HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County Commissioner Dan Deming’s desire to have the support of his fellow commissioners for three pieces of legislation he wants considered in Topeka didn’t work out as well as he would like. The other two commissioners agreed to only one item and even that was narrowed down from what Deming wanted.
Deming had suggested to the other commissioners his desire to have legislation in Topeka that would allow the appointment of three county department heads, that being county treasurer, register of deeds and county clerk. He also wanted legislation to set minimum qualifications for county treasurer and establish county commission term limits.
But, the three could only reach consensus on seeking the ability to appoint a county treasurer as opposed to that position being elected. County Commissioner Brad Dillon noted that by having that ability, they could seek qualified candidates from outside the area, rather then someone being elected locally who has to live in the county, but may not be qualified. This legislation would give that ability to any county in the state that has a population over 50,000.
As for term limits, Commission Chair James Schlickau commented on Deming’s desire to have appointments for these department head positions so they could stay in that position as long as they were doing a good job, yet wanted term limits for commissioners. Schlickau and Dillon were opposed to that idea. Dillon says its been tried before and failed. He says he wants to focus on the one idea that has a chance of passing. He says that they could present legislators with the problems they’ve had with the county treasurer position and that could lead to some success.
But, they have to act quick because legislature doesn’t allow the introduction of any other bills after the end of January. They instructed County Administrator Gary Meagher to e-mail their request to State Representative Steve Becker, so he can introduce the legislation if he so chooses. Becker had earlier noted of his desire to have the full backing on all three commissioners on any of all of these issues before he introduced any legislation.