STARS, sheriff's budget on list of possible budget cuts

By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – The Linn County Commission will be faced with cutting nearly $800,000 from the 2016 county budget over the next three weeks after the two members present took the path to a default decision to set spending at or below the revenue neutral rate.

The commission held two hearings on Monday, Aug. 25. The first was a revenue neutral hearing for the 2026 budget, and the second was a hearing on the budget itself. However, the revenue neutral hearing meandered, and after several property owners complained about rising taxes, commissioners discussed possible areas for cuts.

Three areas stood out as likely candidates from initial discussions: the sheriff’s office, the STARS program (Southeastern Technical Academy for Rural Students), and the Linn County offices of the Sixth Judicial District.

When the county, or city, or library, or cemetery district decides it will abide by the state-determined revenue neutral rate for the coming fiscal year, that means it will not take in any more dollars in tax revenue than it did the previous year. So while inflation and increased salaries mean more expenses, those taxing entities must dip into cash reserves or reduce expenses.

Prior to the budget hearing, the county published a budget calling for the county to levy 37.225 mills in taxes. According to County Clerk Danielle Souza, one mill will raise about $388,000 in tax revenue in 2016. To get the county down to the revenue neutral rate of 35.086 mills, the commission will need to slash about 1.5 mills in taxes.

Even before the hearings began, Sheriff James Akes made an appeal to the commission to not only maintain benefits but also approve a cost-of-living increase in 2026.

In an email survey sent out to employees in July, Souza acting on the commission’s behalf asking which would be easier for county employees to accept going to a health insurance plan with reduced benefits, dropping the county provided healthcare savings plan or foregoing a cost-of-living raise in 2026.

The survey prompted immediate negative pushback from employees, including threats of resignations.

"I don't believe concerns are being voiced to commissioners like they should be,” Akes told the commission. He suggested that when they learned that health insurance premiums were going up, the commission should have gone to employees to get their input.

Apparently the commission offered coverage by United Healthcare, but many employees consider it an inferior plan. If the commission had approached the employees about the situation, they might have still wanted to stay with Blue Cross Blue Shield even with the increase.

He also suggested that BCBS might be more willing to negotiates costs knowing that an increased in premiums might lose then business. He said the county should at least try to negotiate.

Akes characterized his employees as loyal and looking out for the best interests of the county.

Johnson said he believed staff took the survey the wrong way.

“I think that was the question when we asked about the benefit package,” he said. “If we had to cut something what would it be?”

“The way I felt, and a lot of the other employees felt, with the email, it was kind of worded poorly because it kind of pushed us in a corner without another suggestion,” Akes said. “Because when the email came out, it was, ‘Hey, what benefit do you want to lose?’ Well, hey, we don’t want to lose any benefits, and that’s why we’re not going to answer this.”

“Did you help by trying to explain it to them?” Johnson asked.

Akes said he tried to explain what it meant but didn’t try to rationalize the cuts for the commission.

“Are you and I on the same team?” Johnson asked.

“I am absolutely on your team and that’s why I’m here,” Akes said. “I strongly think that if we all put our heads together we can come up with a better way of communicating with employees, letting them know as a government we can’t keep going on like this and there has to be some buy-in.”

Akes ended the discussion with an appeal for the commission to approve a cost-of-living increase after noting that inflation was causing increases in their utility bills and the cost of groceries.

However, it was clear from a brief discussion about the sheriff’s budget later in the meeting that Johnson was weighing a $4.73 million budget request, up from nearly $4.19 million in 2025. That increase included a cost-of-living increase. Even without that raise, the sheriff’s budget request was nearly $4.7 million.

STARS funds

In 2023 the commission approved tagging a 1 mill tax to help the fledgling STARS program cover operating expenses that were not covered by tuition or other sources. That tax was collected in 2024 and that fund has an estimated $335,000 in the county’s cash reserves.

But with the STARS Foundation recently inking a memorandum of understand with Fort Scott Community College to help pay for operating costs, the immediate need isn’t as great. 

STARS director Jay Allen suggested to members of the STARS board that the money could be used to purchase the STARS building from the Pleasanton school district. Though superintendents from Prairie View and Jayhawk school districts are on the board along with Don Epps from Pleasanton, Prairie View and Jayhawk are unable to invest money in STARS because it is located in the Pleasanton school district. So the Pleasanton district has invested the most money in the STARS project.

“I was never against the program, but the way we handed money over with any guidance at all, that was my concern,” Johnson said.

Johnson also complained that he didn’t want to use Linn County taxpayer money for out-of-county and out-of-state students. After the initial year of operation, STARS began training students from Louisburg, Uniontown and Fort Scott students in Kansas and one school in Missouri.

However, by far most of the students attend high school in Linn County.

County Counselor Jacklyn Paletta told the commission that there was no formal agreement or communication with STARS agreeing to use of the money, however, she said that the commissioners could give the funds to the program.

“With no strings attached,” Johnson asked.

Paletta said that was correct.

Hamilton noted those funds are not included in the budget for 2026.

Sixth Judicial District

During Monday’s proceeding, the commission voted to cut the budget for Linn County’s offices of the 6th Judicial Court.

The court submitted a budget for $230,300 for 2026. That included a $35,000 increase for its contractual line item, raising that to $195,800 up from $160,800 for 2025.

While none of the salaries of the district court staff come from the county’s general fund, the county’s budget does cover costs such as the cost for court-appointed attorneys, an expense that is considered contractual.

Other expense items remain the same: jury duty, $6,000; phone service, $3,500; commodities, $15,000; and capital outlay, $10,000.

Commissioners balked at the increase for contractural services.

“Jacklyn, what if we don’t approve the extra and then they need it, then what happens?” Johnson asked Paletta.

She said that because it was paid for under the general budget, the additional expense would be taken from a different department.

Commissioners learned that the district court had more than $20,000 in equipment reserve and decided to cut the court’s budget to $210,300 for 2026.