By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A small housekeeping item during Tuesday's Barton County Commission meeting had ties to a larger source of pride for elected officials. County positions continue to change and Administrator Matt Patzner asked for an update so the county's Authorized Position List would actually match the number of employees in each department.
"The Authorized Position Listing was last updated with the adoption of the 2025 Operating Budget back in August," he said. "At this time, it's suggested that a one-half full-time position be added to both Road and Bridge and Noxious Weed for both 2024 and 2025. This brings the total number of full-time positions to 191."
The conversation then turned to how the number of employees impacts the county budget and taxes. The county has allowed approximately 10 positions in recent years to expire due to natural attrition. Commissioner Shawn Hutchinson said when you take an employee's salaries and benefits, that's a lot of savings.
"You have a $10 million payroll," he said. "You have 200 employees. That's $50,000 a year for an employee, just a rough average. Ten of them, that's $500,000 a year. Over 10 years, we're saving the county $5 million. Right there, that pays for the courthouse renovation, let alone the money we had set aside for it. This is how we are remaining revenue neutral. This is how we are doing the things we're doing."
Patzner and commissioners credited county employees for their quality over quantity when it comes to taking on larger job roles.