The Flint Hills Regional Council board has proposed three options for the councils jurisdiction assessment fees, the membership fee paid by each jurisdiction based per-capita.

Currently each jurisdiction within the council pays .50 cents per-capita. Under the three proposed options the fee would either stay the same, increase by .25 cents, or move to a three-tier system based on the population of the jurisdiction.

Under a three-tier system each jurisdiction would be broken down into classifications based on population. First class would be a jurisdiction with a population of 15,000 or more, second class being a jurisdiction with a population between 2,000 and 15,000, and the third class being any jurisdiction with a population under 2,000.

That option would create a smaller cost for the lower jurisdictions with the cost increasing as it goes up to first class according to William ‘Bill’ Clark, Regional Council Executive Director.

“Our first class city’s, which have a bigger demographic and more assets available, would pay a higher cost,” Clark said.

None of the options would make or break the funding for the Regional Council, but it will be necessary in moving forward long term according to William ‘Bill’ Clark, FHRC Executive Director.

“To keep the council going long term you have to have multiple funding streams coming into it, and so this one won’t ‘make or break it’ but obviously it’s necessary to keep us operating as we do now.”

The Regional Council board did make an amendment to the fee raises so that any new member that joined this year or will join in the future will not be assessed a fee raise within their first year.

The representatives from each jurisdiction will now take those options back to their respective jurisdictions and discuss which option they would prefer. A final vote on the issue is expected at the June meeting at Fort Riley.