Photo of Lawrence County Courthouse with Lady Justice and U.S. flag
Lawrence County, Missouri, Justice Center with Courthouse 2009
Photo of Lawrence County Courthouse with Lady Justice and U.S. flag
The Historic Courthouse is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. You may contact the following offices at these numbers:
HEALTH DEPT. - Call 466-2201 or visit web site.
COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE - Call 466-2638 or visit web site.
COLLECTOR'S OFFICE - Call 466-2410. Receipts and statements are available on the web site, www.lawrencecountycollector.com You can now pay by phone: 1-800-652-0405
RECORDER'S OFFICE - 466-2670 or visit web site.
ASSESSOR'S OFFICE - Call 466-2831, fax 466-3931 or e-mail lcmoassessor@sofnet.com. You can now file assessment lists online: www.lawrencecountymoassessor.com
COUNTY COMMISSION - Call or leave message at 466-3666.
MT. VERNON LICENSE OFFICE - Call 466-4087.
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION OFFICE - Call 466-3102.
TREASURER'S OFFICE - Call 466-2662.
PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE - Call 466-2846.
Calendar
April 4
Election Day
April 13
Annual road commissioners meeting
County news
Recreational marijuana use sales tax on April ballot
Lawrence County Commission is letting voters decide whether the county should collect a 3% sales tax on purchases of recreational marijuana within the county.
When voters approved Amendment 3 last November legalizing the sale of marijuana in Missouri, they also approved a provision within that Amendment allowing governing bodies to impose a sales tax on the retail sale of adult use marijuana. However, county governments must take the extra step of holding an election before collecting the tax.
The issue will be on the ballot April 4.
The sales tax would apply only to the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana within Lawrence County.
Ballot language: “Shall Lawrence County, Missouri impose a countywide sales tax of three percent (3%) on all tangible personal property retail sales of adult use marijuana sold in Lawrence County, Missouri?”
County breaks ground for Law Enforcement Center
Brief groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Lawrence County Law Enforcement Center were held Thursday, Feb. 9, at the building site at 1525 Missouri Drive, Mt. Vernon.
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.
Photo ID, from left: Rick Fobair and Michael McNamer of Nabholz Construction; County Commissioners David Botts, Bob Senninger and Tim Selvey; Timothy Virgin of Nabholz; architectural graduate Nicholas Bloom of Elevatus Architecture; jail administrator Doug Bounous; Sheriff Brad DeLay; and Michael Gouloff, CEO of Elevatus Architure.
Did you miss the tax deadline? Here's how you can pay
Lawrence County real and personal property taxes were due by Dec. 31.
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.
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.
Failure to receive a tax statement does not exempt you from paying taxes by the Dec. 31 deadline.
2023 holiday schedule for county offices
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lawrence County experienced population drops in 1910, 1920, 1930, 1950 and 1960; but it recorded steady growth from 1960 through 2010.
Lawrence County broke ground Feb. 9 on a new Law Enforcement Center.
County Clerk Tammy Riebe reviews the proposed budget at a public hearing Jan. 19, 2023.
A Holiday Central angel tree can be found in the foyer of the Historic Courthouse. People can adopt an angel tag and return the purchased items and tag to the courthouse no later than Monday, Dec. 2, 2019.
Lawrence County broke ground Feb. 9 on a new Law Enforcement Center.