County managers brief commissioners on grants, workforce and road work; staff flag budget pressure for 2026

County administration and department heads provided several updates to Franklin County commissioners on March 12, including grant applications, workforce initiatives and road projects as the county begins 2026 budget planning.

Grants and workforce: County staff reported submitting a request to Representative Sharice Davids’ office for $1.3 million in road‑improvement funding; staff said the request has been forwarded for federal appropriations consideration. County leaders also described workforce development efforts, including on‑the‑job training and apprenticeship discussions with Kansas Works and a planned local presentation on workforce and childcare development. Staff said towns grants were submitted for Princeton (community building roof) and Wellsville (downtown sound system upgrades) under the state “Towns Under 5,000” program.

Roads and dust control: Road and public‑works staff reported the Texas Road bridge/bridge‑related brushing work is scheduled to start with a letting planned for May 1, weather permitting. Dust‑control operations have an open application period April 1 with a contractor tentatively scheduled for the third week in April (subject to weather). Road crews are monitoring frost‑boil spots on paved roads and will seek cost estimates for repairs; the county is patching as it can while equipment is active.

Human resources and county operations: Administration noted ongoing efforts to find efficiencies and the likely difficulty of the 2026 budget year given expected federal funding uncertainties. Multiple commissioners emphasized the limits of county authority to cover other entities’ funding shortfalls and urged focus on core county functions. County staff thanked commissioners for supporting employee wages and highlighted a recent employee appreciation event.

Other items: Health‑related employee wellness initiatives and a sheriff’s participation in a Department of Justice working group were mentioned; county public health and hospital funding trends were also noted in discussion — a Kansas Hospital Association survey presented by a commissioner reported that 67% of responding hospitals received some public support, with 45% citing mill levies and 27% citing sales tax support.