Tom Brown of Savant Services in McPherson, the contracting company for the plan, met with commissioners Monday and last Wednesday at payday meeting.

The strategic plan is necessary, Brown said, for funding endeavors such as planning and zoning, and for efforts to hire an economic coordinator. A copy of the plan is due Sept. 30 at the Kansas Department of Commerce, he said.

Brown helped develop the original plan in 1999 and updated it in 2002. He said an update this time would include sampling a representative constituency base of the public to see if attitudes and desires have changed since 2002.

Commissioner Randy Dallke said he appreciated the work that had gone into the plan, but he was disappointed that not more of what was outlined in it had been accomplished. For instance, he said, the commissioners want to push forward with a county revitalization plan, which is among the goals set forth in the strategic plan.

County clerk Carol Maggard said it is easy to let three years slide by after putting such a document together, only to find that it is time to renew it again before any of its objectives have been accomplished.

Brown said he understood from the Wednesday meeting that the commissioners want action plans, and he has already begun talking to Scott Loyd, budget consultant, about budgeting for the plan to move ahead.

Brown said he would help commissioners work strategic plan measures into 2006 and 2007 budgets, then work with them to make strides on it.

Brown was to meet with each commissioner separately to outline the planning process, and get their take on a proposed direction.

Commissioner Bob Hein said the plan only needs to be "tweaked" to update it.

In an update review of job descriptions and pay ranges for county employees, Maggard explained that Marion County has been developing these descriptions by comparing with similar-sized counties, with the private sector and with the cities of Marion and Hillsboro.

The commissioners discussed the option of doing merit raises for job longevity and merit performance beyond expectations.

David Brazil, planning and zoning, environmental health and transfer station director, said he has an appointment with the county's consulting attorney, Jim Kaup of Topeka, to discuss solid waste matters and possible zoning changes. He said he hoped Kaup would offer innovative insights.

The commissioners approved a bid of $968 from Great Plains Computers of Marion for a computer in Brazil's office, over competitive bids of $910.40 from Dell and $990 from H.P. Co. They said if prices are close, they will favor Great Plains because of services offered and lack of shipping charges.

The commissioners approved proceeding with plans for a tax sale of 39 properties with outstanding unpaid taxes on them totaling $52,576. County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman said the county rarely comes out ahead on a tax sale, but "maybe we can get them into the hands of people who will be paying taxpayers."

As is typical in such a situation, she said, the county started this time with 107 properties on which taxes were owed, but when people received notices of impending sale, many of them paid. Bateman said the last time the county put delinquent properties up for sale, the number of delinquent properties fell from 170 to 12.

Sheriff Lee Becker said at the last sale some lots sold for as little as $50, attracting speculative buyers from Oklahoma and Missouri.

Hein and Maggard said it is good county policy to offer such sales, which instill the idea that taxes have to be paid.

Dallke said he would like to see minimum bids set to ensure that the county recover as much of its costs as possible.

Bateman estimated cost of the sale at around $5,850 for the 39 properties at $150 each.

Arlene Stika appeared before the commission for a grievance hearing against the sheriff's office. She said officers were not as timely and as polite as they could have been in providing her with an itemized statement for hauling three of her cows that got loose on a county road.

Stika said she paid $170 for the hauling. She said her cows were bruised, and turned wilder by the experience.

The commissioners said they would ask Becker to make a report of the incident as well.

Becker said an itemized statement has been made for Stika.

Shawn Brandhmal and Richard Comfort, representing the Central Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility at Junction City, reported that Marion County paid an advance nonrefundable fee for use from January through April of $6,912, of which actual costs paid totalled $4,450.

Brandhmal said that when Fort Riley was closer to capacity use, the juvenile facility had enough clientele that an advance fee wasn't necessary. At that time, payment could be made only for actual use. He anticipates the fee again could lower to nearly nothing, because an up-to-30-percent population increase is expected from Junction City to Abilene with the return of the First Infantry Division.

He said the facility's main purpose is to provide a safe, clean space for juvenile offenders.

The commissioners said enough advertising has been done to enable them to consider road and bridge director applications at the June 20 meeting.

The commissioners held executive sessions for personnel with Maggard, Jim Herzet, road and bridge director, and Bill Smithhart, noxious weed director.

Maggard gave the payday figure last Wednesday as $644,624.18.

She said the March sales tax, collected in April and distributed in May, was $44,568.40. This leaves the sales tax total at $3,000 behind for the year compared to last year at this time.

Maggard said she had "very good news" of a refund of $189,961.53 from Blue Cross Blue Shield for the second year in a row because of a good record. A good portion of that, she said, would go to county employees as refund for family premiums.

The commissioners discussed trial use of harder rock from Hamm Quarries at Woodbine in a five-mile stretch of Nighthawk near Strassburg Church, perhaps using FEMA funds.

The commissioners approved a bid from Jim Versch of $425 to paint over paneling in the commission room.

The commissioners approved purchasing a second hip-fastened vacuum cleaner from Pur-o-zone for use by the courthouse janitors for $428.

They accepted a bid of $4,260 from Markley Service of Marion over a bid of $4,650 from Ag Service of Hillsboro for noxious weedherbicides.

They accepted a bid of $10,569.76 from Cooperative Grain over a bid of $10,818.07 from Cardie Oil for road and bridge area fuel.