GARNETT — The Anderson County Commission blinked during a standoff with Anderson County Attorney Fred Campbell. The Anderson County Review reported commissioners agreed to spend money from the county’s diversion fund to match a grant to re-establish a victim-witness coordinator position in Campbell’s office. After commissioners refused to spend from the special fund, the Reviews said Campbell threatened to drop county diversion fees to $1 or discontinue the diversion option in the district court. That would have caused an immediate problem for the cash-strapped county. Counties use the money for various law enforcement and prosecution activities. The money comes from offenders for certain relatively minor charges and who pay into the fund to avoid prosecution. However, the fund falls in a weird loophole in Kansas law. The county commissioners have the sole right to spend the money in the fund but county attorneys set the fees, which gave Campbell leverage in the dispute. Anderson County had received a 90 percent federal grant to rehire a victim-witness coordinator, which was dropped when another grant expired, but commissioners didn’t want to come up with the $7,500 to match it. Saying the fund now has $40,000, Campbell issued his ultimatum.
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2 p.m.
