Osage County Commission approves Paycor administrator, pesticide purchase and tourism ads; allows chairman to sign magazine letter

The Osage County Commission on Aug. 12 approved a set of administrative and spending items, including authorization for county payroll administrators with Paycor, a purchase order for noxious-weed chemicals, and a half-page tourism ad in the Kansas travel guide. The board also gave consensus for the chairman to sign a promotional letter related to an upcoming Business View magazine feature.

The commission approved Resolution 2025-21, described in the meeting as “a resolution regarding authorized administrators for the county payroll system,” noting the county has contracted with Paycor to provide payroll processing services. Commissioners voiced agreement and the motion passed by voice vote. The meeting transcript records the motion and an affirmative voice vote; a roll-call tally was not recorded in the minutes distributed at the meeting.

The payroll action came amid public discussion about payroll vendors earlier in the meeting. A private-sector presenter described an alternative Administrative Services Only (ASO) payroll option tied to the CHAMP benefit platform and cited a $47 per-employee premium rate; county staff later said the county recently engaged Paycor and is working through onboarding concerns with its data.

Commissioners also approved purchase order number 4110, to Van Deast Supply Company, in the amount of $31,974.25 to procure chemicals for the county Noxious Weed fund. The motion passed by voice vote with no roll-call breakdown recorded in the public transcript.

Separately, the board approved purchase order number 4097, paid to Meredith Corporation, for a half-page ad in the 2026 Kansas travel guide at an early-bird rate of $3,982, to be paid from the Economic Development fund. Economic development staff said the guide will be distributed in print and digitally and reaches the guide’s usual audience; staff described the early-bird price as a savings compared with the later rate.

The commission also gave consensus approval for the chairman to electronically sign a letter inviting local vendors and suppliers to consider advertising in an upcoming Business View magazine feature that will profile Osage County. Economic development staff said the magazine’s publisher requested a short turnaround interview and a letter from the chairman to promote the feature and invite advertisers; the board agreed to allow the chairman to sign electronically.

Two executive sessions were held during the meeting under the cited Kansas statute for executive sessions (KSA 75-4319) — one on security measures and one on county promotion/financial affairs — and the board announced afterward that “no action was taken” in executive session.

Other procedural items included approving an amended agenda (which removed a land-development item for Tricia Webb and moved it to a future meeting) and adjourning the meeting.

Actions recorded in the meeting transcript were taken by voice vote; the transcript shows unanimous “aye” responses at the vote prompts but does not include roll-call tallies. Where the transcript did not provide a named mover or seconder, the article notes the motion text as recorded in the meeting and the outcome as stated by the commission.

The meeting transcript and on-the-record motions form the basis for this report. The transcript indicates no further legal or procedural conditions attached to the approved items at the time of the meeting.