Marion County commissioners set elected salaries, delegate two fire districts and approve several budget items

Marion County commissioners on Feb. 1 voted on a package of administrative measures, keeping the commission salary unchanged for 2025, setting salaries for other elected officials, delegating budget administration to two volunteer fire districts and approving several routine budget and grant items.

The salary decisions included setting the county attorney nnual salary at $75,009.20 and the county clerk t $65,007.24. The board raised the treasurer nnual pay to the same amount as the clerk ($65,007.24). The commission vote to leave the commissioners' pay at the existing level (the board discussed $18,096 as the baseline) carried on a 3-2 margin. The board adopted a formal salary resolution by motion (resolution number recorded as 202503 in the packet).

Why it matters: Elected-official pay affects county payroll budgets and is a visible policy choice; the commission said the changes are budgeted for 2025 and can be revisited next year.

Most important actions

- Salary resolutions: The board set the county attorney salary at $75,009.20 and confirmed other elected-official salaries (clerk, treasurer, sheriff and register of deeds) at the budgeted amounts discussed in the packet; the treasurer nd clerk were set equal at $65,007.24. The commissioners voted to leave their own pay at the current rate (motion passed 3-2).

- Fire district delegation: The commission approved draft resolutions delegating budget administration and accounting authority to two volunteer fire districts (identified in the packet as District 3 and Durham/another district), subject to staff review and minor text edits. The resolutions require each district to file a surety bond equal to the maximum funds the district would handle in a fiscal year and to provide membership information to the clerk.

- Compensation for snow-removal overtime: For overtime worked specifically on snow-removal operations during the recent emergency, the commission approved a one-time option allowing affected employees to choose either paid overtime or comp time with a cap on comp-hour accrual (discussion referenced a 36-hour suggestion as a cap). The motion applied only to snow-removal overtime in the specified emergency period; other overtime remains governed by standard policy and statutory limits for comp-time accrual.

- Grants and routine finances: The board accepted a Safe Kids mini-grant of $3,300 and approved early checks totaling $17,320.45. Commissioners also authorized county deposits at local banks as part of routine annual housekeeping.

- Planning commission appointment: The board appointed David Mueller to fill a vacancy on the Marion County Planning Commission (District 2). The appointment was moved by the appointing commissioner and approved unanimously.

- Ambulance inspection travel: The board approved sending county staff to inspect the new ambulance that is being built out of state (the vendor is in North Carolina). Under the purchase contract the county is entitled to inspection travel; multiple staff members will go and a commissioner was invited to accompany them if available. A per-person travel estimate of about $550 was mentioned while details were to be confirmed.

Process and follow-up

County staff said the salary and budget decisions are for a single year and can be adjusted in future resolutions if needed. On the fire-district delegations, the clerk nd legal staff asked that the districts provide the required surety bond and an updated membership list; staff will finalize wording and the effective date for the delegations to align with bookkeeping for January bills already processed.

Quotes and attributions

—ommissioners and staff framed the votes as routine budget and accountability measures. As one commissioner said during the salary discussion, the goal is to look for efficiencies while still recruiting candidates willing to serve (comment attributed generically to a commissioner in the transcript). County Attorney Brad (recorded in the meeting) explained the statutory basis for delegating financial authority to special districts and noted the requirement for surety bonds to protect taxpayers.

Ending

The commission recessed twice for executive sessions during the meeting (one for potential litigation and one for personnel/hiring); both sessions were announced under the Kansas Open Meetings exceptions and the board reported returning to open session with no final action taken on those matters during the meeting.