Staff members from the Barton County Treasurer’s Office contacted the Great Bend Tribune last week, wanting the public to hear their side of the story and how they felt slighted by their portrayal in the media.
At the heart of their complaint was what they saw as a lack of training when the office converted to new software. It was this conversion County Treasurer Kevin Wondra blamed in part for delays in getting financial information ready for county auditors.
However, County Administrator Richard Boeckman Monday morning told county commissioners he had researched the matter and determined there had been ample training. He said he went through hundreds of pages of records and “found no basis for the assertions that the training was improper.”
After the Tribune published an article based on interviews with Treasurer’s Office personnel on Friday, Boeckman was contacted by Pam Meadows of Computer Information Concepts Inc. Meadow’s company provided the new county-wide bookkeeping software in question, and she was concerned that the story may tarnish CIC’s image.
Boeckman said he had contacted Meadows and reaffirmed the county’s appreciation for CIC’s cooperation.
“That’s a fair and adequate response,” said Commissioner Ken Lebbin of Boeckman’s remarks.
However, Commissioner Homer Kruckenberg was taken aback that the employees went to the Tribune. “How do they get the right to talk on the record like that?”
Audience members responded “it’s called the Constitution” and “freedom of speech.”
Wondra and some of his employees were present during the meeting. But, they remained silent, not responding to Boeckman’s remarks.