Nick Gosnell: Ron, good morning.
Ron Hirst: Morning, Nick, another nice morning to start for a typical July day in Kansas.
Nick Gosnell: It is and at least it's not quite as oppressively hot as what we're going to see about a week from now. So Ron talk a little bit about your experience and just what what you feel like has happened in the county commission since you chose to serve.
Ron Hirst: Well, I think we've done a lot of looking at budgets and looking at how we can provide least cost needed services. I believe that we have had just for instance, an opportunity to visit with people and find out what they really want and what their needs are and a chance to get together and have good conversation about where Reno County needs to head with regard to economic development as well as you know, our purpose here is to provide the welfare and safety of citizens.
Gosnell: All right, so what's your top priority, should you be re-elected to another term?
Hirst: Well, I think to continue going out in the county and visiting the city councils, I think we need to look at how we can grow economically and feasibly grow. Reno County, Hutchinson, Reno County. We need to look at the opportunities and challenges that are out there and create some new ways to get things done because some of the things we've done 20 years ago just aren't, they won't happen today as you, we can notice.
Gosnell: And so talk about those challenges, I guess first because I asked these questions of both of the opponents and they didn't really because they are not on the commission. It was a bit harder for them to answer, but I'll ask it of you as well. What's one thing? Maybe the county should spend a little less money on than they have in previous years?
Hirst: I think that's an overall picture rather than just picking and choosing what we are. I believe we need to look at thoroughly look and review the budgets that the administrator provides us and that the department heads have worked with them to provide. Maybe we could look at extending and we have a really good automotive department that repairs and, fixes new equipment to be ready for service such as the Sheriff's Department. So I think we need to look at, at, we could possibly extend and we are starting to do that now extend the life of our, of our pool of, of vehicles maybe one more year, but they will have to look at trade in value and where they go.
Gosnell: All right. And what about different priorities that the county maybe should spend a little bit more on whether it's short term or long term.
Hirst: I have two areas primarily that I think we need to focus on and one of them if, if I had my choice and it didn't raise taxes, I would add 1 to 2 more deputies for the night shift in Reno County because of some activity that's going on in western Reno County and the other one I would probably like to improve the budget a little bit or increase the budget a little bit for a noxious weed control.
Gosnell: Ok. yeah, they had a they have a specific noxious weed person in a lot of counties. Does Reno County have that?
Hirst: I don't remember we have a dedicated person that's qualified or two people that are qualified to spray but you run into problems with wind, with rain and also with the crops that are growing next to the ditches.
Gosnell: All right and what do you see the role is of the county administrator?
Hirst: When it relates to the county commission, we are kind of a direction and provide input. He manages and administrates the day to day activities of the 18 different departments that we have and that we can give ideas and, and, and visit with the administrator on things that we see come up and go to him first.
Gosnell: You know, it's interesting, Ron because during the, during your last term, the county councilor went from somebody that just worked for Reno County to now Patrick Hoffman actually does the job for two different counties. Have you seen any issues with that?
Hirst: No, I have not. I'm pretty impressed with the county councilor. We have now he brings some new thoughts here. Mr o'sullivan, our council was great. He knew the county real well. Patrick Hoffman has fit in really well.
Gosnell: All right. You actually brought some documentation with you, Ron. So I'm gonna go to that now that I've pretty well gotten through my list of questions and you were talking about property taxes. I don't, I I'm pretty certain that it wasn't you that said it, but which of your colleagues on the county commission? I can't remember the name. I can't remember the name and, and they'll be yelling at their radio going, it was me, you should give me credit. Well, I apologize. I can't recall which one of them it was Ron, but one of them said the county gets a lot more of the blame when it comes to property taxes. because the, because they're the ones that send out the notices, even though the county's portion of property tax, isn't by any means all of it.
Hirst: No, the county portion of property tax. Let's just take, the city of Hutchinson, for instance, we have a lot of Hutchinson viewers and, the percentage that the county receives from ad valorem taxes, property taxes is about just under 22%. about 46% give or take a percent or so is Hutch Juco and USD 308 and about 24% it goes to the city itself and the rest are other items. Hutch's library and Hutch Rec and so forth. And if you look at the city of South Hutch, it's just a little higher because their total mill levy is less than it is in Hutchinson. And if you go out into different townships and so forth, our percentage the county gets will be higher because of the total mill levy and valuations.
Gosnell: And a reminder of what valuation actually means, it means property value. So the less property value that you have out in a given area, the the more mills it takes to get the same amount of money.
Hirst: That is true because there's really not much government can do, and I've said this before a few times, but to provide the needed services, you either as inflation eats into all of us, including our home budgets, you either have to decrease the services or decrease what you're doing at home. You have to increase your revenue or you have to increase your tax base. And that's the, that's the method that is the most sound to me is to increase our tax base.
Gosnell: Right. And that's economic development, which I know that's been important to you as we've gone across as well. And so that's where the county and the chamber and the city of Hutchinson and the city of South Hutch, they're all trying to come together on this industrial Park proposal south of South Hutchinson. And I know that you guys are continuing to have conversations about which ways which pieces work to try to make this all happen to increase that tax base.
Hirst: That is true. And, you know, we also have a lot of other things just besides that future development down the industrial development, a housing task force going on right now and some, some new ideas with regard to increase the housing so that so that we'll be ready when something comes because there's a lot of houses out there that are available. They may be a little bit obsolescent with regarding to our younger generation. But we we are in the process of doing a housing assessment for the whole county.
Gosnell: Well, and while you're in the middle of that interfaith housing came and reported to you guys about how the ARPA funds they had have been used to do some rehabilitation across the county.
Hirst: That's true. And let's look at ARPA funds for a minute. Those didn't come out of any local tax dollars as far as our budget is concerned and tax levy is concerned, they were sent down from the federal government and I know we all pay in federal income tax. So we did pay a part of that, but those were not dependent upon our local. And we, and we had a quite a community foundation as well as others were involved in, and getting input from all over the county. And two, I hope that those out in the rural cities will, will be involved in and take time to be involved in, in the direction we're going.
Gosnell: The meetings that took place this week in Arlington and Pretty Prairie with regard to, the potential of zoning and what they heard on solar and all of that, did you get to go to those?
Hirst: I attended all three.
Gosnell:Ok, so how did they go in your opinion?
Hirst: My opinion is they went well. That's one of the things that I think we need to probably do more of and that's get out in the county and have some meetings, although we've done that before and maybe had a half a dozen people show up. This case is we had 100 who 50 to 75 show up at the last two. And we heard, I, I can only speak for myself, but I think all three of the commissioners that were in attendance heard very, very straightforward that zoning is, is not one of the things that we should consider for the unzoned area. I did come away with probably the majority saying that a little over majority saying that they preferred some regulations with regards to solar. We have that overlay with wind and they like that idea so that they at least have a say in in what's going on next to them.
Gosnell: All right, and they're gonna have the planning commission's public hearing on the specific text that's gotta go in for all the changes that you guys already talked to them about is gonna be going on on Monday the 29th. So if people want to go to that, that is at 5:30 p.m. and that's down at the public works office at 600 Scott Boulevard in South Hutchinson. That's where planning always holds their meetings and they'll also have it on youtube. They always do that as well. So if you're not able to go out and you want to watch it, you can do that too. So that's an opportunity on Monday.
Hirst: Yeah, let's clarify that a little bit. That's just just for the zoned area that only applies to the zoned area, but some of those things could very easily spill over into the unzoned area as we go forward.
Gosnell: All right, Ron Hirst is the current county commissioner from his section of the county and he's running for re-election. He'll be on your ballot. August 6th on the Republican side.
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