Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, Johnson County Motor Vehicle office hours will change to 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding county designated holidays. This change applies to both the Olathe Motor Vehicle Office, located at 782 N. Ridgeview Road, and the Mission Motor Vehicle Office, located at 6000 Lamar Ave. 

Customers who have reserved their place in line using our line management system and that are present in our offices by 4 p.m. will be served that day.

The office is working to reduce overtime expenditures for Motor Vehicle staff and balance customer volume throughout the business day.

This change does not apply to the Driver License offices, which are operated by the Kansas Department of Revenue.

The Johnson County Treasury and Financial Management department has begun mailing 202,674 real estate and 19,915 personal property tax statements to Johnson County taxpayers. The first half real estate and personal property taxes are due on or before Wednesday, December 20, 2017, and the second half taxes are due on or before Thursday, May 10, 2018. The real estate tax statement contains a comparison section between this year’s and last year’s tax breakdown. If the taxes are paid by the mortgage company, the statement will say “THIS IS NOT A TAX BILL” at the bottom. For those taxpayers that pay their statements directly, there will be a return payment stub at the bottom of the statement

Taxpayers have several convenient options to pay their taxes:

• Online - Through our website, www.jocogov.org, tax payments may be submitted electronically using our eCheck option for only $1 per transaction, or by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) for a 2.4% service fee per transaction.
• By Mail – Taxpayers can mail a check along with the payment stub to PO Box 2902, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201.
• In Person - Taxpayers can make a payment at our office location, 111 S. Cherry Street, Suite 1500 in Olathe. Forms of payment accepted at our office include cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover card (payment by credit/debit card includes an additional 2.4% service fee).

There are many other services on our website that may be helpful this tax season. Taxpayers may view an electronic version of their tax statement and print off tax receipts once their payment has been processed. They may also find important Tax Forms and get many questions answered through our Frequent Questions page.

As a part of its severe weather awareness activities, Johnson County's Emergency Management Communication's Department is available to assist residents in programming their weather radios. As the strong storms rolled through the county earlier this week, it's a good reminder to take extra precaution this time of year. Weather radios are especially important since the weather sirens are meant for outdoor notification only. Feel free to take your weather radio to the EMC office on the lower level of the county's Administration Building (111 S. Cherry Street, Olathe) during regular business hours. For more information on ways to become better prepared, check out joco72.org. 

In January 2016, Johnson County District Court held the first Veterans Treatment Court in the state of Kansas. It’s mission — to identify veterans in the criminal justice system and, when eligible, to place them into treatment and court supervision as an alternative to incarceration. Today Johnson County Veterans Treatment Court honored its first graduate from the program. District Court Judge Timothy P. McCarthy, who spearheaded the effort to bring VTC to the county, will presided over the graduation ceremony Feb. 15 at the Johnson County Courthouse.

VTC offers two alternatives to jail time: a diversion track through the Johnson County District Attorney’s office and a probation track through Johnson County Court Services. Both programs allow eligible veterans to voluntarily participate in a 12- to 18-month program composed of court appearances, drug and alcohol testing, treatment, recovery support meetings and a mentorship program.

VTC aims to help veterans who may be suffering from traumatic brain injuries, depression, substance abuse or post-traumatic stress disorder because of their military service. Any eligible veteran can apply to the VTC program. To be eligible, you must be a Kansas resident and eligible for Veterans Affairs benefits or a resident of the county (for Mental Health Center services). Veterans charged with low-level felony or misdemeanor offenses such as DUIs, drug-related charges or domestic violence charges will be considered for the program.

VTC is a collaboration between Johnson County’s Sheriff’s Office, Mental Health Center, District Court, Veterans Administration and the county’s Justice Information Management System.

In 2008, Judge Robert Russell in Buffalo, New York, began the first docket dedicated to veterans after he saw an increase in the number of veterans appearing on his drug and mental health court dockets. Today, more than 250 treatment courts in 40 states offer services to military veterans. VTC programs in Missouri are available in Jackson and Clay counties and the city of Kansas City.