Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Commission Chairman Mike Wheeler called the Butler County Board of Commissioners to order at 9:00 a.m. Present were Commissioner Will Carpenter, Commissioner Randy Doll, Commissioner Randy Waldorf, Commissioner Dan Woydziak, Administrator Will Johnson Jr., and Clerk Recorder Tammy Bridges.
ITEM
#1 – PUBLIC HEARING ON 2005 BUTLER COUNTY AMENDED BUDGET
Commissioner Wheeler opened the Public Hearing regarding the 2005 Butler
County Amended Budget.
Harold Cooper came before the Board with concerns about roads and
bridges. Mr. Cooper stated that the
road and bridge situation is such that we will be closing roads and bridges
through attrition if we don’t come up with more money. Mr. Cooper stated that the loss of demand
transfers and the cost of the new jail and judicial building are taking money
away from the roads and bridges.
There was no other public comment.
Commissioner Woydziak motioned to close the Public Hearing regarding the
2005 Amended Budget. Commissioner
Waldorf seconded the motion. Motion
carried 5-0.
Administrator Johnson presented the Board with an amendment to the 2005
Budget including changes to the Sheriff Department, Jail, Special Building
Permit Fund, and Special Liability Fund.
The Sheriff’s fund is being amended to account for some grant
expenses. The Jail Budget is being
amended to take into account excess cash and move money back into the Capital
Reserve Fund. The Special Building
Permit Fund is part of the permitting process for the Wind Farm Project, and
the Special Liability Fund is an insurance fund.
Commissioner Carpenter asked how much of the jail budget is a function of
the mill levy. Administrator Johnson
stated that it was half a mill, and said there is a misconception that the
$3 million to operate the jail comes out of the taxpayers’ pockets, when,
in fact, it is revenue-based.
Harold Cooper stated that when he is talking about the $3 million, he’s
talking about the debt service for the jail.
Administrator Johnson corrected Mr. Cooper and said the debt service for
the jail is $1.4 million not $3 million.
Mr. Cooper is concerned about the finances of the jail and suggested
selling the jail to a public company, cutting our losses, and getting out of that
business.
ITEM #2 –
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE 2005 BUTLER COUNTY AMENDED BUDGET
Will Johnson, County Administrator, came before the Board for
consideration of adopting the 2005 Amended Butler County Budget.
Commissioner Woydziak motioned to adopt the 2005 Amended Butler County
Budget as presented. Commissioner Doll
seconded the motion. Motion carried
5-0.
ITEM #3 – PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 2006 BUTLER COUNTY BUDGET
Commissioner Wheeler opened the Public Hearing regarding the 2006 Butler
County Budget.
Mr. Paul Hull, President of the Towanda Senior Center, came before the
Board and stated that he is interested in the Senior Centers and asked the
Commission to consider moving the budget for the Senior Center higher up on the
agenda. Mr. Hull said that he noticed
that through time, the money the Senior Centers received from the Commission is
the same amount, but the County valuation has always gone up. The Towanda Senior Center sees 75-100 people
each week and Mr. Hull stated more services are needed.
Commissioner Woydziak stated that he has volunteered to represent the
Board to work with Connie Rausch, Department on Aging, next year to come up
with a formula plan based on hours of operation, people served, and percentage
of population who are seniors. Mr.
Woydziak stated that hopefully, next year we would have a more equitable plan
in place.
Commissioner Carpenter stated that the Board has discussed growth issues
related to the Senior Centers at length.
Administrator Johnson stated that he wanted to make a correction to what
was reported in the Wichita Eagle. He
stated that the net expenses for Butler County are going down $1,295,000;
they’re not going up. The gross expenditures
are going up $979,000, and when you take out the transfers, the actual net
expenditures for the 2006 Budget have decreased 4.25% from the 2005
Budget. The gross is an increase of
3.16% over the 2005 Budget.
Commissioner Doll stated that in 2005 we spent approximately $30,470,000
and in 2006 we’re going to spend $29,174,580.
Mr. Doll stated that was the decrease being referring to, and
Administrator Johnson stated that it was a function of the Flinthills Road
Project.
Administrator Johnson addressed the Department on Aging Budget and stated
that it is being increased by 16%.
Senior Centers are going up 2 1/2%, but in that is a $30,000 increase
for the El Dorado project, $10,000 for the Andover project, and $10,000 for the
Leon project. Those amounts are for
building expansion projects that end next year.
There was no other public comment.
Commissioner Doll motioned to close the Public Hearing regarding the 2006
Butler County Budget. Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 5-0.
ITEM #4 – CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE
2006 BUTLER COUNTY BUDGET
Will Johnson, County Administrator, came before the Board for
consideration of adopting the 2006 Butler County Budget.
Commissioner Carpenter motioned to approve the 2006 Butler County
Budget. Commissioner Doll seconded the
motion. Motion carried 5-0.
ITEM #5 – CONSIDER RESOLUTIONS
05-38, 05-39, 05-40, 05-41, 05-42, 05-43, 05-44, AND 05-45 EXPRESSING THE
PROPERTY TAXATION POLICY OF THE BOARD OF BUTLER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WITH
RESPECT TO THE FINANCING OF THE 2006 ANNUAL BUDGET FOR FIRE DISTRICTS #1, #2,
#3, #5, #6, #7, #8 AND #9 IN BUTLER COUNTY KANSAS
Will Johnson, Administrator, stated that K.S.A. 79-2925b provides that a
resolution be adopted and property taxes levied if the budget exceeds the
amount levied to finance the previous year’s budget with exception to revenue
produced contributed to the taxation of new improvements, increased personal
property valuation, and debt service.
Because of the general budget for the County, we did not have to adopt a
resolution this year, but did have to adopt resolutions for 8 of the 9 Fire
Districts, with the exception of Fire District #4, which actually did see a
decreased valuation in their area. All
the other Fire Districts increased in valuation. Part of the reason our general fund didn’t increase was because
of the debt service. We have
Resolutions 05-38, 05-39, 05-40, 05-41, 05-42, 05-43, 05-44, and 05-45 with respect to financing the 2006 Annual
Butler County Budget for Fire Districts #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9 in
Butler County Kansas.
Commissioner Woydziak motioned to adopt Resolutions 05-38, 05-39, 05-40, 05-41, 05-42,
05-43, 05-44, and 05-45 for Fire
Districts #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #7, #8
and #9, a resolution expressing the property taxation policy of the Board of
Butler County Commissioners with respect to financing the 2006 annual Fire
District Budgets. Commissioner
Waldorf seconded the motion. Motion
carried 5-0.
APPROVAL OF ADDS & ABATES
Commissioner Carpenter motioned to approve Adds & Abates #2231 dated August 16, 2005. Abates in the amount of $107,361.24 and Adds in the amount of $17,781.96. Commissioner Doll seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.
OTHER ITEMS OF
BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Commissioner Woydziak
stated that Swenson Real Estate and Auction Service is auctioning 40 acres of
land right across the street from the City Limits of Rose Hill. They have advertised it as 35 acres and then
5 acres with a house that is currently zoned rural residential. There was discussion about alerting the
sellers that the property probably won’t comply with our current planning and
zoning regulations. A concern was
expressed that someone might buy the property and want to split lots into
5-acre increments.
Administrator Johnson stated that the total for the County sale was
$20,164 with commission at 5.9% amounting to $1,210.00. Mr. Johnson stated that the County didn’t
buy anything because the items went so high.
Commendations go out from Mr. Johnson to the Buildings and Grounds crew,
who did a tremendous job. The crew was
there all day and it was miserably hot and humid. Also, Mr. Johnson wanted to commend Adam Spickler with the
Sheriff Department, who did a lot of work preparing everything for the sale. The area in the barn is empty now, and
Administrator Johnson stated that we might want to put a climate-controlled
area in the building to house the new voting machines.
ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Woydziak motioned to adjourn the meeting of the Board at 9:40 a.m. Commissioner Waldorf seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.