PAOLA – Steve Lyman loves putting together a good puzzle.
That’s how the top finance official for the county approaches the annual budget, with input from more than 20 departments, to present to county commissioners for final approval.
Lyman will retire as the county’s finance director on March 31 after spending nearly 22 years with the county.
“I enjoy putting the annual budget together for the county, with the input of all the departments,” Lyman said. “It’s kind of a puzzle. It’s kind of fun to put it all together, while making sure we abide by all the statutes that regulate the county.”
Commission Chair Rob Roberts said he can count on Lyman to ensure the county’s financial affairs are in good order.
“He is definitely the absolute best person Miami County could have managing the county tax dollars,” Roberts said. “Steve knows every aspect of the legal requirements for protecting our financial system. You ask him about any budget-related question, he has the answer.”
When called upon in commission meetings, Lyman often can quote budget figures for any department or any line item in the budget without having to look them up. And he’s always right.
The team player’s knack for numbers has helped him move up the ladder with the county, after former County Clerk Kathy Peckman hired him in July 2000 as an accounts payable clerk.
“Alan Morris, the county administrator at the time, and Kathy decided to upgrade the position to fiscal services manager and gave me quite a bit more responsibility. I worked in that capacity up until about three years ago.”
In April 2019, County Administrator Shane Krull decided to elevate the position once again and made Lyman finance director, with the unanimous endorsement of the commission.
Lyman said Krull worked with County Clerk Janet White to move his position from her office to the second floor of the county administration building, where he serves under Krull.
“We had formed that position separate from the clerk’s office and made it its own department there to provide additional oversight,” Krull said. “With the growth of the county and the county’s financial operation, we knew we would need another person to help with the financial affairs of the county.”
Lyman has proven up to the challenge, providing financial accounting for department heads and county commissioners so they can accurately access their options.
“At any particular moment in time, you have more clarity to expenditure forecasting and the budget process,” Krull said of Lyman’s work.
In addition to piecing together the budget, Lyman said another favorite aspect of the job is his interaction with county employees.
“A lot of great people work for the county,” Lyman said. “I get to deal with just about everybody in the county – all the departments for the county. I support them in their financial operations, helping them manage their budgets and their finances. I’m very committed to making the county as successful as I can in its financial operations.”
Lyman also works with outside auditors and in conjunction with county treasurer and county clerk operations.
“The treasurer is responsible for receivables, and the clerk is responsible for the payables,” Krull said. “State statute differentiates those duties for protections. Steve works with both of those elected officials to make sure the county’s financial affairs are in proper order.”
Lyman was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and was five years old when his family moved to Wyandotte County, he said. Lyman, who comes from a large family of six sisters and one brother, said he has remained in the Kansas City area ever since the family moved from Buffalo.
Lyman has a stepdaughter, a stepson, and two sons. He said one of his sons lives in Denver, but the other three are in the Kansas City area. He has eight grandchildren that he and his wife Jodie enjoy spending time with.
His professional background has always been in accounting and finance. He has worked in those capacities for firms in manufacturing, construction, health insurance and other business sectors. Lyman also worked for a professional sports organization in the 1990s.
“I was the Kansas City Comets soccer club vice president of finance until the team folded,” Lyman said. “I would say that was my most exciting job. I got to meet a lot of Kansas City business people in that job. And I got to do some traveling with the team. I would say that probably was my dream job.”
Kerry Reardon, a former defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs, drafted Lyman for the Comets position.
“He was general manager of the Comets at the time, and he is the one who hired me for the job,” Lyman said. “He ended up being my best man at my wedding.”
Lyman described himself as a go-getter and competitive person.
“I like to make things happen,” Lyman said. “Sometimes, you can’t just make things happen. You have to give things time to develop. I’ve learned to deal with that.”
Lyman said he enjoys what he does and loves to work. Those traits served him well when the pandemic struck, delaying his retirement as he managed millions of federal and state dollars in stimulus allocations under alphabet soup titles like Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
“It required a lot of extra hours to manage,” Lyman said. “We got the SPARK grant. That was almost $7 million that we had to manage the expenditures for. We went through the process there involving the county’s citizens, businesses (and other entities) to determine how the money would be spent.”
After commissioners decided how the money would be divvied up, Lyman interacted with the sub-recipients as he dispersed the funds.
“We got the $7 million, and we weren’t authorized to spend it,” Lyman said. “We got the money in May of 2020, I believe. We weren’t authorized to actually spend any of the money until Sept. 15, and then we had to have it all spent by Dec. 30, 2020.”
The quick turnaround required Lyman to put in a lot of extra time at the office.
“I was probably working 12 to 15 hours a day during that period of time and some weekends,” Lyman said. “I had a lot of help from Janet McRae (the county’s economic development director). We worked as a team on that project. I will always be appreciative to her on how that worked. We got it done.”
Most recently, he has been managing the county’s ARPA funds.
Soon, he will be navigating a road map.
Lyman said he and his wife Jodie will do some traveling after he retires. They enjoy taking trips to Colorado.
He likes woodworking, landscaping and rockscaping, and is in the process of setting up his woodworking shop.
“I hope to get back into walking and running,” Lyman said. “I kind of got away from that when COVID hit.”
For the past several months, Lyman has had the opportunity to work with the county’s new finance director, Lucas Mellinger, to bring him up to speed on the county’s financial practices.
Lyman and Krull both expressed confidence in Mellinger. Even though Lyman said Mellinger is the right person for the job, the longtime finance official said it will be difficult to walk away.
“Being a growing county, there will be many financial challenges in the future, and I will miss not being a part of managing those new possibilities,” Lyman said. “But I got to the point where I’m looking forward to retirement. It took me a lot of years to get there, but I’m there.”
Lyman said he has received great support over the years in carrying out his role as fiscal manager and then as finance director.
Krull said Lyman has been a valued member of the county’s team.
“I’m not necessarily happy to see him leave, but I think it’s a retirement well earned,” Krull said. “A lot of folks here are wishing him the best going forward, both for him and Jodie. I hope he enjoys his retirement.”
Roberts said he truly appreciates Lyman’s wisdom and his willingness to share that wealth of knowledge with the county commissioners. He described Lyman as a well-educated, dedicated and loyal public servant who will be greatly missed by the county.
Lyman said he keeps telling people it’s not an April Fools’ joke. He really is going to retire this time.
“I spent almost 22 years of my life here, that’s a big chunk of it,” Lyman said. “I am going to miss the place.”
