The Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners handled a number of routine approvals on Oct. 13, including vouchers, procurement contracts, intergovernmental purchases and personnel agreements. Most items passed unanimously; selected outcomes are listed below.

- Vouchers: The board approved total vouchers of $5,528,517.15. Notable payments listed by staff included $371,288 to Elliott Equipment Company for two rear-loader trucks (paid from the Solid Waste Fund) and a $700,141.34 progress payment to King’s Construction Company Inc. for the Southwest Auburn Road improvement project (paid from the infrastructure fund). Motion by Commissioner Bill Rippon; second by Commissioner Mayes. Vote 3–0.

- Consent agenda: The consent agenda (items through letter T) was approved 3–0.

- Resolution 2025-78: Approved a 2026 cereal malt beverage license for Dylan’s Store No. 37 at 6829 Southwest 209th Street in Topeka. County council reviewed background checks. Vote 3–0.

- Public Works equipment purchases: The board approved multiple 2026 capital-equipment contracts (all via purchasing cooperatives or state contract) including:
- Contract C385-2025 with E-Z Liner (pavement striping truck) funded from the 2026 capital outlay and Public Works special machinery fund.
- Contract C386-2025 with Shawnee Mission Ford for a 1-ton chassis (state contract) funded from Public Works special machinery fund.
- Contract C387-2025 with Rush Truck Center for a tandem-axle dump truck (Sourcewell) funded from Public Works special machinery fund.
All three items were approved 3–0 on separate motions.

- Aerial imagery (Contract C388-2025): Approved joint purchase of digital color ortho photography from the Pictometry/CERTIX vendor; Shawnee County’s share after a 50% split with the City of Topeka was listed as $19,385, funded from the Land Records Fund. Vote 3–0.

- Labor memorandum (Contract C389-2025): Approved a memorandum of understanding with Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local representing Shawnee County dispatch staff. The parties negotiated a 2026 wage-scale increase (approximately 12.13% for CWA bargaining-unit personnel) and a starting pay of $24.50 per hour for Communications Specialist I in 2026; wage changes take effect in the pay period that includes July 1, 2026. Motion passed 3–0.

- Furniture and software renewals: The board approved Contract C390-2025 for office furniture ($35,585.69 using state contract pricing) to consolidate IT staff at county offices, and Contract C391-2025 to renew the county Health Department’s electronic medical record software (estimated $49,046.76) to be paid from program revenue and grants. Both approved 3–0.

- County RFQ and scheduling: The board authorized issuance of an RFQ for project-based federal lobbying services (emphasis on federal advocacy rather than routine state newsletters) and approved canceling the Nov. 6 work session because commissioners expect to attend the State of the Community address. Both motions passed 3–0.

These routine approvals clear capital equipment purchases and departmental contracts funded from a mix of program revenues, special machinery funds and project budgets. More substantive land-use items were handled separately in the meeting.