STATEMENT OF POSITION ON CONSOLIDATED LAW ENFORCEMENT (Originally printed in the December 1976 Voter. Revised 2000 and 2005)
The League of Women Voters of Manhattan/Riley County agrees that:
1. The composition of the Law Board (Riley County Law Enforcement Agency) should reflect the implied intent and spirit of the statutory language in KSA 19-4427 that created the agency.
Background: Analysis of the statute (see below) establishing the Riley County Law Enforce¬ment Agency shows that its language and spirit clearly distinguish between board members who serve as elected officials and those who serve as citizens at large. In specifying the manner of appointment and the terms of office, the statute identifies the two categories of membership: "appointive members" and "members by virtue of their city or county office." After having named the required members from their bodies, the city and county commissions now routinely choose to fill all but one of the appointive positions with their own members. Current practice does not document the distinction between commissioners serving on the board and commissioners who are filling appointive terms.
An opinion of the Kansas Attorney General in 2000 states the current practice is not literally prohibited by the statute. However, the League is in agreement that the current practice departs from the plain meaning of the statute, thereby creating a de facto supermajority of commissioners as members of the Law Board.
2. The biennial reorganization meeting of the city and county commissioners should adopt a resolution specifying the category of each Board member (appointed or a member of the governing body of the appointing authority) and the ending date of each member's term.
Background: The requirement for the biennial reorganization is clearly stated in the statute KSA 19-4427. In recent times the actions required by the statute have not been consistently taken nor documented.
3. The County Attorney should not serve as a voting member of the Law Board. The League supports a change in the statute that would designate the County Attorney a non-voting member of the board and would allow both the city and county to appoint one addi¬tional citizen member. At the same time, the alternating term appointment by city and county as now allowed in KSA 19-4427 Section (f) could be eliminated, thus keeping the total voting membership of the board at seven members.
Background. The League sees a possible conflict in having the county attorney serve as a member of the law board that is responsible for hiring and firing the Director of the Riley County Police Department. The county attorney is often a consultant to the police department and therefore may be involved in the day to day operation of the department, unlike any other member of the law board.
4. Funding for the consolidated Law Enforcement Agency should be through a policy of equitable taxation.
Background. The original position included the following statement: "In order to make more equitable the method of taxation to fund the Riley County Police Department, the 1972 Base Formula should be restructured to take into consideration such factors as: use value assessments, if implemented; use of police services; high crime areas; and ability to pay." (Use value assessment has been implemented.) This basic position is still in keeping with League's consistent support of and advo¬cacy for good government.
RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS + KSA 19-4427 establishes a consolidated law enforce¬ment agency for Riley County and states that:
"The Riley county law enforcement agency shall have seven members who shall be selected in the following manner: (a) One member shall be a member of the board of county commissioners of the county, selected by such board of commissioners; (b) One member shall be a resident of the county, to be selected by the board of county commissioners; (c) One member shall be a member of the governing body of the city of Manhattan, to be selected by such governing body; (d) Two members shall be residents of the city of Manhattan, to be selected by the governing body of such city; (e) One member shall be the county attorney of such county; and (f) One member appointed, on alternating terms, by the governing body of the city of Manhattan and the board of county commissioners of Riley county, which member shall be a member of the governing body of the appointing authority."
Continuing the statutory language from KSA 19-4427: "The board of county commissioners of the county and the governing body of the two largest cities located within such county shall each meet on the second Monday in January next follow¬ing the adoption of the provisions of this act and each two years thereafter and shall select and designate the members of their respective bodies and the other appointive members as members of the agency.
"Appointive members of the agency shall serve for a term of two years, and other members of the agency who are members by virtue of their county or city office shall remain eligible to serve as such only while holding such county or city office. . . . . and all vacancies occurring in the mem¬ber¬ship of the agency shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term of the member crea¬ting such vacancy in like manner as that provided for the appointment of such member."
STATEMENT OF POSITION ON CONSOLIDATED LAW ENFORCEMENT (Originally printed in the December 1976 Voter. Revised 2000 and 2005)
The League of Women Voters of Manhattan/Riley County agrees that:
1. The composition of the Law Board (Riley County Law Enforcement Agency) should reflect the implied intent and spirit of the statutory language in KSA 19-4427 that created the agency.
Background: Analysis of the statute (see below) establishing the Riley County Law Enforce¬ment Agency shows that its language and spirit clearly distinguish between board members who serve as elected officials and those who serve as citizens at large. In specifying the manner of appointment and the terms of office, the statute identifies the two categories of membership: "appointive members" and "members by virtue of their city or county office." After having named the required members from their bodies, the city and county commissions now routinely choose to fill all but one of the appointive positions with their own members. Current practice does not document the distinction between commissioners serving on the board and commissioners who are filling appointive terms.
An opinion of the Kansas Attorney General in 2000 states the current practice is not literally prohibited by the statute. However, the League is in agreement that the current practice departs from the plain meaning of the statute, thereby creating a de facto supermajority of commissioners as members of the Law Board.
2. The biennial reorganization meeting of the city and county commissioners should adopt a resolution specifying the category of each Board member (appointed or a member of the governing body of the appointing authority) and the ending date of each member's term.
Background: The requirement for the biennial reorganization is clearly stated in the statute KSA 19-4427. In recent times the actions required by the statute have not been consistently taken nor documented.
3. The County Attorney should not serve as a voting member of the Law Board. The League supports a change in the statute that would designate the County Attorney a non-voting member of the board and would allow both the city and county to appoint one addi¬tional citizen member. At the same time, the alternating term appointment by city and county as now allowed in KSA 19-4427 Section (f) could be eliminated, thus keeping the total voting membership of the board at seven members.
Background. The League sees a possible conflict in having the county attorney serve as a member of the law board that is responsible for hiring and firing the Director of the Riley County Police Department. The county attorney is often a consultant to the police department and therefore may be involved in the day to day operation of the department, unlike any other member of the law board.
4. Funding for the consolidated Law Enforcement Agency should be through a policy of equitable taxation.
Background. The original position included the following statement: "In order to make more equitable the method of taxation to fund the Riley County Police Department, the 1972 Base Formula should be restructured to take into consideration such factors as: use value assessments, if implemented; use of police services; high crime areas; and ability to pay." (Use value assessment has been implemented.) This basic position is still in keeping with League's consistent support of and advo¬cacy for good government.
RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS + KSA 19-4427 establishes a consolidated law enforce¬ment agency for Riley County and states that:
"The Riley county law enforcement agency shall have seven members who shall be selected in the following manner: (a) One member shall be a member of the board of county commissioners of the county, selected by such board of commissioners; (b) One member shall be a resident of the county, to be selected by the board of county commissioners; (c) One member shall be a member of the governing body of the city of Manhattan, to be selected by such governing body; (d) Two members shall be residents of the city of Manhattan, to be selected by the governing body of such city; (e) One member shall be the county attorney of such county; and (f) One member appointed, on alternating terms, by the governing body of the city of Manhattan and the board of county commissioners of Riley county, which member shall be a member of the governing body of the appointing authority."
Continuing the statutory language from KSA 19-4427: "The board of county commissioners of the county and the governing body of the two largest cities located within such county shall each meet on the second Monday in January next follow¬ing the adoption of the provisions of this act and each two years thereafter and shall select and designate the members of their respective bodies and the other appointive members as members of the agency.
"Appointive members of the agency shall serve for a term of two years, and other members of the agency who are members by virtue of their county or city office shall remain eligible to serve as such only while holding such county or city office. . . . . and all vacancies occurring in the mem¬ber¬ship of the agency shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term of the member crea¬ting such vacancy in like manner as that provided for the appointment of such member."
