BOCC postpones discussion on Sheriff's Office compensation     

At today’s Johnson County Board of County Commissioners meeting, the Sheriff’s Office compensation plan was officially added to the agenda and continued to the Sept. 29 Business Session.

Last week, the Committee of the Whole made a recommendation to the commission to consider the item this week. Deputy County Manager Maury Thompson said additional work needs to be done before bringing an action before the board for consideration.

View the Committee of the Whole’s discussion on public safety compensation and the 2022 Public Safety Compensation Study slide presentation to learn more.

Johnson County appoints new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Officer & Information Security Officer

Assistant County Counselor, Natalie Yoza, was appointed to serve as the countywide HIPAA Privacy Officer and ISO. In this role, Natalie is responsible for general oversight and management of all activities related to the development, implementation, maintenance of, and compliance with the county’s policies and procedures governing the confidentiality of protected health information and other confidential information, such as financial information. She will work closely with the HIPAA Steering Committee, other county privacy officers, and various departments within the county.

Natalie began working for the county in July and has prior experience with data management and ensuring compliance with various privacy laws. She also supports the Department of Aging and Human Services, Developmental Supports, the Department of Health & Environment, Mental Health, and Housing and Community Development.

Please contact Natalie if you have any questions or to report a potential violation.  

Wellness Program Appeals Process

FMA-Benefits continues to offer and manage a wellness appeal process following the close of the 2022 Wellness Program. The Wellness Appeal Process is primarily for employees or spouses who were on approved leave for a significant period of the campaign or experienced a serious personal or family event which prevented you from completing the wellness activities. In addition, personal extenuating circumstances may have arisen that caused you to not earn one or more Incentives so this is your opportunity to bring these to the Committee’s attention for consideration.

Keep an eye out! Employees will receive an email listing which Incentive(s) was not earned with a link to the 2022 Wellness Appeal Form to your County email address next week. The deadline to submit the Wellness Appeal form is October 7, 2022.

Johnson County Department of Health and Environment discontinuing free at-home COVID-19 test kits

At the end of the month, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment will stop distributing free at-home COVID-19 tests from its Olathe office (11875 S. Sunset Drive).

The last day to pick up tests is Friday, Sept. 30 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tests are available via drive-thru only. JCDHE is discontinuing test distribution due to decreased availability and interest.

Tests continue to be available at pharmacies, grocery stores and libraries (while supplies last). For testing locations in the area, visit:

• KnowBeforeYouGoKS.com
• Community-Based Testing Sites for COVID-19
• PrepareMetroKC Testing Events
• ComeBack KC Testing Locations

Find COVID-19 guidance on InsideJoCo, and explore vaccine and testing information on the county website.

Tips from Johnson County Emergency Management to stay prepared for emergencies

As National Preparedness Month continues, Johnson County Emergency Management has a question for county staff: Are you prepared?

Emergency Management has been providing tips throughout the month with its 30 Days, 30 Ways to stay prepared campaign, and there are a handful of tips that could keep you safe in the case of an emergency – such as a tornado, flood or power outage.

• Create and discuss a household emergency plan: Keep your whole family prepared. As you plan, consider any family members with special needs, specific preparations for children and what you will do with your pets.

• Create an emergency kit with essential items to last, at minimum, the first 72 hours: An emergency kit includes essentials like medicine, food, water, an emergency blanket, a flashlight and more. Find a checklist of items at ready.gov/kit.

• Have multiple ways of receiving emergency notifications: Ensure Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are activated on your cellphone, purchase a weather radio and follow official news sources.

For those who live or work in Johnson County, we encourage you to sign up for emergency alerts from NotifyJoCo. NotifyJoCo sends out time-sensitive messages in the event of an emergency. Sign up at notifyjoco.org.

Help keep our community prepared this National Preparedness Month and beyond. Find more preparedness tips at jocogov.org/em, as well as through FEMA at ready.gov.

Happy Jewish New Year: 5783!

Debbi Naster, executive assistant at Johnson County Mental Health Center is a life-long Johnson County resident. Every year in the fall, her family would celebrate the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur together. Debbi wanted to share her experience to better help you understand the meaning of these “High Holy Days.”

Visit InsideJoCo to read the full article.

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The 2022 Art @ Work Employee Art Exhibit is now open

The 2022 Art @ Work Employee Art Exhibit officially opened Monday.

It's located at the Sunset Drive Office Building at 11811 S. Sunset Dr., in Olathe. Place your bid on pieces through the Online Bidding Auction. 

There’s a wide variety of art from paintings, drawings, photographs, and glass art up for bid.

The deadline for bids is 5 p.m., Sept. 30. 

A reception will be held Wednesday, Sept. 28 from 5-7 p.m. Come and view the art while listening to our talented Johnson County employees perform! View the invitation on the right to see a list of scheduled performances.

If you'd like to donate to the campaign outside of the auction there are several ways to do so. Visit ArtsKC's website, fill out a pledge form or deliver cash or a check to the TTV dept. 

Thank you for keeping the Arts Alive!  

Anniversary Celebration for Olathe Naval Air Station and the Airport Commission 

You are invited to a celebration like no other to honor the 80^th anniversary of the Olathe Naval Air Station and the 55^th anniversary of the Johnson County Airport Commission.

The celebration goes from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Commemorative Air Force Hanger located at 6 Aero Plaza in New Century. 

There will be lots of fun activities like flight simulators, photo op boards, a Navy dog tag machine, paper airplane contest, kids activities, ONAS souvenirs for sale and much more. Hotdogs, chips, water and soft drinks will also be sold by donation to the Commemorative Air Force. 

Visit the Johnson County Airport Commission’s webpage to learn more about the airport commission. Learn more about the history of the Olathe Naval Air Station in our latest edition of the Best Times magazine.

There is still time to enroll in Introduction to Conflict Resolution

The course will be offered by HR as a live webinar Thursday, Oct. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

In this class, participants will discover their personal conflict styles and learn strategies to resolve workplace conflicts. By the end of class, participants will be able to:

• Identify the difference between constructive and destructive conflict
• Understand the value of managing and resolving conflict informally
• Identify the style routinely used to handle conflict and more

Enroll now through Oracle>JOCO Employee SSHR>Class Enrollment>under Browse Catalog select ‘Human Resources’>S.T.E.P. – Introduction to Conflict Resolution, then select ‘choose or enroll in class’. Enrollment closes at the end of the day Sunday, Sept. 25.

For questions please contact HRD-Organizationallearning&development@jocogov.org.

BOCC proclamations  

The BOCC proclaimed Sept. 25 as Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day in Johnson County. It is an opportunity to recognize and honor the entire family of our fallen heroes. Debbie Collins, Gold Star mother and former director of Aging and Human Services accepted the proclamation.

A Gold Star Recognition ceremony will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 24, at Veterans Memorial Park in Olathe. Please bring your own lawn chair if you plan to attend. 

From L-R: John Smith, former commander of Olathe American Legion Post 153 and Gold Star Monument committee member, Debbie Collins, former director, Aging and Human Services and Gold Star mother and Chairman Ed Eilert. 

The BOCC also recognized Larry McAulay's retirement. Larry has been with Johnson County's Legal Department for more 23 years, 11 of which were spent as the director of the Legal Department. Larry says he plans to travel now that he is retired. 

Chairman Eilert presented Larry with a certificate of achievement in honor of his service.

From L-R: Peg Trent, chief counsel, Larry McAulay, assistant county counselor and Chairman Ed Eilert. 

BOCC recap  

In addition to the above, the Board of County Commissioners meeting included the following:

• Approved 2023 expenditures for the County Assistance Road System Program expenditures (commonly known as CARS) and the Stormwater Management Program, as well as some policy updates to the SMP. More information is available in this news release.
• Authorized an Exception to Competition with Hy-Vee and IHOP for nutritious meals for eligible persons for the CHAMPSS (Choosing Healthy Appetizing Meal Plan Solutions for Seniors) program in the Aging and Human Services Department.

In addition, County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson shared two pieces of good news in her Manager’s Memo.

• A NotifyJoCo success story from August involving a Sheriff’s Office alert sent about a missing juvenile who was quickly found and reunited with family.
• An important new partnership with the Black and Veatch Maker Space at Johnson County Library and Johnson County MED-ACT. The Maker Space is producing 3D-printed anatomical models for training emergency medical providers in life-saving techniques. Additional information is available here.

More information on these and other items from today’s meeting is available at boccmeetings.jocogov.org.