Assisting residents on a fixed income with rising property taxes is a high priority for the Board of County Commissioners. Your tax bill is calculated by taking the appraised value of your home and multiplying it by the mill levy.

The power to change a resident’s tax liability based on age or income lies with the state legislature, meaning that a law would need to be passed and signed by the governor in order to make this possible. Rep. Tom Cox of Shawnee introduced a bill during the 2019 session to allow property taxes increases to be deferred until the home is sold. County leaders have made this issue an action item on their legislative agenda, meaning that we are watching the issue closely and advocating for legislation to be passed.

Our primary method for protecting community green space is through the use of our Development Review Committee. This group is comprised of representatives from Planning, Public Works, Health and Environment, the County Official, and Park and Recreation District staff as necessary. By meeting with the applicants as a group, we provide guidance on ways to protect valuable natural resources and promote planning principles for better, more efficient use of the land. 

Planning staff is most directly involved in working on applications in the unincorporated areas, which often have an abundance of green space, but we also work with cities throughout the county to ensure that our land and green space planning is consistent with adjacent cities and that we have complementary land development patterns.

Additionally, Planning staff and the Planning Commission are continually reviewing and revising our subdivision regulations to encourage green space development. Next year, the Planning Commission will be proposing revisions to the Planned Rural District Zoning category to allow greater flexibility for development that safeguards the natural environment and topographical features of lots, such as streams or other landscape buffers.

Finally, through our subdivision regulations, development applications now include a parkland dedication fee in which developers pay a fee based on their development’s size for the creation of future park lands by the Park and Recreation District.

JCPRD is a special park district that provides large, county-wide parks to our community that host more than 7.5 million visitors each year.

Visit the Johnson County Park & Recreation District website for links to more information about all JCPRD parks.

JCPRD parks include:

Most neighborhood and community parks are owned and operated by the applicable city’s parks and recreation department.

Additionally, JCPRD owns and operates linear streamway parks that provide many miles of paved trails for the enjoyment of our community. JCPRD’s streamway parks include:

JCPRD works closely with area municipalities to connect its trails to city-owned trails. Both Olathe’s Mahaffee Trail and Shawnee’s Clear Creek Trail connect with the Mill Creek Streamway trail. Additionally, JCPRD’s streamway trails connect to trails within JCPRD’s Heritage, Kill Creek, and Shawnee Mission Parks, providing additional contiguous miles for residents’ enjoyment.

JCPRD owns and/or operates many recreation facilities throughout the county that welcome more than 2.5 million visitors each year. JCPRD owned and/or operated facilities include:

• Ernie Miller Nature Center
• Heritage Park Football Complex
• Heritage Park Golf Course
• Heritage Park Softball Complex
• Heritage Soccer Park
• Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center
• Johnson County Museum
• Kill Creek Beach and Marina
• Lanesfield School
• Meadowbrook Park Clubhouse
• Mid-America Sports Complex
• Mid-America West Sports Complex
• Mildale Farm
• Mill Creek Activity Center
• New Century Fieldhouse
• Okun Fieldhouse
• Roeland Park Community Center
• Roeland Park Sports Dome
• Shawnee Mission Park Beach
• Shawnee Mission Park Marina
• Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center
• Theatre in the Park
• TimberRidge Adventure Center
• Tomahawk Hills Golf Course

The Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center is a cultural hub that continues to expand opportunities to experience multi-cultural programs and events.  Below is a list of opportunities in 2019 and early 2020.

• The Race Project symposium in collaboration with Johnson County Library and area schools, April 2019
• Poetry month event featuring award winning Latino poet, Xanath Caraza, April 2019
• Hispanic Heritage Celebration at the JCAHC, featuring Jose Faust and Daniel Serda, September 26, 2019 
• Latinos in the Heartland exhibit museum exhibit, September and October 2019
• Fine and Performing Arts camps offered in the Spring and Summer for youth
• New Spanish Language Audio Tour for the exhibit Becoming Johnson County
• Development in progress for a Diversity Internship Program at the museum to create more programming for our community
• Museum tours offered daily, including the history and experience of Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic, Asian and other immigrant groups in Johnson County. 
• Savages and Princesses exhibition and programming, featuring artwork that speaks to native identify, stereotypes and cultural appropriation by contemporary Native Americans, November 2019 through March 2020 
• Museum collections targeted recruitment of donations (artifacts and photographs) from diverse people in our community.
• Ms. Krishna’s Party, a theater production in collaboration with JCCC at the Black Box Theatre celebrating the East Indian Culture, February 2020.

Holocaust Remembrance Day, featuring Sonia Warshawski, January 2020

Area Agency on Aging/Aging Services Division

• Older Americans Act Services
  These services include information and assistance, case management, assessment, homemaker services, attendant care services, home health care, legal services (provided through Kansas Legal Services), service coordination, and information dissemination through The Best Times magazine
• Nutrition Services
  These services include congregate meals, program management, site operation, nutrition education and counseling, home meal delivery, and nutrition assessment.
• Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
  These services include Arthritis Foundation exercise program and medication management.
• Caregiver Support
  These services include assistance, information, respite care, attendant care, homemaker and flex services (such as Lifeline units).
• Senior Care Act Services
  Functional assessments, case management, homemaker, attendant care and personal care attendant services

Johnson County Housing Authority/Housing Services Division

• Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (Commonly referred to as “Section 8”)
  This division administers the HCV program for Johnson County. 1,447 vouchers are provided to eligible low-income households for rental assistance. An extensive waiting list for this program is also administered and as vouchers become available, people are pulled from the waiting list, assuming eligibility is established.
• HOME Rehabilitation Program
  This program helps eligible Johnson County Homeowners with rehabilitation of their homes, bringing them into compliance with local housing codes and HUD Housing Quality Standards.  The HOME program also addresses health and safety issues, accessibility for persons with disabilities and lead-based paint hazards.  
• Minor Home Rehabilitation Program
  This program assists Johnson County homeowners with minor home rehabilitation and repair needs, code citation issues and accessibility modifications for persons with disabilities to keep them in safe and healthy housing.
• Homebuyer Assistance Program
  This program is designed to assist eligible persons with down payment and/or closing costs toward the purchase of a first-time home.  
• Family Self-Sufficiency Program
  This program is designed for Housing Choice Vouchers participants to strive for the advancement of economic independence and social well-being. The program achieves this by providing support through community services and direct case-management services.  Participants develop a plan, setting goals for themselves and earning funding into an escrow account for accomplishing goals. At the end of the program, the participant has access to the escrow account for personal use to further their goal of self-sufficiency. Typically, the person is able to leave the Housing Choice Voucher program when they graduate from the program.

Outreach Services Division

• Stabilization Assistance
  Help paying rent, utility bills, medical needs, transportation and other special needs and coordination of services with multiple community agencies.
• Case management and Self-Sufficiency Services
  Social service professionals are available to help residents seeking guidance and assistance for multiple needs. Case management provides residents a way to progress from emergency assistance to self-sufficiency.
• Food Pantry
  Qualifying individuals and families may access the food pantries available in the MSCs.
• Information and Referral
  Comprehensive information is provided about community resources throughout Johnson County.
• Catch A Ride Program
  This is a volunteer transportation program offered to Johnson County residents who are 60 years of age or over, disabled or do not have available transportation. Rides are provided for medical appointments, grocery store/food pantry trips, and social service agencies within Johnson County.
• Accessibility Program
  This program provides the same services available in the Multi-Service Centers to people with disabilities who are homebound.
• Project Home/Impact Olathe
  These partnerships with the Shawnee Mission and Olathe School Districts provide wrap-around services to families within those districts that are in imminent danger of becoming homeless.

Volunteer Services

The Human Services Department relies upon volunteers to provide many of its services. Volunteer opportunities include Meals on Wheels, office administration, congregate meal sites, food pantry services, Helping Hands, Creative Expressions, and garden assistance.