Allen County Commissioners received their first two 2027 budget proposals Tuesday.
Public Works Director Mitch Garner said the budgets for the airport and solid waste include a five percent cost of living adjustment. For the Landfill he is proposing to hire two additional part time employees if the county moves forward with a recycling program along with a full-time mechanic, which their maintenance load would justify Garner is also factoring into his budget an increase in property insurance costs reflecting current values of what they have.
Zoning Administrator Terry Call in his budget also includes the COLA adjustment, and a slight increase in postage costs. Beyond those two items, Call said his proposed budget would be similar to 2026, with some line items higher than this year and some less.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Jeremy Hopkins discussed a request from Humboldt USD 258 for a chip seal project on the parking lot at the Humboldt Sports Complex, which was originally built by the county. Commissioners agreed to this, with the county providing the chips and labor with the school district covering the rest of the costs, adding the county would consider similar requests from the other two school districts in Allen County if requested.
Hopkins reported crews were out all weekend working on washouts and are continuing with tree trimming and limb removal. There was also a discussion on the possibility of placing porta-potty units for their outlying shop buildings. The potential also exists that restrooms could be added as a long-term option. It appears that a septic system would only have to be added for one of the locations.
Commissioners accepted a bid from Straightline Striping for striping of 8 ½ miles of county roads. Straightline’s bid was less than half of the other bid received.
In his weekly Public Works update, Garner reported seven bids were received for the taxiway project at Allen County Airport. Those bids are currently being reviewed by an engineer, and one that is done the bids will come to the Commission for action. Garner said he has received one bid so far for a shed at the airport that would house equipment now stored in one of the t-hangars and is seeking additional bids. He also reported on the recent training a landfill employee attended in Minnesota, training that has already paid off for the county in changes made.
Discussion continued on a proposed fleet management plan through Enterprise. Ken Olsen with Enterprise Fleet presented a proposal that would involve a total of 40 vehicles, ranging from large Road and Bridge trucks to a vehicle used by the Appraisers Office. This plan would entail an initial cost of just over 485 thousand dollars which would be offset by 299 thousand dollars the county would receive for trade-in of existing vehicles.
Commissioners discussed with Olsen the idea of a phased approach that would replace ten vehicles a year over a four-year period. One of the major questions Commissioners had I what the full costs of such a program would be. If this phased approach were to be used, the first vehicles that would be replaced are in the Sheriff’s Office, pickups in Road and Bridge, and possibly a few others.
Representatives of Allen Regional Transit discussed the 5310 program, involving federal funds that flow through the Kansas Department of Transportation used for services to the elderly. KDOT is wanting to have all funding for a county flow through one organization, apparently favoring non-profit groups such as ART.
The county presently offers a transportation service which does not charge for rides, whereas ART does charge, typically three dollars per destination for rides in the city of Iola, five dollars for trips to and from outlying communities Commissioners indicated they would like to keep things as is, but will keep an open mind on any future combination of the two services.
County Counselor Bob Johnson said they have so far this year collected between $400,000 and $500,000 in delinquent property taxes. There is currently pending a tax foreclosure suit in Allen County District Court, and a final hearing in that case is scheduled May 6th, after which a tax sale could proceed. Commissioners also had a lengthy phone discussion with Arlyn Briggs of Moran dealing with title issues he raised a few weeks ago.
