Print edition: 
You've heard of "Who's on first?" but the question Tuesday at the Sedgwick County Courthouse was "Who's on the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council?"
Citing his authority as chairman of the Sedgwick County Commission, Kelly Parks on Tuesday removed himself and Dave Unruh from the council — which has the task of finding solutions to jail overcrowding — and appointed Karl Peterjohn and Gwen Welshimer.
Turns out, Parks didn't have that authority.
A resolution signed by commissioners, including Parks, last year says that members appointed to the council "shall be appointed to serve for as long as they hold their respective elective office or employment."
The council is an important group because the jail's population is one of the county's biggest concerns right now. The council is made up of key figures in the criminal justice system, from judges to prosecutors to public defenders.
The resolution would mean that Parks and Unruh would remain on the council because they are still in office.
Parks said he was unaware Tuesday morning of the rules the commission had set last year.
For a while Tuesday, Unruh wasn't sure whether he was off the council and Welshimer and Peterjohn weren't sure they were on it.
Confusion ensued.
"Before you called, I considered myself to be on the CJCC board," Welshimer told an Eagle reporter Tuesday. "Since you've called, I don't know."
Meanwhile, the county's legal department declined to comment about which stood: Parks' decision as chairman or the resolution signed by commissioners, including Parks, last year.
Peterjohn said he thought the resolution probably trumped Parks' decision.
"If it's a resolution that we've got in place, we're bound to follow it or change it," he said.
Changing the resolution is exactly what Parks plans to do.
"If there's something in the legal on that, we'll just have to vote on it when they get back from their little junket," Parks said initially when told about the resolution, referring to commissioner Tim Norton and Unruh's trip to Chattanooga with Visioneering Wichita.
Parks said he will ask commissioners to vote next week on a new resolution that council members serve at the pleasure of the chairman with consent of the commission's majority, which often is Parks,
Welshimer and Peterjohn.
Parks explained during Tuesday's meeting that the reason he wanted Peterjohn and Welshimer on the council is because all commissioners need to be as educated as possible about factors that are influencing the jail's population.
"I do think I'm doing the right thing by getting them involved in this," Parks said of appointing Peterjohn and Welshimer. "I think politicians can get stale on committees. You're trying to solve the same problem with the same people."
Unruh, who wants to stay on the council, said he didn't think there would be enough votes at the commission's next meeting, Oct. 21, to keep him on the council. He has served on the board since its creation in 2004.
He said because of his experience on the council, he understands the issues members are trying to tackle and can offer his institutional knowledge.
He said he didn't know how it was "particularly productive" to replace him on the board.
Although he might not get to stay on the council, Unruh said he still plans to attend its meetings.
"They're public meetings, so I'm still going anyway," he said.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Robert Hinshaw, who serves on the council, said the group is "not a training school. It's a working body, and you have to have a certain level of continuity to do it."
Calling Parks' decision to replace two members an abrupt change, Hinshaw said he would support rotating commissioners one at a time as the chairmanship changes. Keeping one commissioner with experience on the council is crucial, he said.
"It should be a staggered rotation, not just a unilateral change all at once," he said.
James Fleetwood, chief administrative judge for Sedgwick County District Court, serves on the council and said he had enjoyed working with Unruh.
"I have seen his input as being very positive," he said. "The CJCC is important to me. I want to see that work continue on, and I will continue to work closely with whoever is on the committee."
Asked late Tuesday afternoon if he considered himself still on the council, Parks said yes.
"I do believe that will change..." he said.
