Commission asks administrator to propose options for government-efficiency committee

Leavenworth County commissioners asked the county administrator to return with two or three options for establishing a government-efficiency committee to review county operations and the budget for redundancies, software integration and potential savings.

The motion, made by Commissioner Mike Smith and seconded on the record, directed the county administrator to present possible committee structures, membership sizes and meeting frequencies. Commissioners debated whether a citizen advisory panel of outside residents would add transparency or whether the elected commissioners and staff should simply build more time into the budget review process. Commissioner Vanessa Reed (referred in the meeting as Nessa Reed in roll-call language) supported a citizen-inclusion model to improve public trust; Commissioner Jeff (Willie Dove/Chair references) and other members said staff and commissioners could extend the timeline and provide more department‑level review instead of appointing an unelected committee immediately.

Commissioner Mike Smith moved that the county administrator provide options for establishing a government efficiency committee; Commissioner Mike Stevens seconded. By roll call the motion carried (ayes recorded). The county administrator indicated staff would return with options for the commission to consider.

The commissioners also discussed starting budget review earlier in the calendar to allow more department-level review prior to final adoption; several commissioners asked staff to give the board at least 30 more days for review in the next cycle.