by Devin McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington City Council met Tuesday and a conversation ensued on the current financial agreement between the City of Wellington and the Sumner County Commissioners concerning reimbursement rates for emergency services rendered in the rural part of the county.

A seemingly innocuous resolution passed by the Council made clear just how much more the City of Wellington is on the hook for Fire and EMS services than neighboring communities. The ordinance replaced the City’s original contract with the County to receive nearly $263,000 in monthly stipends.

That comes out to just under $22,000 a month. The reason this number is significant is two-fold:

1. It showed that the County actually reduced its assistance to emergency services in the middle of the 2020 pandemic even as EMS calls surged around the country (including Sumner County);
2. It’s a woefully inadequate amount.

Wellington Fire/EMS Chief Tim Hay estimates the department has around $190,000 in expenses every month. That means the County only pays 12 percent of the bill even though the serviced area is 440 square miles — much larger than the City proper.

The rest of that sum comes from taxpayers and direct billing. Public services don’t have to turn a profit to exist. Their existence is a vital service and the entire point of taxes. But that doesn’t mean the County should shortchange Wellington’s EMS services when our neighbors don’t do the same.

In Cowley County, the Fire, EMS, and 911 call centers are funded separately to split the cost between multiple departments. Each municipal department inside Cowley County is funded 1 mill. That total brings in an expected $390,000 a year in 2022 per department, significantly more than what the City of Wellington’s fire/EMS receives. The fire departments in Cowley are funded by the municipalities they serve but are also subsidized by the County.

Still, Sumner and Cowley County may not be a fair comparison because Cowley is more populous with a different funding model. So, let’s turn to Seward County in western Kansas, which has the closest population to Sumner in the state. It is also without any of the funding concerns.

Seward EMS director John Ralston explained that the 911 services and the EMS services in his county would receive over $800,000 each in 2022. All their funding comes directly from Seward County, allowing them to be more lenient on people who can’t afford emergency services through insurance or out-of-pocket expenses. And on top of that, since they are so well-funded, they often have a balance at the end of the year that they can roll over to the next budget cycle.

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Wellington Lake changes

The Council approved an increase in the rates for camping at Wellington Lake. The total change amounts to $1 per day for residents and $2 per day for non-residents. The other change will use a 3.5 modifier daily increase to the electric rates.

The final question was whether or not to add a charge on non-residents for electricity. The change amounted to a monthly rate increase from $330 to $420, which could potentially exclude a lot of transient guests that use the campground.

Councilmember Robert Hamilton pointed out that the rate was already high, and this would keep some out-of-town people from using the campground. He advocated excluding the additional rate increase.

The rest of the Council agreed except for council members Guy Leitch and Mike Westmoreland.

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Economic Development

Sumner County Economic Development Director Stacy Davis also told the Council she planned to attend a webinar about the newly available grant opportunities from the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Executive Committee.

Governor Kelly stated that the new grants will be provided in 2022 and 2023 and can be coupled with grants from the American Rescue Plan Act. Look for updates on that webinar from her and City Manager Shields in the coming months.

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Steve Sturgis recognition

It wasn’t all money talk on this meeting, though. The Council approved a Joint Proclamation between the City of Wellington and USD 353 Board of Education in Recognition of Steve Sturgis and declared February 8, 2022, as Steve Sturgis (Mr. Crusader) Day.

Councilmember Rick Roitman also mentioned there would be a ceremony for Steve between basketball games on Mr. Crusader Day.

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In other business:

Through another six resolutions, the Council authorized the City to purchase several budgeted items:

• $48,000 in chemicals for the water treatment facility
• Fresh insecticide and herbicide;
• A $20,000 Gator for the cemetery (its former incarnation will be passed to another City department);
• A $13,000 mower for the City they hope to replace the tractor-pulled versions;
• Employment for Gordon CPA for the firm’s auditing services;
• The Council also agreed to write off 2 percent of uncollected utility fees that would cost more to pursue.

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The meeting adjourned after an hour and 56 minutes.

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