WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Two of the Kansas Department of Revenue’s top officials have stepped down shortly after Gov. Sam Brownback appointed a new revenue secretary, who is expected to make changes to the department.
Brownback announced in the first week of December that former lawmaker Nick Jordan would step down as revenue secretary and Wichita businessman Sam Williams would replace him, the Wichita Eagle (https://bit.ly/2iv4xJ6 ) reported.
Jim Conant, the agency’s director of resource management, left Dec. 9. Steve Stotts, the state’s director of taxation, retired last week.
Williams said Conant left before Williams became secretary, and that Stotts’ departure was not Williams’ decision. The new revenue secretary praised Stotts’ “great service” of more than 30 years to Kansas.
Stotts couldn’t be reached for comment. Conant declined to comment.
Agency spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda said both positions are vital and the agency will work to replace them with the best possible candidates.
“We’re treating it like replacing any other director level position, and we are searching for a replacement,” Koranda said.
Williams led a task force in early 2016 that recommended changes to the state’s revenue estimating process, after the state has struggled to meet the estimates for the last two years. The task force recommended a controversial proposal to end monthly comparisons between revenue and estimates. It also said including industry representatives like bankers and public accountants, as well as pushing back the date of estimates to May instead of April, will lead to more accurate revenue estimates.
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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, https://www.kansas.com
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