By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
Monday was the first day on the job for interim Ellis County Treasurer Josh Wasinger.
Wasinger, a Fort Hays State University graduate student, was appointed to the position earlier this month to replace Treasurer Ann Pfeifer. Pfeifer announced in March that she was resigning before her term was up, after she was defeated in November’s general election. Pfeifer’s last day was April 14, and she has accepted a position with Eagle Communications.
Because Pfeifer is a Democrat, the Democratic Party of Ellis County was responsible for selecting her replacement until Treasurer-elect Lisa Schlegel, a Republican, takes office in the fall.
At Monday’s Ellis County Commission meeting, Wasinger introduced himself to the commission and said he met with staff over last week and hopes for a smooth transition to the new treasurer in the fall.
“It’s not my goal to serve in this capacity to make any huge changes or shake up the treasury at all,” Wasinger said. “It’s really just my goal here to make sure that things run smoothly and keep operating efficiently and effectively.”
Wasinger told the commission he will graduate this semester with his master’s in business administration with a focus in finance. He received a bachelor’s of arts degree in political science and philosophy from FHSU.
Prior to being appointed to the treasurer position, Wasinger worked as an administrative associate for the Fort Hays State Honors College and served as a restaurant manager in Hays.
Wasinger is the Ellis County Democratic Party Treasurer and is on the finance committee for the Kansas Democratic Party.
Schlegel will take office Oct. 9.
In other business, the commission authorized County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes to have IMA Inc. search for a better, and more cost-effective, insurance provider for county employees.
Smith-Hanes said some employees were unhappy with changes made by to the State Employee Health Plan so they created a group – Health Insurance Committee – to review other options. They met with two benefits brokers to talk about getting better health coverage.
The preferred broker, IMA has said they will work with the county to get quotes for $10,000. If the county then accepts a plan brokered by IMA, the county will be locked in a three-year contract for $35,000.
“It’s basically a gamble,” Smith-Hanes said. “It is looking at the market, seeing if things have changed enough in the last six years that we have been on the state plan to see if we could come up with a better option.”
The commission also gave the County Appraiser permission to advertise for a part-time position. Appraiser Lisa Ree had asked the commission to allow her to hire a full-time position. Ree said she has had trouble filling the part-time position. Ree had told the commission at last week’s meeting counties similar to the size of Ellis average 10 employees. Her office has 7.25 positions.
Ellis County Election Official and Clerk Donna Maskus also told the commission that because the American Legion has closed they can no longer use that location as an election poll site. That poll site will now move to the Hays Recreation Commission in the south building in gym 3. Maskus said the Hays Rec is allowing the county to use the location free of charge.