Voter's Guide: County Chair

Following is information about the candidates running for chair of the Johnson County Commission. Candidates were asked to keep their answers to the questions about issues to 70 words or less. Some answers have been edited for length.

Name: John Patrick Segale

Occupation: Cerner Corporation, senior situation manager

Education: B.S., Computer Science, University of Kansas, 1990.

Political experience and community involvement: Kansas City Rowing Club, co-founder (1992-1996); Old Shawnee Days Committee (1997-2004); Shawnee Rotary Club (1997-2009); Shawnee City Council, Ward 1 (three terms, 1997-2004); Johnson County Commissioner, 2nd District (one term, 2005-2009).

Would you support an ongoing hiring freeze and/or a reduction of the county work force while revenues are down?

I support the ongoing hiring freeze initiated in late 2005, while I was serving on the County Commission. The hiring freeze and near complete wage freeze is a prudent step in this economic downturn. It is possible that through consolidation actions, work force reductions could occur without impacting service. The No. 1 goal is to return better value to taxpayers by maintaining service levels for needed services while reducing costs.

Do you think there are some services that could be consolidated to save the county, cities and taxpayers money? If yes, what are they? If no, why not? 

Yes. Citizens expect quality services at a good price.

Service consolidation will need to be mutually agreed to by our cities and county. The first step, therefore, is for elected and professional leaders from cities and the county to jointly analyze every service they offer to identify areas for consolidation.

Absent joint analysis, I propose potential consolidation of police dispatching, employee health insurance, fire services, and information technology.

What is your opinion on annexation and condemnation?

About 60 percent of the land and over 95 percent of the population lies within city boundaries in Johnson County. The trend is for all or most of the county to become incorporated into cities. The entire county subsidizes most city-like services within unincorporated areas; until these subsidies are reduced I do not favor public elections on annexation issues.

I do not favor condemnation for private economic development.

Would you support changing county commission meetings from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. so more working citizens could attend?

Yes, that is a key plank in my platform in conjunction with setting commission pay at $25,000 (similar to Overland Park mayor) for all members. The commission pay cut reduces the chairman’s salary nearly $62,000 and district commissioners over $24,000, saving over $210,000 annually.

As a former member of the commission who has analyzed meeting duration over the last 18 months, moving meetings to nights (starting around 6 to 7 p.m.) could be accommodated.

Name: Annabeth Surbaugh

Occupation: Chairman of the Board, Johnson County Commission

Education: University of Missouri – Columbia, bachelor of science, retailing.

Political experience and community involvement: Current Chairman of the Board, Johnson County Commission; 3rd District Johnson County Commissioner; chairman, Water District No. 1 of Johnson County; board member, Rural Water District No. 2; board of directors, National Association of Counties; member, Federal Urban Wet Weather Flow Advisory Committee; board member, National Association of Regional Councils; board member, Mid-America Regional Council.

National Urban and Community Forestry Council; State of Kansas Forestry Advisory Council; United Way of Greater Kansas City Board of Trustees; United Community Services Council of Advisors; Health Partnership of Johnson County Advisory Council; Arts & Humanities Association of Johnson County Board of Advisors; Junior League of Wyandotte and Johnson Counties Inc. Governmental Advisor; Johnson County Community College Foundation Board of Directors; Safehome Inc. Board of Directors.

Would you support an ongoing hiring freeze and/or reduction of the county work force while revenues are down?

I support the county’s current and ongoing efforts to restrict hiring to essential positions and reduce the work force wherever possible. Johnson County was among the first local governments in the region to impose hiring restrictions, starting in 2008, and also froze employee salaries. During these difficult times, it is especially important to lessen the burden to our citizens.

Do you think there are some services that could be consolidated to save the county, cities and taxpayers money?  If yes, what are they?  If no, why not?

We are always looking for ways to improve the delivery of county services. For example, we’re consolidating functions in our financial management, treasury, and motor vehicle departments. We are streamlining support functions across the enterprise to reduce positions while boosting productivity. The county also seeks innovative partnerships with cities to improve services to taxpayers and reduce costs by consolidating or sharing services where possible, such as costly fiber optic lines.

What is your opinion on annexation and condemnation?

Both annexation and condemnation are extraordinary powers. I believe government should carefully and cautiously exercise either of these powers, but always with an eye towards the best public benefit which serves the interest of the community at-large. In both annexation and condemnation, the rights of the existing property owners should be thoughtfully considered compared to the potential advantage to the community.

Would you support changing the county commission meetings from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. so more working citizens could attend?

The board has previously adopted the charter resolution designating regular business sessions to be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursdays. To change the schedule would require a new vote on a charter resolution to amend the time and possibly the day. However, I would personally support this change in order to further increase our accessibility and transparency to the public.

(County Chair candidates Ed Eilert and John Toplikar did not return The Sun questionnaire.)

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