A discussion continued Thursday on the possibility of combining the services of the Lyon County Extension office with the Frontier Extension District, and county commissioners will make a decision at 10 a.m. next Thursday when they meet for their regular action session. The decision would give the extension district an unlimited taxing authority.
The Frontier District, which is made up of Franklin and Osage Counties, invited Lyon County Extension to join the district at the annual meeting of the extension council last week. Members of the executive board voted to accept the invitation and request the change before the county commission.
The Frontier District was formed in July 2010, and has experienced benefits from combining services, according to Gary Thompson, district chairman. Those benefits include a streamlining of services and the ability for agents to be more specialized.
“There are less state specialists now than there have been,” Thompson said. “With the economy the way it is, the state has cut back. So with our agents being more specialized in the area of their expertise they can give good answers to patrons quicker than they have been.”
The Frontier District is the 11th of 14 extension districts that have been formed in Kansas since 1991, when counties were given the authority to combine. If Lyon County joins the district, its four agents and two office staffers will join the district’s five agents, one program assistant and three office workers. The county’s current office and staff will remain in Emporia, according to information from the extension meeting. If county commissioners approve joining the district, the commission will appoint four members to the district’s board, with membership later being determined by public vote.
One question regarding Lyon County residents is concern about handing over taxing authority to the district. The question was widely commented on in 2009, when a discussion was underway about combining with Chase County to form a district. The question then arose around differences in valuation between the two counties, and Lyon County residents worried they would have to carry a larger share of the burden.
The difference this time around, advocates of joining the Frontier District say, is that the valuations of the three counties are similar enough to render the impact to mill levies minimal. According to numbers provided by the Lyon County Extension office, the mill levy equivalent for Lyon County is 1.125, while that of the current Frontier District is 1.299. If Lyon County were to join the district, the mill levy would be 1.227. For Lyon County, that increase would be about $23,000.
In the 20 years since districts first started forming, many districts have seen levies remain steady, while some have dropped. The first district to form, Post Rock, containing Lincoln and Mitchell Counties, with Jewell and Osborne added in 2005, is one that has seen its levy drop. In 1995 it was 2.434 mills; in 2010 the rate was 2.27 mills.
“As a taxpayer and a board member I’m going to look at that hard,” Lyon County Extension board chairman Brain Creager told commissioners Thursday. “I believe any board member would, because they’re not going to want to write any bigger checks than they have to to have the services they want. I guess I’d use the term ‘self-regulation; you’re not going to tax yourself to death on an entity you’re working with.”
Creager commented that in 20 years of districting, none of the nearly 40 counties that have formed districts have wanted to back out of the districts for tax reasons.
“In 20 years of proven history of having taxing authority for extension, that speaks pretty clearly that it hasn’t got out of hand in counties or we would see counties wanting out,” he said.
The benefits would make the extension office more efficient and effective, supporters of the district say.
“We’ve made a lot of improvement in our programming in the Frontier District, and we felt it was time to expand and try to do even more,” Thompson said of the decision to invite Lyon County into the organization. “... We’re hoping to improve service and do it economically.”
One of the reasons for the invitation, Thompson said, is that the needs of the three counties are similar.
Lyon County extension agent Brian Rees agreed, and he supports joining the district.
“I think we’re doing a good job right now, but I do think there’s room for improvement,” Rees said. “This is one of the ways we have available to do that.”
Many of the savings seen by the district since its formation are due to eliminating duplicate services, Thompson said.
Since its formation, the district has been successful, Director Fran Richmond told commissioners.
“We’ve been able to utilize our resources better, whether that’s time or whether that’s energy and money ...” she said. “As far as manpower, we’ve found that there’s less duplication of services.”
County Commissioner Scott Briggs expressed concerns from the public regarding retaining control over services.
“Do you lose control of your county identity through this district?” Briggs asked Thompson.
“I haven’t felt that we have,” Thompson said. “The two offices are still staffed with the same people, and I haven’t seen that to be an issue.”
The public within the district has largely been supportive of the district and of improvements to the services offered.
“For programming, the agents have been in a position to work closely together, and by working together to come up with some programs that have met needs quite well,” Thompson said.
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
"This decision would give unlimited taxing authority."
Meaning: HIGHER MIL-LEVY
It seems no one in county government realizes what's going on with the economy. We need a commission that will cut or do away with the extension office. It was a great idea in the 1900's. But it is unneeded in 2012.
December 17, 2011 at 5:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
another taxpayer funded project gone crazy:
http://cjonline.com/news/2011-12-16/a...
Going to be close to a 1/2 BILLION dollars before she's done. About the cost of a small casino. Should think about putting slots in there to help pay for it.
December 17, 2011 at 6:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )