Sedgwick County staff preview July 30 budget hearing, election schedule and grant items at agenda review

Deputy County Manager Tim Coffin and county staff on Friday previewed items to appear on the Sedgwick County Commission’s Wednesday meeting agenda, including a public budget hearing set for July 30, election voting dates and several grant and agreement items that will require later formal action.

County staff said the recommended budget is posted online and that the commission’s first public budget hearing will be July 30. "The online public forum is now open on our website. We will also have our first public budget hearing on July 30," said Nicole, a county staff member.

The announcements also included scheduling for the August primary: advanced in-person voting will begin July 21 at the election office, and five satellite voting locations will open July 31. Nicole said the county will share an open-water safety video produced by the fire district and will present a proclamation recognizing Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week at the regular meeting. The commission will also recognize a long-term county employee who is retiring.

On consent-item housekeeping, staff asked the commission to reverse the order of two consent items labeled "f" and "g" because they are related: one item would designate a specific roadway as a public road and the other would assign responsibility for maintenance to the township. "With your permission, we'd like to reverse f and g," Tim Coffin said. The agenda-review discussion did not record a final vote on that change; staff indicated the rearrangement would appear on the forthcoming agenda for formal action.

Staff said the agenda will include a proposed new affiliate agreement with COF Training Services to allow that organization to serve clients locally. The packet also includes a grant-application item described by staff as new state grant funding intended to replace a federal funding reduction; county staff said the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) identified an alternative funding source to bridge the most recent state fiscal year and that new state grant money is now available to support the program going forward. Staff did not state the grant dollar amount.

Another interagency agreement on the agenda would provide workforce support for people in corrections programs and involves the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections and the Kansas Department of Corrections. Staff said the cost is split three ways and that Sedgwick County’s obligation is $31,000. The agenda-review discussion did not record a final approval; the item will return to the commission for action.

Staff noted two resignations from an advisory board listed on the packet; the packet named the resignations but the advisory-board name was not specified during the agenda review. No executive session was requested. Several commissioners asked no substantive questions during the brief review.

The agenda review was short and procedural: staff summarized items that will require formal votes at the commission’s regular business meeting, while noting dates, grant funding sources and a county share of $31,000 for a workforce agreement tied to corrections programs.

Upcoming items for the commission include the July 30 budget hearing, the COF Training Services affiliate agreement, the state grant application described by staff, and the Workforce Alliance interagency agreement that obligates the county for $31,000.