photo by: Journal-World

The Douglas County commission will meet at the Douglas County Public Works facility, 3755 E. 25th St., on Wednesday at 4 p.m. for a work session.

After raising some questions about K-State Research and Extension’s relationship with Douglas County in their 2025 budget deliberations, county commissioners could get some answers at a work session on Wednesday.

The county will hear a presentation about the extension council, including its history, funding sources and existing county support, as well as an overview of the services it provides. The extension’s work includes numerous initiatives involving agriculture, the county’s food systems and health and wellness, and according to the meeting agenda materials its staff worked directly with more than 13,000 county residents in 2023.

As the Journal-World reported, the extension council has made several funding requests in the county’s 2025 budget process related to its staffing: $16,862 for a cost-of-living adjustment for current staff; $5,383 to address pay equity issues; and $15,000 for a contribution to a LiveWell Douglas County executive director position.

During the budget discussions in July, County Commissioner Patrick Kelly had some questions about how much responsibility the county should bear for funding the extension council. He said then that the county provided about 65% of the council’s funding.

“There’s some tension between what their expectations of the county are and then their independence is outside of that,” Kelly said at the time. “I just want to have a more clear understanding. If we are going to fund benefits, if we’re funding COLAs, if we’re funding pay equity issues, what is our relationship with Douglas County Extension?”

The work session on Wednesday will be for informational purposes only, and no action will be taken afterward. It will begin at 4 p.m. at the Douglas County Public Works training room at 3755 E. 25th St. There are no opportunities for public comments at work sessions, and no business meeting is scheduled to follow the work session.

The final vote on the budget is scheduled for the County Commission meeting on Aug. 28. To view the proposed budget, visit dgcoks.gov/open-budget.