Saline County Assessor Jessica Goodman has filed a law suit against the Saline County Commission and the Saline County Collector in regards to the assessors fund. The Saline County Assessor states its mandated by statute to have exclusive control of the Assessor’s Fund, which consists of one percent of the certain taxes collected. According to the law suit, the County Commission and the Collector have refused to act and adjust the budget of the Assessor to include the mandatory amounts provided by statute. Without the appropriate change in the budget, the Assessor is unable to hire the employees necessary under the 2022-2023 budget maintenance plan which was duly adopted by the County Commission.

The County Commission has also taken control of the Assessor’s Fund by increasing pay for employees without the Assessor’s consent, as well as refusing to approve other compensation to the Assessor’s employees. County Assessor Goodman has brought the suit to determine if the County Commission has statutory authority to deny compensation requests that comply with the duly adopted budget or on its own initiative approve a higher payroll amount and whether a fourth class county should set aside one or one-half percent of certain taxes to the Assessor’s Fund. According to Goodman the county is a fourth class county and state statue says the Assessor’s Office should be funded at one percent instead of one half percent. The County Commission has been funding the office at one-half percent.

KMMO reached out to the Saline County Commission and the County Collector and was referred to their attorney.