McElhaney elected chairman
Douglas County Commissioner Jere McElhaney now has the gavel of the commission.
McElhaney was elected by his fellow commissioners Monday morning to serve as the group's chairman for the next year. McElhaney replaces Bob Johnson, who had the post for the past year.
"I just plan on staying the course that Bob has set," McElhaney said. "We've been on the right track, and the last thing I want to do is make any waves."
The chairman mainly is responsible for conducting commission meetings and serving as a spokesman for the commission at various events.
McElhaney was elected unanimously. Commissioners historically have chosen the chairman along party lines. Both Johnson and McElhaney are Republicans. Charles Jones, the commission's senior member, is a Democrat and has not served as chairman during his three plus years on the commission.
Register of Deeds sees record in home loan refinancing
Large numbers of people refinancing their home loans have led to a record year for the Douglas County Register of Deeds office.
Register of Deeds Sue Neustifter told commissioners Monday her office collected $2.46 million in mortgage registration taxes and copying fees during 2001. The total was well above the previous record of $1.85 million in 1998.
The county had budgeted only $1.4 million in fees for 2001. County officials believe the bulk of the increase can be attributed to falling home mortgage rates, which has caused a large number of people to refinance. Each refinancing requires a new deed to be filed, resulting in a registration tax.
County Administrator Craig Weinaug said that the $1 million windfall would help the county cope with budget shortfalls, but that he was not expecting the upward trend to continue in 2002.
Commissioners briefed on Lawrence Is Growing
The public is interested in seeing government leaders plan further ahead and on a broader scale, according to the results of a project conducted by the World Company.
Ann Gardner, multimedia managing editor for the World Company, told commissioners that was a major finding from the Lawrence Is Growing project conducted by the Journal-World, 6News and World Online this past year.
"I think people are ready to look at the big picture and ask ourselves what we want to be when we grow up," Gardner said.
Commissioners said the project which featured several public forums along with video, newspaper and Web articles was helpful.
"The thing I appreciated about it the most was that it put good, solid information in front of the public so that when they have these debates, they'll be informed," Commissioner Charles Jones said.
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