Shawnee city officials say they have received mixed feedback from residents since making significant changes to the city’s Tidy Town bulky item pickup program last year. That was the gist of a discussion Monday night between the Shawnee City Council and city staff, who reviewed the Tidy Town program and went over areas of concern that could be improved. Caitlin Gard, assistant city manager, said the city has “gotten overwhelming positive response” since the city made changes to the Tidy Town program last year. Instead of an annual event occurring in the spring, residents now schedule an individual pickup time with their trash hauler. This spreads the annual pickups throughout the year. Still, some residents say they continue to experience some problems with a lack of timely pickup of yard waste and bulky items, as well as a reduction in the frequency of curbside recycling pickup services.
Source: Prairie Village Post

A proposal to make the county clerk, register of deeds and treasurer into elected offices failed to advance during the first round of voting Monday as the Johnson County Charter Commission began to sort through fifteen amendments proposed by its members. The amendment, offered by Wendy Bingesser, fell one vote short of the nine needed to keep it alive. Amendments that are approved by the Charter Commission ultimately will go before voters in a countywide vote. The Charter Commission meets every ten years to review the county’s home rule charter, what serves as basically the county constitution.
Source: Prairie Village Post

The Johnson County Charter Commission will not consider a proposal to begin a discussion about whether the county should be named after a former slave owner following a commission member’s decision to withdrew the recommendation. Tedrick Housh, who submitted the recommendation to “adopt a process of meaningful consideration” for changing Johnson County’s name, said over the weekend that the Charter Commission might not be the best venue for that. “It is an important discussion but upon reflection, I think the better approach is to address this matter with the (County Commission) and the community directly, outside the Charter Commission platform,” Housh told the Post. The Charter Commission is a body that convenes once a decade to review the county’s home rule charter and is completely separate from the Board of County Commissioners.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Facing a shortage of qualified substitute teachers, USD 232 in De Soto is increasing its sub pay rate to be more competitive with neighboring school districts. After some discussion, the USD 232 Board of Education last week voted 6-0 to increase the school district’s substitute teacher pay from $125 to $140 for the short term (or daily) rates and from $140 to $175 for long term rates. … With the increase in rates, USD 232 is now the highest-paying public school district for substitutes in Johnson County and remains one of the higher paying\ districts in the Kansas City metro. USD 232 now matches the rates of Bonner Springs/Edwardsville Unified School District and closely follows Kansas City Kansas and Turner school districts.
Source: Prairie Village Post