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4 | Page February 2 1 I ssuetime conversations with librarians through the Ask a Librarian service at library.ks.gov/chat. TTY users can dial 711 for assistance.Bruce Chladny, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties, displays a chart that shows the cost of state-required services provided by county governments. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector)Kansas lawmakers mandate county services but scrutinize property taxes that pay for themBy: Sherman Smith - February 17, 2025 9:00 amTOPEKA (2.17.2025) %u2014 County government is boring.Except when it isn%u2019t.People depend on law enforcement, health departments, trash collections, recordkeeping and other services counties provide %u2014 but they only notice when a service fails.And they don%u2019t like to pay for the services.State lawmakers especially don%u2019t like to pay for the services.The situation creates tension between state and local governments: State statutes require counties to provide 18 core services, but legislators have increasingly placed scrutiny on counties for assessing the property taxes that largely pay for them.