By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
A lifelong Hays resident and former county health official said knowledge of how county government makes him uniquely qualified to serve on the Ellis County Commission.
Robert “Butch” Schlyer retired in 2016 after serving as the Ellis County Health Administrator for 23 years and said he always wanted to run for county commissioner and, now that he is retired, he is able to do that.
“The experience I have with the county is one that no other candidate has,” Schlyer said. “There’s no other candidate that has been a department head and sat on the other end of the table while the county commissioners dictate the policies and the budgets.”
Schlyer said that while he was a county employee he had to manage a department so he had employees who worked for him. He also had to hire and fire people and resolve conflicts. All traits he said will help him if elected to the commission.
“I understand the department heads when they try to run their operations, given the issues and difficulties that brings,” he said. “I also understand the community since I’ve been here forever.
“I think I can have a better understanding of that whole picture, its just not a detriment when you know both sides of that whole issue its easier to make decisions based on fair observations and judgements,” Schlyer added.
While working through the 2019 budget process department heads and county staff were forced to make a number of cuts, in an effort to avoid raising the mill levy and Schlyer thinks it could get worse.
“When we look at the outlook for Ellis County, we’re not going to see any big influx of revenues coming in,” Schlyer said. “The only thing we have is the ad valorem tax, the oil tax and it’s just not going to increase.”
Schlyer said that leaves future commissions with two options — raise taxes or cut services.
In departments where the majority of the budget goes to employee salaries, he said tough decisions might have to be made.
“At some point, you are going to either lose personnel, which could impact services, or you’re going to have to provide more money for the services,” Schlyer said. “Its just going to have to come to that. Hard decisions are to come in the future, much harder than they are now.”
The 2019 budget is the third in a row that does not include an increase in the mill levy, despite an increase in spending.
Schlyer said no one wants to see an increase in the mill levy but it may need to be done.
“You always have to look at what services are we providing, what quality of the services are we providing, do we want to compromise that or do we want to provide the money for those services,” Schlyer said. “Your conclusions are going to have to come from that.”
If elected, Schlyer said he does not have an agenda, instead he will be looking at the issues that are raised and make “good decisions based on objective judgement so the county can operate in the quality it has in the past.”
Schlyer is running against incumbent Commissioner Marcy McClelland in the Aug. 7 primary election. He said he likes McClelland and did not have anything bad to say about her.
McClelland and the county are currently involved in a lawsuit over the final plat of a residential subdivision south of Hays, the Blue Sky Acres.
Schlyer said he believes McClelland “was well within her authority” to vote against the final plat.
“I understand Marcy’s concern, because she had concerns with water, especially for those folks who are already living near that development area,” Schlyer said. “Having said that, when you have a comprehensive plan which layouts the benchmarks one needs for a development and one meets all those benchmarks, if you’re going to deny it, what good is your comprehensive plan?”
He added that he would not be in favor of the county appealing the ruling if the judge were to rule in favor of the owner of the Blue Sky Acres.
Schlyer said he knows that the commissioners have a tough job and he believes he can step right in a do the job.
“I have excellent critical thinking skills. I don’t think they’d be matched by anyone running for the commission at this point in time,” Schlyer said.
Schlyer is one of four people running for Ellis County Commission First District. Schlyer faces incumbent Marcy McClelland in the Aug. 7 primary. The winner will face Democrat Chris Rorabaugh and Independent John Walz in the November general election.