County Commission formally sets staff roles

A RESOLUTION TRANSFERRING TO ADMINISTRATION ALL ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AND PAYROLL FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES EXCEPT THOSE REQUIRED BY STATUTE TO BE PERFORMED BY ANY OTHER COUNTY OFFICE AND SETTING FORTH GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE EXECUTION OF SUCH FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF BUTLER COUNTY, KANSAS:


WHEREAS, the county in the form of its duly elected governing body has the authority under K.S.A 19-101 to determine the local affairs and government, and to transact all county business and perform all powers of local legislation and administration it deems appropriate, subject only to listed limitations, restrictions and prohibitions of law, and;

WHEREAS, powers granted to counties are to be liberally constructed for the purposes of giving to counties the largest measure of self-government, KSA 19-101a(a), and;

WHEREAS, the county in the form of its duly elected governing body has the authority under K.S.A. 19-229, exclusive control of all expenditures the county accrues, and;

WHEREAS, the duty to prepare accounts payable and payroll is not expressly listed as a statutorily mandated duty of the County Clerk listed in the general powers conferred upon the office in K.S.A 19-301 et seq., and;

WHEREAS, Butler County should transfer by this Resolution to Administration all accounts payable and payroll functions and duties except those expressly required by statute to be performed by any other county office, and;

WHEREAS, Butler County should set forth in this Resolution general guidelines for the execution of such functions an duties, and;

WHEREAS, the Board finds that the interests of Butler County are best served when the accounts payable functions are handled by the Administration Department, the employees of which can receive concentrated training and experience in accounts payables and payroll issues, as need, and;

WHEREAS, the Board finds that the accounts payable and payroll functions and duties as set forth herein should be transferred to the Administration Department, which has an employee with extensive experience in performing such duties and functions, who is presently the most experienced employee of Butler County to perform these duties, and;

WHEREAS, the Board finds that efficient and effective audit procedures currently exist in the Administration Department with staff to protect the safekeeping of county assets, and;

WHEREAS, the Board finds that the preparation of accounts payable and payroll could be performed more efficiently and effectively if handled by the Administration Department, and;

WHEREAS, Butler County desires its employees handling the preparation of accounts payable and payroll to be as skilled and efficient as possible, and;

WHEREAS, the Administration Department is staffed with individuals specifically trained in the performing accounts payable and payroll functions and duties and such employees will add greater efficiency and more services to the employees of Butler County and the citizens the employees serve, and;

WHEREAS, the assignment by the Board of County Commissioners to a department or office, not the County Clerk’s Office, of the duties and functions of preparing accounts payable and payroll for county employees was specifically approved in a decision by the Kansas Supreme Court that interpreted the laws of the State of Kansas, in Perry v. Board of Franklin County Commissioners, 281 Kan. 801, 132 P.3d 1279 (2006), and;

WHEREAS, the relevant laws so interpreted by the Kansas Supreme Court have not changed since the issuance of the aforesaid opinion to the date of the passage of this Resolution, and;

WHEREAS, there are no laws that would bar the transfer by the Board of County Commissioners from the County Clerk to the Administration Department of the functions and duties of preparing accounts payable and payroll functions;

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Butler County, Kansas, meeting in regular session, this 22nd day of January 2013, does herby resolve as follows:

Section 1. Transfer of Accounts Payable and Payroll Functions to the Administration Department. The Butler County Administration Department is hereby designated as the office that will perform the functions and duties of preparing and completing accounts payable and payroll, except those duties specifically required by statute for the County Clerk to perform. All budget authority that was authorized for the Assistant Finance Director, Human Resource Coordinator and the Clerk III positions shall be transferred to Administration.

Section 2. Administration Department Duties. The Butler County Administration Department shall forthwith conduct the following duties, under the direction and supervision of the Board of County Commissioners:

Assist all departments with accounts payable and payroll information, as needed, understanding any limitations imposed by law with respect to elected officials’ autonomy in this area;

Provide information necessary to assist Butler County in the defense or prosecution of any litigation concerning accounts payable or personnel issues;

Provide information to County Department Heads to insure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws as these directly relate to accounts payable and payroll;

The Administration Department shall also undertake the responsibility of preparing the accounts payable and payroll of Butler County. This duty shall include but not limited to: the preparation of all accounts payable checks or deposits, except that all signatures require by statute to be placed upon the checks shall still be required by the proper party; distributing such payments to vendors; the preparation of all necessary reports for outside agencies; serve as the contact for all outside agencies regarding verification of claims and vouchers made to the county; verification of supporting documentation for such claims; preparing documents necessary for the Board of County Commissioners to perform all of its duties related to accounts payable; and shall have the responsibility for ensuring county compliance with all applicable state and federal regulations;

It shall be the duty of the Administration Department to prepare a statement each time an accounts payable is complete detailing the amounts to be paid by each department and the line items from which funds are to be taken. This information is to be presented to the County Treasurer and the County Clerk in order to enable the Treasurer and Clerk to perform their respective functions and activities as stated in K.S.A. 19-501 and K.S.A. 19-301 et seq.;

In the event the County is audited by the United States Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, or the Kansas Department of Labor, or any other entity having jurisdiction over issues relevant to the county’s accounts payable information requests for records or methodologies prior to the effective date of this resolution shall prepare such information as requested; and,

Perform all other duties assigned by the County Commissioners; and,

All duties and functions related to the preparation of accounts payable and payroll, not expressly specifically required by statute or law to be performed by the County Clerk, shall be performed by the Administration Department. The Clerk shall preform only the minimum duties and functions related to accounts payable and payroll that are required by state statute or law, except those duties or functions as may be subsequently designated by the Board of County Commissioner to be performed by the County Clerk.

Section 3. Cooperation. All departments are to provide their full cooperation and support to the Administration Department in order for it to perform the functions and duties related to accounts payable and payroll set forth herein.

Section 4. Effective Date. This resolution shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and publication in the official county newspaper.



ADOPTED, PASSED AND APPROVED by the governing Butler County, Kansas, Kansas on January 22, 2013.


BUTLER COUNTY, KANSAS


(Seal)
Daniel J. Woydziak, Chairman


ATTEST:



Don Engels, County Clerk