Lawrence County, Missouri

County news

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Time to pay your taxes

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Lawrence County real and personal property taxes are due by Dec. 31.

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You may check how much you owe and pay online at www.lawrencecountycollector.com.

You also have the option of paying by phone (1-800-652-0405). Follow the prompts. There are extra charges for credit card payments.

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You can pay in person at the office of the County Collector. The office is open 8 a.m. to 3:55 p.m., but staff advise taxpayers to arrive by 3:30 p.m. The County Collector's Office is located on the main floor of the Historic Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Square, Mt. Vernon.

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Failure to receive a tax statement does not exempt you from paying taxes by the Dec. 31 deadline.

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Courthouse clockworks struck by lightning

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It may not have been as dramatic as the lightning strike in the movie "Back to the Future," but lightning did damage the clocks at the Historic Courthouse in September. 

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Dennis Harter, who handles building and grounds at the 122-year-old building, said it will be January before all the parts arrive for repairs. The county essentially will be rebuilding the mechanics of the four-face clockworks. But afterward, Harter, said the bell that ties into them should ring again. 

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Groundbreaking held for new health department

 

Lawrence County broke ground Thursday, Nov. 2, on a $5.3 million health department building on Missouri Drive. The ceremony was held at the building site at 1549 Missouri Drive, Mt. Vernon. The new health department is made possible by Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds received by Lawrence County.

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(Scenes and details from the Nov. 2 groundbreaking.)

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Expansion of the health department has been a priority for County Commissioners Bob Senninger, David Botts and Tim Selvey since the pandemic hit in 2020 and they witnessed the effect the cramped conditions and limited facilities had on the overworked staff there.

“The pandemic identified our shortcomings in serving citizens of Lawrence County,” noted Selvey.

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With the new facility, the county will be better prepared for future challenges. It also will be better positioned to provide services on a day-to-day basis.

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“The new building will improve client comfort, privacy and accessibility, provide larger spaces for services and community education and ensure a safer and more efficient working environment for employees,” said Janella Spencer, health department administrator.

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The construction cost includes the building, sitework and a 40x60 outbuilding that the county will share with emergency management. It will be located south of the new 911 center constructed by the Lawrence County Emergency Services Board, and the Law Enforcement Center currently under construction by the county. The county purchased the three-acre site from the City of Mt. Vernon for $1 in September 2021.

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Esterly Schneider & Associates is the architect for the health department. Branco Enterprises is construction manager at risk.

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The health department has occupied a 6,000-square-foot converted grocery store at 105 W. North St. since 1995. It previously was housed in less than a thousand square feet in the courthouse basement. It is operated with county general revenue and grants.

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Construction under way on Law Enforcement Center

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Brief groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Lawrence County Law Enforcement Center were held Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, at the building site at 1525 Missouri Drive, Mt. Vernon.

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The $22 million facility will bring sheriff’s office operations together under one roof and replace the current 1984 jail with a modern, more efficient 120-bed detention center. It is designed to allow two future 96-bed expansions. Voters approved a 3/8-cent sales tax last year to finance the construction. Elevatus Architecture designed the facility; and Nabholz Construction is construction manager at risk.

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Tentative completion date is April 2024.

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2023 holiday schedule for county offices

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Lawrence County Commission has set the 2023 holiday schedule for county offices.

 

Notice of Use Tax

 

(Lawrence County Clerk Tammy Riebe, Sept. 20, 2021) Lawrence County, Missouri previously adopted a use tax, which is currently in effect. A use tax is the equivalent of a sales tax on purchases made from out-of-state vendors by in-state buyers and on certain taxable business transactions. The use tax rate for Lawrence County is currently 2.125 percent which is equal to the total local sales tax rate. Certain purchases from out-of-state vendors will become subject to an expansion of the use tax effective on January 1, 2023, as provided by state law.

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If any local sales tax is repealed or the rate is reduced or raised by voter approval, the local use tax rate shall also be deemed to be repealed, reduced, or raised by the same action.

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I, Tammy Riebe, County Clerk for Lawrence County, Missouri, do hereby certify that the foregoing is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, correct. Dated this 3rd day of September 2021.

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Census Bureau puts county's population at 38,001

 

The U.S. Census Bureau puts Lawrence County's 2020 population at 38,001, slightly below the 2010 figure of 38,634. However, another indicator suggests more people are living in Lawrence County than did in 2010. There has been a 1.4 percent increase in individual and household personal property assessment lists returned to the county assessor in the same time period.

 

The Census Bureau ranks Lawrence County as 31st in population in Missouri's listing of 114 counties and the City of St. Louis.

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Lawrence County experienced population drops in 1910, 1920, 1930, 1950 and 1960; but it recorded steady growth from 1960 through 2010.

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