Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance And Ethics topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners weigh whether to continue sitting on boards and committees; staff to schedule study session
Summary
Saline County commissioners discussed whether elected commissioners should continue serving on a long list of local boards and committees. County Administrator Phil Smith outlined which seats are statutory, which are set by bylaws and which could be delegated; commissioners asked staff to schedule a study session for fuller review.
The Saline County Board of Commissioners held an extended discussion March 4 about commissioners’ participation on local boards and committees and whether some seats could be delegated to department heads or community subject-matter experts.
Phil Smith, Saline County administrator, presented a compiled list of boards and explained the legal or bylaw basis for commissioner participation. He said community corrections is the most statutory of the boards mentioned, but local bylaws allow a commissioner to appoint a designee. He told the board the health department advisory committee and senior services advisory committee were created under bylaws the commission adopted and could be amended to change commissioner membership. Smith said the airport authority and some other boards effectively function with the commission as a nonvoting guest or by local agreement.
Commissioners expressed differing views on the value of serving directly on boards. Commissioner Grievous said commissioners should sit on boards to monitor how county funds are spent and to understand program operations. Commissioner Shadwick and others countered that commissioners already receive routine departmental updates and that staffing or department heads could serve on some boards where technical expertise is more valuable than an elected official’s presence. Examples discussed as potentially better served by non-commissioner designees included cybersecurity and the North Central Kansas regional juvenile detention board, where travel to remote meetings and limited opportunity for input were noted.
Commissioner Sparks suggested a formal study session to examine each committee, identify which seats are required by statute or local bylaws and decide where designees might be appropriate. Smith said staff could prepare that follow-up. The board did not take formal action on changes; commissioners asked staff to schedule a future study session with full commission attendance to consider a policy or vote.
