By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Wednesday's Barton County Commission meeting could have turned into a lame-duck session with three of the five commissioners leaving the body on Monday. Instead, outgoing Commissioner Kirby Krier opened the meeting by motioning to add two resolutions to the agenda. The motion was denied, and Krier said the commission later had a good discussion in a study session.
"In my whole time of being a county commissioner, that's never been voted down, ever, that a commissioner added an item," Krier said. "It's important you do it in the agenda meeting. It's on Teams, it's (on video), it's recorded, everybody hears everything. If people want to go on and view this, they can watch it."
County Counselor Patrick Hoffman said during Wednesday's meeting, the resolutions needed to be reviewed for potential issues in the study session, and Commissioner Barb Esfeld explained why she voted against adding the resolutions to the agenda.
"This affects all elected (officials)," she said. "It involves our treasurer, our county clerk, our register of deeds, and our sheriff. I have not had time to visit with them, and I feel like that is very much needed, so that's why I voted that way."
The resolutions in question would affect salaries and raises for elected officials, and procedures for how the county distributes money to other agencies. Krier wanted the items discussed in the recorded part of the commission meeting.
"We could have passed that agenda item on and added those two resolutions," he said. "We could have discussed it in an open meeting, had a great discussion, and we could have tabled it with a motion to table it until next week when the new commission is on. But we didn't. That's the problem I have with this. We could have been transparent in our discussion and where people stand."
Krier said elected officials are not county officials and are not subject to pay raises as directed by the employee handbook. Instead, elected official raises are often handled in study sessions. The matter of base salary for elected officials was also discussed.
"I just want it to be transparent," he said. "People should know what their elected officials - when they're getting a raise, why they're getting a raise. And I'm not against pay raises. But I would like for those elected officials to come out and say, 'This is what I've accomplished.'"
Krier also suggested the county holds onto funds rather than dispersing them to other agencies and departments, citing an agency that has held its allotted funds for nearly a year. Collecting 3.5 percent interest, Krier said the county made more than $250,000 off interest last year.
"So it's a big item," he said. "Some of our outside agencies in 2022 were in excess of a million dollars. If we can maintain that money longer, and collect interest to reduce taxes, that's a big thing."
The two resolutions will be on the main agenda for the next Barton County Commission meeting at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 9. New commissioners Duane Reif, Donna Zimmerman, and Tricia Schlessiger will replace outgoing commissioners Krier, Jennifer Schartz, and Jon Prescott.