Olathe ? A majority complained about District Attorney Phill Kline, but Johnson County commissioners couldn’t decide Thursday whether to cut off funding for two special prosecutors he appointed to investigate former Attorney General Paul Morrison.

The commission voted 6-1 to postpone a decision until next week after spending more than an hour discussing Kline, the prosecutors’ ability to be impartial and whether stripping them of money would scuttle the investigation. The commission had set aside $25,000 in December.

Three commissioners were ready to pull the funding, but two weren’t and Commissioner David Lindstrom wanted more time to decide. The seventh commissioner, John Segale, criticized Kline but said he sees no point in cutting off the money.

“I don’t think withdrawing the money does anything except kick him in the shin and makes him look like the victim,” Segale said. “And he’s not – he’s the perpetrator.”

Earlier this month, Kline appointed Timothy Keck and Robert Arnold III to investigate whether Morrison broke any laws during an extramarital affair. Keck worked for Kline in the district attorney’s office for about a year before entering private practice with Arnold.

Morrison has denied any professional wrongdoing and has said he’s never violated the law. His affair allegedly began while Morrison was Johnson County district attorney and involved a subordinate in that office. The woman, Linda Carter, has said it continued while he ran for attorney general in 2006 and after he took office in January 2007.

Morrison acknowledged the affair in December and the resulting furor forced him to resign Jan. 31. He’s since accused Kline of orchestrating a campaign against him.

Kline was Morrison’s predecessor as attorney general. Morrison switched parties to run as a Democrat against Kline, defeating him after an often-bitter campaign. Local Republicans had the power to fill the DA’s job – and named Kline.

Last week, the commission told Kline it wanted a report from him about his appointments, but Kline declined their “invitation” to appear at Thursday’s meeting.

Instead, Kline sent a letter defending his actions and telling commissioners that a decision to withdraw the funding would end the investigation. Several commissioners said even without the special funding, he could take money out of his existing budget.

While commissioners debated, Kline spoke to a civic group in the same building. Afterward, he declined to comment, saying his letter to commissioners speaks for itself.

Commissioner Douglas Wood said he was satisfied with Kline’s written response. He added that cutting off the money would be perceived as “pandering to certain political elements.”

“One day it will come back to bite you,” he told fellow commissioners. “It’s going to look petty.”

None of the commissioners questioned whether Keck, a Republican, or Arnold, a Democrat, are qualified. But commission Chairwoman Annabeth Surbaugh said the public won’t believe the investigation is independent as long as Keck is a prosecutor.

Still, she acknowledged she didn’t have enough support to pull the funding: “I can count as well.”