STORY AND PHOTO
BY KEITH LIPPOLDT
klippoldt@gbtribune.com
While being formally introduced to the Barton County Commissioners Tuesday morning by Administrator Matt Patzner, one adjective was used on several occasions to describe the new Assistant County Administrator / Human Resources Director Casey Hubbard. That word was “professional.”
Hubbard officially took over his new role with the County on Monday, Sept. 8.
“Casey’s been with the County since 2003,” Patzner said. “He will be transitioning from his role in the County Attorney’s office. In this role, he will be handling human resources, compliance, managing the county’s insurance programs, both health and liability, assisting with the procurement process, as well as providing additional operational oversight and support in many different areas across the organization. I’ve worked with Casey in some capacity throughout the years, and I’ve always been impressed with his professionalism and just his ability to get things done. So I’m excited to have him as a member of the admin team. We look forward to getting started.”
Hubbard has served as the Investigator / Office Manager for the County Attorney’s office since 2003. Prior to that, he worked at the Great Bend Police Department.
“I’d just like to thank the Commissioners and Administrator Patzner for having the confidence to put me in this role,” Hubbard said. “It’s a position that I feel puts me in the best position to best serve the County at this stage in my career. I look forward to working with the administrative staff and the governing body, as well as all the offices and departments in Barton County as a whole, instead of my one office. So thank you.”
Commissioner Donna Zimmerman offered up a positive evaluation of the hire.
“I’ve worked with Casey for a number of years and everybody’s been impressed by his professionalism,” she said. “He’s a great partner. So I’m excited to work with you in this new capacity.”
Commissioner Duane Reif also supports the hire.
“I’d like to say that I think we made a very good choice, and I have no doubt that Casey can do the job that we expect,” Reif said. “And we’re looking forward to working with him.”
Here’s a quick look at Tuesday’s Barton County Commissioners agenda meeting.
• All votes were unanimous, 4-0. Commissioner Barb Esfeld was not present.
• Commission Chair Tricia Schlessiger gave details of the “Travel 389: Driving Our Future” program the commissioners have instituted this fall. There are 389 miles of County roadways and the Commissioners plan to travel all 389 meeting with local business owners, listening to citizen’s ideas and collaborating with those working to make the County an even better place to live.
“This idea was probably my brainchild,” Schlessiger said. “We basically wanted to get out there and travel about the county and meet with businesses and citizens and get some more local ideas on things that are going on in the county, and see what challenges they’re facing in their everyday business.
“Are you having a shortage of labor? Is there a shortage of housing? Just kind of get some feedback from general businesses.
“We also put on here family on ventures, entrepreneurs — pretty much anybody that would like the commissioners to come visit. We’re kind of calling it a road show. We’re just going to take this show on the road and we’re going to go visit all the towns. We were supposed to launch this two weeks ago in Ellinwood, but we’re going to back up and stick with our schedule. So we’ll be in Hoisington this (Tuesday) afternoon, and we’re pretty excited. We lined up quite a few good businesses.
“We’re trying to hit everything from the mom and pop stores all the way up to Essex. So we’re going to try to encompass quite a wide range of variety. So if anybody wants to be on the schedule, we should reach out. We’re scheduling as long as it takes to get to every business that would like to see us. We’re going to be in Hoisington this week, next week possibly Hoisington and Claflin, and then we’re going to be back in Ellinwood. Then we’ll be making a circle around. We just want to impress on everybody that this is for everyone. It’s not hand selected. If you would like us to come visit, we would love to come visit your business.”
• Approved appropriations presented by County Clerk Bev Schmeidler for the period of Aug. 26, 2025 and ending Sept. 9, 2025.
• Heard from Central Kansas Community Corrections (CKCC) Director Brooke Haulmark who reported on Fiscal Year 2025 Year-End Outcomes. Look for the complete story in Saturday’s Great Bend Tribune.
• Entered into executive session with the County Administrator and County Counselor present. The subject matter to be discussed was of a non-elected personnel. No action was taken.
