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Public commenter urges implementation of county citizens commission; cites statute 19‑26‑70 and recent change under SB‑104
Summary
During public comment, Henry McClure urged the committee to pursue a county citizens commission established under statute 19‑26‑70 and warned that Senate Bill 104 recently made the commission optional rather than mandatory.
Henry McClure, a member of the public, urged the committee to press for implementation of a citizens commission for Shawnee County and cited state law and recent changes.
“You all ought to look into the Citizens Commission ... the statute just off the top of my head is 19 26 70,” McClure said, adding that “they recently just passed senate bill 1 0 4 to block implementing the plan” by making the commission optional.
Why it matters: The proposed citizens commission would create a forum for county taxing entities and citizens to share information and coordinate on issues such as the distribution of sales tax revenue and other intergovernmental matters. McClure said the body could provide broader public connectivity among the city, county, library, school districts and other taxing entities.
McClure, who said he is running for mayor of Topeka, said the commission was originally designed to help with countywide issues and noted that making the statute optional limits the commission’s implementation. Committee members clarified that, as McClure described it, the change was to make the statute optional rather than mandatory.
The committee did not take formal action on the comment, but members acknowledged the point and recorded the written public comments that had been submitted by email.
