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Shawnee, Kansas

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Budget Y
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Meetings Y
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Elected Officials Y
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Administrative Officials Y
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Permits, zoning Y
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Audits Y
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Contracts Y
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Lobbying Y
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Public records Y
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Local taxes Y
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Transparency grading process


Shawnee is a city in Kansas.

Website evaluation

This site was evaluated on Sept. 7, 2012.

The good

  • Elected Officials
    • Elected officials are listed by district and provide a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.[1]
  • Lobbying
  • Finance
    • The city posts its checkbook register dating back to 2011.[3]
    • Budgets are posted from 2011 to 2013.[4]
    • Audits, or CAFRs, are posted for the past three years.[4]
  • Contracts
    • Bids and awarded contracts are posted online.[5]
  • Taxes
    • Information on how to pay taxes and the local tax structure are provided.[4]
  • Public records
    • The city provides a form and detailed instructions on how to request public records.[6]
    • The City Clerk provides an office address, phone number and personalized email.[7]
  • Administration
    • Heads of each department are listed and the site provides an office address, phone number and personalized email.[8]
  • Planning
    • Planning ordinances and permit applications can be downloaded on the site.[9]
  • Meetings
    • Meeting minutes are provided dating back to 1953.[10]
    • A calendar provides the times and locations of public meetings.[11]
    • Agendas for meetings are provided.[12]

City Council

The current city council members are listed on the site.[13] Contact information for Shawnee's Governing Body can be found here.

Mayor

Shawnee's mayor is Jeff Meyers.[14]

City manager

Shawnee's city manager is Carol Gonzales.[15]

Budget

2012 budget information can be found on its website. [16]

Taxes

2012 Sales Tax Rates[17]
Level of government Sales tax rate
State tax 6.300%
Johnson County 0.500%
Johnson County Law Enforcement 0.250%
Johnson County Stormwater 0.100%
Public Safety (formerly School District Tax) 0.250%
Research Triangle (county-wide tax) 0.125%
City of Shawnee 1.000%
Shawnee Parks and Pipes 0.125%
Shawnee Public Safety 0.125%
Total Sales Tax 8.775%
2012 Property Tax Rates[18]
Fund Millage
City of Shawnee 24.732
Johnson County 17.700
Johnson County Parks & Rec 2.343
Johnson County Library 3.145
Johnson County Community College 8.872
Shawnee Mission School District 56.135
Desoto School District 82.558
Olathe School District 69.924
State of Kansas 1.500

Illegal meetings investigation

As of September 2012, the Johnson County district attorney is investigating allegations that Shawnee council members may have had illegal meetings that resulted in the hiring of the uncle of the mayor’s wife for a council seat.[19]


External Links

References

  1. Shawnee, Elected Officials, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  2. 2.0 2.1 Shawnee, Lobbying, Accessed: Sept. 7, 2012
  3. Shawnee, Checkbook register, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Shawnee, Finance, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  5. Shawnee, Contracts, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  6. Shawnee, Public Records, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  7. Shawnee, City Clerk, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  8. Shawnee, Departments, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  9. Shawnee, Planning, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  10. Shawnee, Historical meeting minutes, Accessed: Sept 5, 2012
  11. Shawnee, Calendar, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  12. Shawnee, Agendas, Accessed: Sept. 5, 2012
  13. Shawnee "City Council," Accessed March 26, 2012
  14. Shawnee "Mayor," Accessed March 26, 2012
  15. Shawnee "City Manager," Accessed March 26, 2012
  16. Shawnee "2012 Budget," Accessed March 26, 2012
  17. Shawnee "Tax Structure," Accessed March 26, 2012
  18. Shawnee "Tax Structure," Accessed March 26, 2012
  19. "Johnson County district attorney says public business is too often private", Kansas City Star, September 7, 2012
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