Seward County treasurer urges resolutions to clear decades-old personal-property debts, proposes online tax payments and reports bank-account audit

County Treasurer Mary briefed the Seward County Commission on multiple administrative items: a long-running software-conversion error that restored previously approved write-offs to active status, collection results from an outside agency, the potential adoption of an online payment platform, and an audit of county bank accounts.

Write-offs and conversion error

Mary said a 2015 board approval to write off personal-property debts from 1984–1993 did not carry over when the county’s tax software was converted and that the vendor (CIC) will not correct the records without a formal resolution. She told commissioners the vendor requires a signed resolution to programmatically remove those items from the new system and recommended preparing two resolutions: one documenting the 2015 approval (to reconcile the conversion error) and a second to write off older personal-property accounts from 1994 back to 2006 (the treasurer framed the policy as "20-plus years"). Mary provided examples and said documentation exists to back the prior approvals.

Legal review and risk

A county legal advisor summarized research of attorney-general opinions, case law and cited statutes (referenced in the meeting as "75 3728 b and c" and home-rule citations "19-101" and "19-101a"). Counsel said counties can follow practices similar to state agencies for write-offs but warned against selectively writing off debts for narrow groups, which can prompt litigation. "I think the counties are safe in it," counsel said, while urging caution about unequal treatment claims.

Collections data and private vendor results

Mary reported the county engaged CBK for collections; through March 31 she said the county paid CBK $57,045.90 and CBK had collected $232,957.32 to date. She described the company’s tracing methods for older accounts, said many older accounts involve deceased taxpayers and noted some accounts are uncollectible because records do not support collection.

Escrow and fee adjustments

Mary recounted that the county’s escrow payment program was discontinued around the COVID period and that, after reviewing legacy records, she identified $252.27 to remit to the state treasurer and $12,878.80 in setup/transaction fees due to the county that she proposed moving to the general fund. She said she will present those items for formal action.

Catalyst online payments

The treasurer recommended trialing Catalyst, a payments platform used by nearby Stevens County, to allow 24/7 online tax payments (cash via third-party locations, Venmo, PayPal, debit/credit, eCheck). She said Catalyst does not charge the county a user fee; customers pay a convenience fee (quoted at about $2.95 per transaction or ~2.5%). CIC quoted $1,800.60 to build an interface between county systems and Catalyst; Catalyst requires a 5-year merchant agreement. Mary said she could fund the interface from her technology fund (about $27,000 currently) and suggested rolling out Catalyst for tax payments first.

Bank-account audit and return-check procedures

As part of a 150-mile audit for accounts under the county EIN, Mary said she identified checking accounts at Equity Bank, Bank of Beaver and Community Bank and confirmed at least one account at Sunflower Bank; she also reported Sunflower had declined to provide some requested details and asked commissioners to help if needed. On return checks, Mary described a multi-step process (notification, certified letter, collections or sheriff intervention for larger amounts) and said offices coordinate with CBK and the sheriff when necessary; she also said returned-check writers are flagged and restricted from writing more checks.

Next steps

Commissioners directed staff and administration to prepare the resolutions documenting the 2015 write-off and the broader mass write-off for consideration at the first May meeting, asked Mary to send the Catalyst contract for legal review, and asked for the culvert and other road-related items to be placed on the agenda as needed. No formal votes were recorded during the work session; these items were placed on future agendas for possible formal action.