To the editor:

Having listened to the Douglas County commissioners’ work session with the Douglas County Extension Council on Aug. 21 and being a past chair of the council, I appreciate their willingness to view the county’s relationship with the council differently than the commission has done in years past.

Contrary to Kansas Statutes Annotated, Chapter 2, Article 6, the County Commission and staff for the past several years have treated the Extension Council as just another community partner that they are not obligated to support and not as an independent governmental unit with 24 elected members countywide that the commission is obligated to fund in an amount “sufficient to provide a program of county extension work.”

The Kansas Legislature in its wisdom (or not) has created a local governmental unit that has the responsibility of planning and executing an extension program for Douglas County but has placed the responsibility for funding such program with the County Commission.

Although the commission increased the council’s appropriation for this budget year, the ongoing treatment of the Extension Council as just another community partner has resulted in (1) their appropriation for the past several years remaining essentially stagnant and (2) a significant underfunding of extension services in our county. Unfortunately, positions in past years have been eliminated because of such underfunding.

I appreciate that the commission is faced with balancing many budgetary requests within the constraints of the funds available. However, sometimes it’s important to consider issues from a different viewing point.

Peter Rinn,

Lawrence