the library board: the president and treasurer. Teget said she received an updated policy from the insurance agent and will complete the application process before the coverage takes effect.
In other business
- Commissioners approved the purchase of a new uninterruptible power supply system for the county's main data center after the existing unit failed to provide backup power during an April outage. IT Director Joe Tongoy said the failure may have been caused by damage from last year's flood. The replacement will be paid for through the county's insurance claim, with no impact on the county budget.
- Commissioners also approved a corrected resolution updating the pay scale step assignments for the District 2 commissioner and the Ellis County sheriff. County Administrator Darin Myers said the correction does not change either official's salary but aligns the positions with the appropriate step on the county's pay scale after an error was identified in a resolution approved earlier this month.