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Commissioners approve KDHE grant applications but table JCAPS package amid pay concerns
Summary
Seward County voted to preapprove KDHE grant applications totaling $315,331 and to allow the commission chair to sign submissions, while tabling the JCAPS fiscal‑2027 comprehensive plan application after commissioners and a public commenter raised questions about salaries and grant formulas. JCAPS must supply comparative salary data by the next meeting (March 1).
The Seward County Board of Commissioners gave initial approval for county health department grant applications to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) but paused action on the JCAPS comprehensive plan application after questions about salary lines.
Health department staff sought preapproval to apply for KDHE funds totaling $315,331 in requested county support. The health director and staff said the state’s KJIMS formula can make budget lines appear as raises, but that any actual increases would require commission approval and any extra funds must return to the commission for reallocation. The board approved applying for the KDHE grants and authorized the commission chair to sign the applications; the motion passed 5‑0.
Separately, public commenter Carolyn Huddleston urged the commission not to approve raises she said were written into the JCAPS grant plan, citing documents showing proposed pay moves (including a requested director salary increase cited at $84,280 to $90,630) and a substantial rise in county matching requirements for some health grants. The JCAPS representative, addressed as Chelsea, said salaries in the submission were built from an Office of Judicial Administration (OJA) pay matrix and explained KDOC rules that prohibit using grant funds for bonuses and require salaries to be market‑reasonable.
Commissioners requested comparative salary data from nearby counties and additional documentation explaining how the JCAPS pay lines were calculated. Because staff must submit the application to KDOC by March 15, commissioners moved and voted 5‑0 to table the JCAPS application to the March meeting so Chelsea can provide the requested data and the commission can review it before approving or signing the comprehensive plan application.
Next steps: JCAPS will provide comparative regional salary data and historical pay charts; the KDHE submissions will proceed with the chair’s signature on behalf of the commission.
