Commissioner Gary McIntosh thinks Allen County could fare better if it had a county manager.
He sees an administrator whose sole focus is the county’s “big picture” as better than the current arrangement of where the three commissioners tack on their duties to their regular full-time jobs.
An administrator also would provide the county continuity as commissioners come and go as they are elected to office.
The new position would oversee personnel issues among county employees as well as encourage economic development, McIntosh said. Handling human resource affairs would lighten the load of Alan Weber, Allen County counselor, who wears many hats as adviser to the commissioners, including his role as legal adviser to new hospital trustees. And the county has never focused fully on what it could do to attract new businesses and industries.
At Tuesday’s meeting of commissioners, McIntosh proposed the three “at the very least” meet with a county administrator to learn of his duties. He mentioned Kris Marple who serves as administrator for Wilson County.
McIntosh’s proposal had a lukewarm reception.
Commissioner Dick Works, starting his sixth four-year term, recalled previous discussions about a county manager went nowhere. Also, having an administrator would mean “taking control out of our (commissioners’) hands and giving it to someone who wasn’t elected.”
McIntosh agreed, but noted if a manager were hired, he or she would serve at the commissioners’ pleasure.
Commissioner Rob Francis said he would be willing to have an audience with Wilson County’s Marple, but otherwise kept silent on the idea.
OUTSIDE of the meeting, McIntosh further elaborated on the concept.
“Economic development begs attention,” he said. “It’s kind of like a wellness program. It’s a slow process that pays dividends over a period of several years.
“You have to have someone who is available at a moment’s notice and has detailed information so that a prospect’s questions can be answered immediately. We’re dropping the ball by not pursuing economic development.
“And continuity of management is important. It takes most of a (four-year) term to get up to speed” for new commissioners who have no prior governmental experience. “Then, when a commissioner is replaced, you’re back at square one and have another two, three, even four years before the new person is where you were before.”
McIntosh, who said he does not plan to run for re-election, said the county will be in that very position very soon.
“I’m leaving in less than two years and Rob (Francis) is in his first term. There’s no guarantee he’ll file for re-election or be re-elected if he does,” McIntosh said, while allowing that the commission has had the benefit of Works’ long tenure to provide stability.
He also thinks commissioners should draw on the public to help decide whether to hire an administrator.
“We should appoint a committee, like we did with the hospital, to help us gather information and reach a decision,” he said. “It worked very well with the hospital and there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t with a county manager.”
TUESDAY commissioners theorized an administrator’s salary would be in the $75,000 a year range, plus benefits. For comparison’s sake, Iola Administrator Judy Brigham is paid $83,865 annually after being with the city close to 30 years.
McIntosh said he would favor reducing commissioners’ salaries and benefits to shift money to professional management, although he didn’t outline how deep he thought the cuts should be.
Allen County commissioners are paid $17,169 a year. Starting April 1 their monthly health insurance premiums, paid by the county, will be $549, an annual benefit for each of $6,588. Total compensation is almost $24,000 each.
McIntosh, however, is not enrolled in the county’s health insurance, a philosophical decision that goes back to when he was an Iola commissioner in 1979-1982.
“I wouldn’t allow retirees then to remain on the city’s insurance and I’m not going to do it now,” said McIntosh, who is 67.
MARPLE said in a telephone interview that 60 to 70 percent of his time was spent dealing with personnel issues and in interaction with the public.
“The commissioners meet once a week (3 to 7 p.m. on Mondays) and the public likes to have someone they can go to Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” Marple said. “I also work on compliance issues, prepare reports and deal with the budget.”
Marple is the county’s zoning administrator, compliance officer and frequently represents commissioners in area and regional meetings.
A 1997 graduate of Washburn University and native of the Altoona area in northeast Wilson County — he lives there in his grandmother’s former home — Marple has been Wilson County coordinator for nearly 14 years.
He doesn’t actively recruit businesses or industries, but does meet with prospects and keeps in contact with the Kansas Department of Commerce.
“We tried to do more economic development when I first started,” he said. “More recently, we’ve had conversations with the chambers of commerce in our towns about joining with the county” in more concentrated economic development efforts.
Currently, Marple is the only full-time county administrator in southeast Kansas.
“There once were administrators in Neosho and Bourbon counties and in Labette County there is a person who works with emergency management and does some of the things I do,” Marple said.
Marple is paid $32,884 a year and has health insurance coverage paid by the county, with premiums a little over $500 a month. Wilson County commissioners are paid $14,248 a year.
Wilson County has assessed valuation of $60 million, 9,500 population and 574 square miles. Allen County’s assessed valuation is $92 million, has 13,200 residents and covers 504 square miles.
