Jackson County government, located in the downtown Kansas City Courthouse Building, 415 E. 12th St., operates under a home-rule charger approved by voters in 1978.
Auxilary officers are at the Courthouse Annex, 308 W. Kansas Ave., in the county seat of Independence.
The county is responsible for tax collection, county road maintenance, park operation, operation of the county jail and Sheriff’s Department, governance of the unincorporated areas, and housing the 16th Judicial Circuit Court.
The Jackson County Legislature is the lawmaking body for the county. It consists of nine elected members, one from each of the six districts and three at-large representatives. All legislators serve four-year terms, as does the county executive, who is the top administrative official.
The Legislature meets every Monday, alternating meeting locations between the courthouse in Kansas City and the annex in Independence.
To contact administrative offices, call 816-881-3333. The county executive is Mike Sanders who was the county prosecutor before being elected in 2006 to the county executive spot. The executive is elected to a four year term.
On the web
The Jackson County Web site is www.jacksongov.org
At the Web site, you can pay property taxes, view and search county records, see maps of county parks and much, much more.
COUNTY LEGISLATORS
Theresa Garza (D-1st District at large) was elected in 2006. She can be reached at 816-881-3132
Henry Rizzo (D-2nd District at large) served on the Legislature in 1983-84. He was appointed in 2003 to fill an unexpired term and elected in 2006. He can be reached at 816-881-3464
Fred Arbanas (D-3rd District at large) has been in office since 1973. He can be reached at 816-881-4477
Scott Burnett (D-1st District) was first elected in 1998, and re-elected in 2002 and 2006. He can be reached at 816-881-3076
James Tindall Sr. (D-2nd District) first served from 1982 to 1996, and was elected again in 2006. He can be reached at 816-881-3163
Dennis Waits (D-3rd District), chairman, has been in office since 1986. He can be reached at 816-881-4441
Dan Tarwater (D-4th District), vice chairman, has been in office since 1994. He can be reached at 816-881-3362
Greg Grounds (R-5th District) was elected in 2006. He is former mayor of Blue Springs. He can be reached at 816-881-4476
Robert Spence (R-6th District) has been in office since 1998. He can be reached at 816-881-4423
