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Public commenter urges county action on courthouse staffing, payroll and policy concerns
Summary
A public commenter reading a letter urged the commission to review workplace culture and accountability after listing concerns about a high-paid payroll hire, inconsistent enforcement of time policies, CIC access problems and outdated handbooks; commissioners noted the concerns and later approved an engagement to expand payroll services.
A citizen who asked to read a letter at the July 14 Osage County Commission meeting urged elected officials to address multiple operational concerns at the courthouse, including what the letter described as inconsistent application of county policies, an apparently large pay increase for a recently hired payroll/accounts employee, and lingering access problems with the county's CIC system.
The letter, read by a public commenter identified by the chair as Diane, said county employees had reported low morale, cited an approximately $140,000 annual salary for the payroll/accounts position, and called for updated accounting policies, clearer credit-card and vehicle-use rules, and consistent enforcement of time and conduct policies. The commenter framed the concerns as matters of accountability and transparency rather than personal criticism.
Commissioners acknowledged the public comment and subsequently placed a revised engagement letter on the agenda to expand payroll services with an outside firm while the county works to train in-house staff. Commissioners approved the engagement with Swindle, Jansen, Hocken & Floyd to provide payroll services; they said that the county's objective is to have a county employee trained to process payroll in-house in the near future.
No formal personnel disciplinary action or findings were made during the meeting. The commission directed staff to review the issues raised and to coordinate steps to address policies and staffing as appropriate.
Next steps: Commissioners approved an expanded payroll engagement and asked staff to coordinate training and internal allocation of payroll duties; the county will review policy updates and internal controls as part of routine staff follow-up.
