By Lucky Kidd
BARTON COUNTY, Kan. — Barton County Commissioners Tuesday approved a 2025 budget that keeps the amount of funding from property taxes at the same level as for the past three years. With that, the projected mill levy for the 2025 budget will be 35.767 mills, a drop of nearly 1.4 mills from 2024, and since 2021 a decline in the levy of just over 10 ½ mills.
In Barton County, three areas account for 59 percent of total spending including public works, public health and public safety. After adoption of the budget, Commissioners approved the 2025 authorized positions and updated five-year capital improvement and replacement plans.
After approving a 2025 budget, Barton County Commissioners received the 2023 audit report from Jami Benyshek from Adams Brown. The audit report has an unmodified, or clean opinion as to the regulatory basis of accounting, using the Kansas Municipal Audit and Accounting Guide which flows into budget documents. Due to the amount of federal funds received a separate single audit was conducted, and no issues were found in it.
No material weaknesses were found in the audit, although there were some budgetary violations connected with two public works contracts that were not properly bonded and negative balances in a couple of school district bonds and interest funds which were attributed to late-year tax refunds which will balance out.
Commissioners accepted the low bid of L&M Contractors of $119,944 for a project to widen an existing reinforced concrete box bridge along NE 190 Road just over a mile east of Beaver. Commissioners also approved purchase through Marmie Motors of a new Ram 2500 Tradesman crew cab 4X4 to replace a 1995 truck used by Noxious Weed.
The Commission also approved the 2025 service agreement with Southwest Developmental Disability Services, which serves and the Community Developmental Disability Organization that coordinates various services that are required by state law that agreement carries a $70,000 price tag.
