By a 4-1 vote, the Barton County Commission Tuesday morning approved the county’s Kansas Association Of Counties 2017 membership. The KAC dues are based on a calculation that includes a base fee, population and valuation, so the 2017 dues are $6,125.84.
Commission Chairman Don Davis said the association sponsors the annual KAC Conference, various educational meetings throughout the year and lobbies the state and federal lawmakers on behalf of Kansas counties. KAC will also assist counties with budgeting, surveys and legislative efforts upon request.
However, it was Commissioner Homer Kruckenberg who voted against the measure. “To my mind, $500 per month is a little steep,” he said.
He attended the most recent KAC conference and said “as an old teacher, I’d give them a D.” The presenters were unprepared and he didn’t much out of the meetings.
Kruckenberg realized the KAC has helped the county, most recently with the problems surrounding the County Administrator’s Office, by he could get over the cost.
In other business Tuesday morning, the commission:
• Approved the designation of official depositories for county funds, which can be either for deposits or investments. Such institutions must meet the 100 percent pledged securities requirement for all county funds.
According to a county resolution, all depositories must provide to the County Treasurer’s Office and the county’s financial officer proof of security for these funds whenever such information is requested. Each institution designated as an official depository shall be notified by certified letter that they are required to meet the security, said County Treasurer Kevin Wondra.
Such designations are made annually. Included are American State Bank, Bank of the West, Community Bank of the Midwest, Farmers Bank and Trust, First Kansas Bank, Landmark National Bank, Sunflower Bank and Wilson State Bank, all of which have branches in various Barton County communities.
• Approved the replacement of a desktop computer for the Mapping Division. The current computer, purchased in 2011, is experiencing problems and needs to be updated.
A laptop computer will provide greater flexibility than another desktop computer, county Cartographer Bj Wooding said.
It is essential that this laptop be able to handle the extensive requirements of the GIS/Mapping software and the ORION software used by other departments, Wooding said. The Information Technology Department recommended a Dell MIRAMAR 17-7710 laptop computer for $2,641.45.