The 2011 budget and allocation discussions are in full swing in the Lyon County Commission chambers as requests from departments are coming in steadily.
During Wednesday morning’s Lyon County Commission study session, Susan Moran, SOS executive director, asked for level funding of $15,000 for SOS for 2011. Moran said SOS brings in about a million dollars in grants and foundation funding. A little more than half of those are ongoing, Moran said.
“The scary part is living with that other 50 percent that may or may not go away,” Moran said.
SOS has 24 full-time staff and four of those are in surrounding counties. Two staff members are part-time and there are about 20-25 people that SOS contracts with on an hourly basis. SOS also pays a stipend to live-ins at the shelter from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on weekends and security guards that are off-duty law enforcement that work at the Child Visitation Exchange Center.
“We do pay a lot of folks with that funding,” Moran said.
In addition to providing services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, SOS also provides awareness and prevention training in the community. The organization also provides services to children through CASA.
Lyon County Commission Chairman Scott Briggs asked Moran what would happen in the community if SOS didn’t exist any longer.
“One of the things we are trying to do is prevent some of these things from even happening,” Moran said. “And in terms of victims, until you are a victim of a crime you don’t understand. It’s horrific. We really help on that front end.”
Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman also discussed prevention in the community.
“If you take out the preventive or the intermediate cushion, the severity of crime will increase because you won’t catch them early,” Goodman said. “If you take cooperation out of there then you’ve taken a part of your communication chain out.”
Moran said prevention efforts in the community is making a difference.
“Our shelter stats have been decreasing,” she said. “I think that’s because people are coming to us sooner. That means we’re working harder out in the field. I think we’re doing incredible work. I’m so proud of our staff and what they achieve.”
In other matters commissioners:
• Discussed a capital outlay request for replacement of five desktop computers and three laptops with Ruth Wheeler, court administrator.
• Discussed the Lyon County Noxious Weed annual management plan, which is a plan that is sent to the state regarding the county’s plan to management noxious weeds in Lyon County.
• Spoke with Russell Torrens, of the Noxious Weed/ hazardous waste department, regarding Emporia Clean Sweep. Commissioners and Torrens discussed the costs associated with the hazardous waste that came into the county’s department.
“It blew the hazardous waste budget out of the water,” Briggs said.
Briggs said Lyon County taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for something that is coming from the City of Emporia.
“It’s called ‘Clean Sweep Emporia,’” Briggs said. “If it’s a city project they should pay the county the costs for hazardous waste. It shouldn’t be the county taxpayers...”
Commissioners talked about continuing to pay the hazardous waste costs but also wanted to be recognized for their contribution to the effort. They also discussed whether to pay for tire disposal during Clean Sweep.
“If we’re paying for all the disposal from hazardous waste and e-waste, then they should pay for tire disposal,” Torrens said.
Briggs said he thought that was fair.
joecitizen (anonymous) says...
given their recent manifesto on property cleanup, maybe Building Futures would be willing to pony up the money to cover those costs.
June 24, 2010 at 1:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SFIns (anonymous) says...
"Briggs said Lyon County taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for something that is coming from the City of Emporia."
When did Emporia move out of Lyon County? I get two bills every year from Lyon County telling me to pay my property taxes. I guess next time I will return it to them and tell them that Emporia is no longer in Lyon County.
It is amazing how out of touch these people are.
June 25, 2010 at 8:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Haven' t most people lived in Emporia and Lyon County to have realized by now that Emporias' govt. and the Lyon County govt. are two totally seperate government entities . And there is very little cooperation between the two, except when it comes to money and taxes and who gets what or pays for what .
Now there are those who claim the form of governments, Federal, State, County and City that exists in the U.S. is a Republic form of government, however if you read and understand the terms Republic and Democracy you will understand that the form of governments in the U.S. is actually a Representative Democracy form of government. I tend to believe that the governments of the U.S. are a Representative Democracy form of governments . I base this belief on the following.
Continued :
June 25, 2010 at 8:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Continued :
Democracy is a political form of government carried out either directly by the people (direct democracy) or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy). The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία - (dēmokratía) "rule of the people",[1] which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (krátos) "power", in the middle of the fifth-fourth century BC to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC.[2] Even though there is no specific, universally accepted definition of 'democracy',[3] equality and freedom have been identified as important characteristics of democracy since ancient times.[4] These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to power. For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no restrictions can apply to anyone wanting to become a representative, and the freedom of its citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally protected by a constitution.[5][6]
A republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch[1] and the people (or at least a part of its people)[2] have an impact on its government.[3][4] The word "republic" is derived from the Latin phrase res publica, which can be translated as "a public affair".
Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology and composition. The most common definition of a republic is a state without a monarch.[5] In republics such as the United States and France the executive is legitimated both by a constitution and by popular suffrage. In the United States, James Madison defined republic in terms of representative democracy as opposed to direct democracy[6], and this usage is still employed by many viewing themselves as "republicans".[7] In modern political science, republicanism refers to a specific ideology that is based on civic virtue and is considered distinct from ideologies such as liberalism.[8]
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to either autocracy or direct democracy.[1]
The representatives form an independent ruling body (for an election period) charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest, but not as their proxy representatives; that is, not necessarily always according to their wishes, but with enough authority to exercise swift and resolute initiative in the face of changing circumstances. It is often contrasted with direct democracy, where representatives are absent or are limited in power as proxy representatives.
source, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Represen..., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy
June 25, 2010 at 8:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
I have a question. Are tires a recyclable commodity ?
June 25, 2010 at 9:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )