Almost a year after being elected, Paula Gilchrist will be sworn in as Douglas County treasurer this morning.

“It is kind of awkward to have to wait to take office,” she said. Her elected counterparts – including the county commissioners, sheriff and county clerk – were sworn into office in January.

State statutes require county treasurers to officially take office the October following the November election. But that provision could soon be changed.

Randy Allen, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties, said his organization might push the Kansas Legislature next year to change the term of office to those of other positions.

“It is very strange to be elected in November one year and have it take a year before you get into office,” Allen said. “I haven’t ever taken the time to do the history of it, but I think this has to do with the clearing of the current treasurer before starting a new cycle of county financial activity for the upcoming year.”

Greely County Treasurer Diane Gentry, who serves as president of the Kansas County Treasurer’s Assn., agreed; the tax year, after all, ends in October.

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“With the way it’s set up, the treasurer can finish the whole tax year out,” Gentry said. “The treasurer in place will have collected all the money and accounted for all the money.”

She added that in January county treasurers distribute a portion of the taxes collected to local governments, including cities, counties and school districts.

“In most counties, that’s half of your tax collection, so it’s usually a large sum of money,” she said of the distribution.

Allen said he thought it could work for a new county treasurer to be sworn into office in January.

His proposal, to be considered by the KAC board, wouldn’t affect treasurers sworn into office this year. They would serve out their term through October 2009, he said. County treasurers elected in 2008 would end their term in January 2012 instead of October 2013.