Kansas Association of Counties outlines statutory duties, funding pressures and transparency priorities to Senate committee

Bruce Gladney, a representative of the Kansas Association of Counties, and Jay Hall, deputy director and general counsel for the association, briefed the Senate committee on the scope of county responsibilities and the association's legislative priorities.

Gladney said the association represents 101 member counties and described KAC's role as education, advocacy and technical assistance for county governments. "We're an educational resource, a technical resource for our member counties," he said.

The presentation outlined three categories of county work: administrative duties performed on behalf of the state, services statutorily required of counties, and locally determined services that counties provide by choice. Hall told the committee counties collect and distribute property taxes for more than 4,000 taxing units, operate local elections, maintain land records and provide facilities and staffing for the judiciary. "Counties only keep a small portion of the overall tax bill," Hall said.

The association highlighted several budget and policy pressures. Hall said mandated services consume a substantial share of county budgets and that rising input costs—fuel, gravel, food for detention facilities and other commodities—are increasing county expenses. He also noted aging infrastructure such as courthouses and jails and said deferred maintenance raises long-term costs.

On priorities for the legislative session, KAC urged: allowing counties to publish statutorily required notices on the internet in addition to the official newspaper; revisiting fee distributions so counties retain a larger share of motor vehicle registration fees (the association said past proposals would keep any individual fee increase below $2); and reducing counties' reliance on property tax dollars to subsidize required services such as motor vehicle registration and land-records work.

Hall described the notices proposal as an "either-or or both" option so jurisdictions could choose the method that best reaches local residents. "State law requires that newspapers are used for official alerts and we have no desire at this point to eliminate that, but we want to make sure that we are also able to utilize other means to make official notices," he said.

Committee members pressed KAC on several points. Senator Klase asked whether Kansas has too many counties and whether a minimum population should be required for counties to meet statutory obligations; Hall answered that consolidation raises trade-offs about proximity to local government and emphasized offloading nonstatutory tasks or shared services where feasible. Senator Reichman and others raised the property-tax burden; Hall said options include changes to fee distributions and reviewing exemptions but noted courts and markets also constrain county choices.

Senator Bowser asked about cybersecurity; Gladney and Hall said KAC is providing more cybertraining, working with the National Association of Counties to offer system vulnerability screening and encouraging counties to use federal and national resources. "The biggest weakness in any cybersecurity plan is us as individuals," Gladney said, describing training and screenings the association promotes.

KAC also described outreach and member services: a six-person staff, a new membership engagement director, a local road engineer partnership with KDOT, and upcoming events (a Jan. 22 reception and a Feb. 6 county day at the Statehouse). Hall said roughly 80 new county commissioners will attend a three-day orientation sponsored by KAC.

The committee did not take formal action on KAC requests during the meeting. Members invited KAC to return with more detailed bills and data on fee splits and notice implementation.

Ending: KAC offered contact information for follow-up and will return with more specific proposals as the session proceeds.