The new County Commission meeting times will be as follows: 4:00 p.m. (same) for administrative items and 6:00 p.m. (new) for public interest items.

The County Commission meets on Wednesdays in the County Commission chamber of the County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, Kansas 66044. Our meetings are open to the public.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson announces Eudora resident Brittany N. Smith, 21, was sentenced today in the Division Six courtroom of the Honorable Peggy C. Kittel to 100 months in prison for her October 24, 2014 guilty plea to conspiracy to commit first degree murder. The Court also ordered $121,541.75 in restitution be paid for the victim’s medical expenses and ordered upon her eventual release from prison that she must register as a violent offender for 15 years. In a separate case, Ms.

Douglas County Kansas is currently featuring two wonderful local artists with the 2015 Local Artist Series at the County Courthouse.

Artist Tom Mersmann’s photography will be on display from January 1 - 20 on the first floor, and Artist Don Stevanov’s photography will be on display during January, February and March on the 2nd floor. The County Courthouse is located at 1100 Massachusetts in beautiful downtown Lawrence, Kansas.

For more information on becoming a featured artist, please feel free to contact us at pgilchrist@dgcoks.gov.

Emergency Management would like to introduce you to Timmy, our Preparedness Elf on a Shelf. He's on a mission to help you get prepared for the winter weather season. A tip from Timmy will be posted daily on DCEM's Facebook and Twitter accounts. Join us at any time and feel free to share your winter weather preparedness tips! You can also visit the 25 Days of Preparedness With Timmy Page for the latest tips.

2014 Personal Property taxes will be mailed on November 17th, 2014. 2014 Real Estate taxes will be mailed on November 19th, 2014. A date has not been set to mail watercraft bills on boats, jet skis, ect. Watercraft  information will be updated a week before bills are mailed. Payments with a postmark of December 22 will be accepted, as December 20 falls on a Saturday. Payments can be made during regular business hours at any of our three office locations, or at our Baldwin office the first full week of December.

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2015 recording fees for all Kansas Register of Deeds Offices will change pursuant to K.S.A. 28-115.  An updated fee schedule is available at Register of Deeds Fee Schedule.

Douglas County KS Zoning participates in the ALS #IceBucketChallenge in honor of Evan Ice. They nominate the Johnson County Building Inspectors. #IceBucketChallenge Please donate to ALS @ https://donate.als.org/give/287064/#!/donation/checkout

Zoning was nominated by the Lawrence Home Builders Association. Thank you to Public Works Operations for setting things up!