The possibility of allowing the Lyon County Research and Extension office join with the Frontier District was up for discussion again at Wednesday’s study session of the Lyon County Commission. Commissioners Scott Briggs and Rollie Martin talked about comments and concerns they have heard from the public. Commissioner Teresa Walters was not in attendance.
The main question people have, Briggs noted, is the notion of creating a new taxing district. If Lyon County were to join the extension district, which consists of Franklin and Osage counties, taxing authority for the extension office would transfer to the district instead of remaining in Lyon County.
“The community seems to be very, very apprehensive about taxing authority,” Briggs said. “That’s the main concern.”
The Frontier District was formed last year, and recently invited Lyon County to join. This would combine Lyon County’s four extension agents with the five agents working with the district. County commissioners then would appoint four members to the district’s board, with membership later being determined by public vote.
The question of taxing authority was an issue in 2009, when a discussion was being held to form an extension district with Chase County. With the two counties having such different valuations, many in Lyon County worried about how much of a burden they would be taking on. At Wednesday’s meeting, County Controller Dan Slater pointed out the differences between then and now.
“The last time this came up I was kind of outspoken about questioning it because of differences in valuation between the two counties,” Slater said. “This time it’s different, because while we’ll still be the largest county in the district, the difference is not that much.”
slimbolen99 (anonymous) says...
So I guess the Emporia Gazette took the day off? Just this one article is all they could muster for the day?
December 21, 2011 at 8:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )