Zachary Olivas, with Great River Engineering, came by and gifted the Commission some lovely treats and discussed upcoming upgrades to bridge work.
John made sure to have Zachary add Bill, with Road and Bridge, to the email chain. Bill was unaware of the inspection meeting and could not make it when he found out just right before. Zachary was more than happy to add him so he would not miss any further information.
Kaylee Smith, also with Great River Engineering, came in shortly after Mr. Olivas and discussed the Southwest corner of the Court House by the HVAC system. There is an opening that was suggested to have a ramp installed but Kaylee and Jim thought that one singular step would suffice. Jim did not want to block it off completely due to chances of Emergency Services needing to get into the building during an emergency and not being able to enter that area for a quick entrance.
Josh Framel, with Clearway Energy Group, called and had an over-the-phone meeting to touch base with the Commission over their Chapter 100 Bond Agreement. John brought up the Mini Nuclear Plant that has broken ground in Kansas, wondering if this was going to be any sort of issue with the Agreement. Josh reassured John that everything was still in the clear.
John Gray got the bid from Kyle Osborn, with Fountain City Tinting, and shared the information with his fellow Commissioners. Kyle mentioned that there is existing tint on the windows that will need to be removed. His total included removal and installation of tint.
Jami Page met with the Commission to review the budget. The Commission approved a COLA of 4% and left it up to the Elected Official to increase their salary by the Performance Evaluation without a cap. Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is requesting a 10% increase for employees. There were slight concern about such matters since other offices are requesting 6% or lower increases.
Jami also reviewed the BCSO Budget. The Sheriff's Office will be getting 100% of the Use Tax Revenue so the Commission had Jami add a line item to his expense budget to track what the Sheriff will be spending the use tax money on. The Sheriff had put $0 in that line item when he turned his budget worksheets in. When general revenue received a portion of the Use Tax Money, there was an expense line item in the budget that said Use Tax Expense. This is in place so every dollar that was spent from the Use Tax Money could be tracked. Jami said the Commission will need to decide if they want the Sheriff to put an amount other than zero in The Use Tax line item. Lastly, Jami discussed the Assessors budget, and the Assessor estimated his revenues for 2026 to be $361,062.00 and his expenses to be $476,375.00. His expenses include the new software support. As of January 1, 2026, the Assessor must have $115,313.00 cash on hand for his budget to balance. If he does not have this amount in the bank on January 1st, he will need to cut his expenses. He will also need to receive every dollar that he projected to cover his expenses. If that does not happen, his budget will not be balanced, and Jami can't submit a budget to the State Auditor that does not balance.
December 22, 2025 The Bates County Commission met with Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley, Northern Commissioner John Gray and Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson present.
Bill Stephan, from Road and Bridge, met with the Commissioners and let them know there are no new culverts until 2026. He went over bridge improvement details dealing with the MODOT inspection and reviewed the budget.
Kacie Robey sat down with Commission and discussed a mistake that was found on a certain party’s property. There was acreage that was listed wrongly and fees that had been sent out but since the acreage was listed incorrectly, it’s possible that the landowner did not receive the bill. The landowner is asking that these fees be waved due to this being an issue on the County’s end and not his. Trent made the motion to wave the late fees. John seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried. No opposition.
The Commissioners sat down once they found out that Judge Baker will be closed for the full day on December 24th, 2025. That then led them to find out that the Governor, two weeks ago, authorized the closure of State Offices. Therefore, the Commission followed suit and will be closed the full day instead of a half day on December 24th, 2025.
Kacie’s office will remain open for a half day.
