Three items that came before the Saline County Commission at the Wednesday, Jan. 28 session pertained to the assessor’s office, as the two offices remain at odds over a lawsuit filed in November 2022.
During their regular session, the commission split 2-1 on approving a staff transfer from the assessor’s office to a vacancy in the collector’s office. Southern District Commissioner Monte Fenner made the motion to approve the transfer that had occurred Monday, but after Northern District Commissioner Stephanie Gooden said she would not second, presiding commissioner Becky Plattner provided the second that allowed the transfer to receive approval.
The staff transfer was on the agenda days after commissioners made public the county’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026. Documents obtained by KMMO News indicate that the assessor’s office is set to see a five-percent drop in their budget, from $441,960 budgeted in 2025 to about $419,000. According to the documents, the proposed budget would eliminate two positions in the assessor’s office. The staff reductions were confirmed to KMMO by assessor Jessica Adcock Goodman. Meanwhile, Commissioner Plattner noted to KMMO News that an additional $37,443 was added to cover cost overruns in the assessor’s office.
Dropped from the budget, though, was an expected $57,230 reimbursement from the state, after commissioners announced at their Dec. 31 meeting they were not signing the tax maintenance plan required for the assessor’s office to receive state funds. Commissioners cited the uncertain future of Saline County’s classification status, which stems from the lawsuit filed by Goodman challenging funding levels for her office, including whether state law requires Saline County to reclassify as a third-class county for lack of enough assessed valuation.
Earlier in Wednesday’s session, commissioners reviewed the December additions and abatements report, reflecting changes to personal property and real estate assessments. Commissioner Plattner announced the commission would acknowledge receipt but not approve the report. Commissioners had tabled the item at their last meeting, which showed a net increase of $178,346.09 in personal property assessments during December along with a $12,871.14 drop in real estate assessments. It’s the second month that commissioners declined to formally accept the report.
Commissioners then debated whether to sign the assessor’s quarterly report to the State Tax Commission, after clerk Brittni Burton mentioned that Goodman had not been able to sign the final copy prior to Wednesday’s session. The commission agreed to sign the report, which Goodman and the commissioners did later in the day, ahead of Friday’s submission deadline.
In other business from the meeting, commissioners opened a number of bids for annual supplies, ranging from rock and metal for the common road district to fuel, information technology, and printing services across the county’s offices. Commissioners took the bids under advisement.
The next Saline County Commission meeting is set for Feb. 11 at 9 a.m., which will begin with a public hearing on the budget. Residents can review the budget by visiting the commission’s chambers in the Saline County Courthouse and the Saline County Clerk’s office on the north side of the square.