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Seward County, City of Liberal negotiate interlocal agreement for shared GIS coordinator
Summary
County staff presented a proposed interlocal agreement to share Seward County GIS staff with the City of Liberal. The plan would keep the GIS coordinator as a county employee with the city reimbursing $41,600 annually (about 40%); commissioners asked for language to tie future increases to salary/benefit changes and took no formal action tonight.
Seward County officials on Tuesday reviewed a proposed interlocal agreement under which the City of Liberal would reimburse the county for part of the cost of the county’s GIS coordinator.
The item before the Seward County Board of County Commissioners was Resolution 2025-O9 and a companion interlocal agreement to allow the City of Liberal to share Seward County GIS services. The city approved Ordinance No. 4634 at its May 13 meeting; county staff asked the commission to approve the corresponding county resolution and interlocal agreement so the documents could be published and forwarded to the Kansas Attorney General for review.
County staff said the agreement as drafted would keep the GIS coordinator, Lisa Olsen, as a Seward County employee and have the city pay $41,600 on or before Jan. 31 each year as reimbursement for roughly 40% of Olsen’s salary and benefits. The county staff presentation noted the city and county had discussed a shared arrangement for years but had never finalized terms until recently.
Commissioners asked how annual changes to salary and benefits would be handled. County staff told the board the $41,600 figure represents the city’s share under the current pay/benefit levels but that the draft agreement does not include an automatic escalation clause. Commissioner questions repeatedly raised whether the agreement should explicitly tie the city’s payment to 40% of salary and benefits (or otherwise provide a mechanism for increases) rather than a fixed-dollar payment. County staff said they would prepare revised language and return the agreement to the city for its consideration.
The proposed interlocal agreement will be sent to the Kansas Attorney General for review once approved; staff advised the AG review typically takes up to 90 days and that the AG may require edits. County staff also noted that once finalized the agreement would be recorded with register of deeds and with state offices as required for interlocal agreements.
No formal approval was recorded by the board on the resolution or interlocal agreement during the meeting; commissioners asked staff to return with edits that clarify how future pay raises or benefit changes will affect the city’s reimbursement obligation.
The discussion included contributions from Lisa Olsen (Seward County GIS coordinator), Scarlett Disker (City of Liberal city manager), and Keith Bridal (building services director), with legal counsel Nathan Foreman noted as the drafter of prior versions of the documents.
