The Atchison County Commission met Tuesday, December 30, 2025. Present for the meeting were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, Clerk of the Commission Susette Taylor, and Deputy Clerk Okema Galston.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood called the meeting to order.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
Clerk Taylor presented an ACH fraud detection process and procedure policy drafted by Atchison County Treasurer Tasha Zach. The policy outlines procedures related to ACH transactions, accounts payable and payroll. After reviewing the policy, the commissioners voted to adopt the ACH fraud detection process and procedure policy.
The next order of business was to address the 2026 property and liability coverage renewal from Tokio Marine through Oswald Crow. The rate took an increase to 14.5%, which has been the trend without any claims for the past several years. The commission voted to accept the renewal for four months and seek additional bids to see if they can find lower rates.
Emergency Management Director Rhonda Wiley submitted a verification document for signing to show that an annual agreement review with Cooper Nuclear had been performed. It was signed by Presiding Commissioner Livengood and will be submitted.
The commissioners voted unanimously to move into closed session according to RSMO 610.021 subsection (2).
The executive session was adjourned and the commission returned to regular session.
The commissioners voted to meet on Tuesday, January 6, and Thursday, January 8, to complete final budget preparation.
There being no further business, the commission adjourned.
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The Atchison County Commission met Tuesday, January 2, 2026. Present for the meeting were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood via speaker phone due to illness, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood called the meeting to order.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
Month-end department reports were reviewed and approved.
Clerk Taylor presented the 2025 Financial Assurance Instrument (FAI) for the Atchison County Sanitary Landfill, Permit Number 0100501 as reference in a notice from the Department of Natural Resources dated December 31, 2025. The landfill was officially closed in 1996 with FAI requirements for 30 years plus a six-year buffer. This is the last year of the post-closure that is required. The six-year post-closure requirement will begin in 2027. The commissioners voted to approve the FAI as presented for submission to the DNR. Presiding Commissioner Livengood signed all the documents following the regular session.
Clerk Taylor presented a petition signed by the required signatures requesting the commission the place the renewal of the Phelps City Special Road District Levy on the April 7, 2026, ballot. Voters will be asked to vote on the following:
“Shall the Phelps City Special Road District of Atchison County levy an additional tax rate of thirty-five cents ($0.3500) on the hundred dollars valuation, for a period of four years? This is a continuation of an existing tax.”
The commissioners voted to place the issue on the April 7 ballot for renewal as requested by the Phelps City Road District. Presiding Commissioner Livengood signed all the documents following the regular session.
Sheriff Andy Riley and Chief Deputy Travis Cochenour met with the commission to discuss holiday pay for their department. They requested a policy change to move the dispatchers to a pool of holiday hours to be utilized for holiday time off like what was done for the deputies in 2025. They showed how with their pool and scheduling of three 12-hour shifts, they could pull in one eight-hour holiday to complete their 80-hour work week, which would also give the employee some freedom to utilize those days when needed instead of applying to everyone even if they were not scheduled to work on a holiday. After considerable discussion it was determined to be uniform across all departments if eight hours of holiday time was given for each holiday throughout the year for all employees, it would create a uniform policy. Clerk Taylor agreed to meet with department heads and elected officials that have staff in their office to see if this change would work with their schedules. Once all departments have weighed in Clerk Taylor will draft an undated holiday policy for the commissioners to review and approve.
The commission continued reviewing the 2026 budget with Clerk Taylor providing a financial overview.
There being no further business, the commission adjourned.
