Six years ago, the State Fire Marshal’s office issued citations for fire code violations to two group homes for developmentally impaired adults operated under the auspices of a Johnson County social service agency. The Fire Marshal considered the homes to be care facilities requiring protective devices they didn’t have. Johnson County pushed back. Since then, the dispute—pitting the Johnson County Board of Commissioners against State Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen has evolved into a legal tussle having little to do with the particular citations and a great deal to do with how those group homes and about two dozen others like them in Johnson County may be regulated. Johnson County has argued the group homes should not be treated as care facilities regulated under the Kansas Fire Safety and Prevention Act (state fire code), K.S.A. 31-132 et seq., so the safety features the Fire Marshal found lacking would be unnecessary. In addition, Johnson County requested what it has characterized as a reasonable accommodation under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., that would excuse compliance with the state fire code. The Fire Marshal denied the request. The district court upheld the Fire Marshal’s position, as do we.
Source: Supreme Court of Kansas

Shawnee County property owners could have part of last year’s property taxes refunded back to them. The Board of Tax Appeals of the State of Kansas found the Shawnee County Commission had violated state law when setting the property tax rate last year and the county has been ordered to return the extra collected funds to county taxpayers. … In 2021, the Kansas Legislature required local governments to follow a list of actions if their property tax rate exceeds what was generated in property tax dollars the year before. These actions include sending a notice that the governing body is considering exceeding the rate, holding a public hearing where citizens can comment, publicly voting to exceed the rate and placing another public notice stating the rate will be exceeded.
Source: CJonline

The City of Salina is hiring special legal counsel to help defend the lawsuit filed by Cozy Inn. … Work on a mural with a hamburger on the north side of Cozy Inn in Salina was halted last year. The city of Salina is engaging with outside legal counsel after Cozy Inn filed a lawsuit against the city in regards to the mural. This comes less than a month after the restaurant filed a freedom of speech suit related to a mural it began having painted on the side of its building, which was halted after the city determined the mural is a commercial sign.
Source: Salina Journal