Commentary by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Five Cueball thoughts for August 22, 2015…

Leonard Hernandez

1. Hernandez leaving…

Leonard Hernandez, CEO of Sumner Regional Medical Center, submitted his resignation Friday to take a similar position at Burlington.

While there is most certainly a reason to hit the panic button, this single event should not be defined as an ‘apocalypse is upon us’ defining moment.

Hernandez’ fate here in Wellington came a couple weeks ago when the Sumner County Medical Center board hired the consulting firm, Community Hospital Corporation, financed through the privately funded SRMC Endowment Foundation.

That firm will be doing an extensive assessment report of all operations at SRMC and bring its recommendations back to the board in a few months.

While I neither agree or disagree with the decision, it essentially reduced Hernandez of all administrative duties and made him a figure head – since those decisions are supposed to be made by him. Hernandez and his 20 years of hospital experience, selflessly decided to move on instead of drawing a salary.

This scenario is no different than a CEO of a corporation, or a head football coach for a struggling team. Sometimes, a change is imminent and sometimes its best for all parties involved. That’s how business works.

Sources have told me the SRMC board will wait for the official CHC report that will take a few months before taking action on a possible replacement for Hernandez. In the meantime, an interim director will be hired.

2. Tax capital of the world…

Is Wellington the “tax capital of the world?” We are already the “teenage pregnancy capital of the world,” and the “dying of cancer at an early age capital of the world,” not to mention having the “highest utility rates in the world.” So it seems appropriate to add another title to ourselves. (Sarcasm may have applied to this paragraph).

Former Wellington City Manager Gus Collins provided me these two graphics of the mill levies comparing the local entities in 2012. I ran this a couple of years ago since the mill levies didn’t change much in 2013 or 2014.

These graphics wee made not much time after the county commissioners reduced the Sumner County levy 18.5 mills once the Kansas Star Casino went into operation. As you could see the 162.040 mill levy rate was the lowest in the 11 cities Collins compared. Keep in mind, though, this was during the time when the utility reserve fund was being depleted, which is testimony that too little taxation is not always a good thing.

The graphic does put things in perspective. As bad as the taxes seem to be here, Wellington is no different than any other Kansas town out there. It is not the tax capital of the world. It is rather ordinary.

And if you are going to be moving out of town for cheaper living, chances are your financial life is not going to make that much difference.

Who needs roads when we have donuts!

3. Budgets…

Mid-August is a busy one for local governing bodies which must submit budgets to the state. As expected, both the city of Wellington and Wellington school board raised the mill levy 3 and 4 mills. I’m sure it is no different throughout Sumner County as local governments respond to state reimbursement cutbacks.

While raising taxes can bring a financial hardship, I have a hard time getting too excited about raising the taxes 3 or 4 mills.

If you own a $100,000 home in Wellington, a 3-mill increase is going to cost you an extra $4.69 a month which is equal to a couple of donuts and a cup of coffee. Your overall tax bill will be $689.77 for the year. Yes, that seems a lot until you factor in the various services of road and bridge upkeep, police and fire protection and everything else you get for that money.

Your water heater could go out tomorrow and that’s going to cost you somewhere between $400 to $800 depending what model you get. In the scheme of things, a 3 or 4 mill increase is not going to ruin your life.

And if it means the difference of keeping the local hospital open or not, I’m willing to give up the two donuts and a cup a coffee. Heck, not consuming those two donuts might keep me out of the hospital.

Washington Elementary multipurpose room as it looked on Monday.

4. The construction of USD 353…

In my 30 years of reporting, one axiom is always true: construction projects never finish on time. If you remember when the Wellington High School was being constructed in the early 2000s, during one year school was delayed until after Labor Day.

Monday, I was a little upset not because of the construction delays, but the fact that it took the school administration so long to pull the trigger when I walked through Washington Elementary looking like a war zone. The teachers there seemed helpless not knowing what to do next. I had one USD 353 employee tell me, “none of us know what is going on.”

Wellington Superintendent Rick Weiss made the right call by delaying school a week. Tomorrow when school begins, this will all soon be quickly forgotten. When the security and safety project construction is completed sometime next summer, Wellington USD 353 will have some of the best and safest schools around.

5. Shout out of the week…

During the chaotic news week, one thing was overlooked on Sumner Newscow — the erection of the new goal posts at Sellers Park. The new goal posts are 23 feet in height compared to 10 feet for the old ones. They are now set to KSHSAA standards.

For being a football town, three years ago Wellington had some of the shabbiest football facilities around.

But thanks to the efforts of:

•the Crusader Club and President Darin Goodrum, spearheading the effort;

•football groundskeeper Steve Gill, former director of the Wellington Golf Club;

•the Wellington school board for initiating the construction of the handicapped accessible bleachers;

•Security State Bank for donating the new scoreboard and 45-second clock;

•Impact Bank for the mural;

•Bryan Edwards and friends for the construction of the press box rebuild a couple years ago;

•Volunteers for the painting of the victory bell;

•And whatever things and whoever else I forgot to mention.

Seller Park now rocks again.

And all of this was done at no extra cost to the taxpayers.

People who complain about Wellington, don’t seem to realize what a jewel of a town we have here in central Kansas. When there is a need, people step up to the plate here. There is a reason why my wife and I decided to make Wellington our home and raise our family here. We could be living anywhere else.

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