Frequently Asked Questions

Attorney

A. No
A. Only as a private attorney, not as the County Attorney
A. The Sheriff or Police Department investigates a complaint. After that it is turned over to me and I decide whether or not to file charges.
A. I make recommendations to the Judge.
A. No, but I file motions to revoke probation when a defendant violates the conditions of his/her probation.
A. Community service hours assigned by my office are monitored by her.
A. I handle criminal, juvenile, traffic, children in need of care, and care and treatment cases.
A. By statute, you will receive $10 per day witness fees plus mileage if you were subpoenaed from out of town.
A. Any attempt to prevent or dissuade a witness from testifying is a violation of Kansas law. Report any such incident immediately to the police and the prosecuting attorney.
A. That is strictly your decision. You may, but you have no legal obligation to talk to the defense attorney.
A. Unless all witnesses are sequestered, you may watch the trial; however, you should not discuss your testimony with other witnesses.
A. Various means are available to assist you depending upon the type of loss, etc.
A. All property will be released as soon as possible; however, under unusual circumstances, it cannot be released until it is no longer needed as evidence. Any evidence seized which is classified as being illegal to possess will not be returned.
A. For a number of reasons, it is frequently necessary to change the date of a court appearance. The County Attorney’s office will make every effort to notify you by telephone if the court date has been continued to a later date. If the case is continued, you will receive a new subpoena telling you the new date if you have not already received it. You should call the County Attorney’s office (620-544-4684) the day before your subpoena court date to verify that the court date has not been continued and that you are still required to appear in court on that date.
A. Always notify the County Attorney’s office of any changes in address or employment immediately should they need to contact you.
A. If you are lawfully subpoenaed to court, an employer cannot prevent attendance. When appropriate, the County Attorney’s office will contact your employer to discuss the importance of your role as a witness.

Other Questions

A. The County Clerk’s office or at the Driver’s License Examiner’s office when you renew your license. Sometimes political organizations set up booths at local businesses close to election time at which you can register also.
A. The County Treasurer’s office / various vendors / Wild Life & Parks
A. Total household income, including Social Security, and a copy of tax statement. Homestead forms can be obtained in the County Clerk’s office.
A. It usually takes about six weeks.
A. Bring the legal description or address to the Appraiser’s office or the GIS Dept.
A. Yes, Contact the Zoning & Planning Department
A. 5,801
A. Hugoton
00
Moscow
00
A. If you received a homestead refund last year, you will automatically receive a Refund Advancement Letter and Form ELG from the Kansas Department of Revenue. Take the department’s letter and last year’s property tax statement to your County Clerk’s office by December 20 of that year. A homestead claim must still be filed after January 1 of the next year.

Driver’s License Questions

A. Tuesday through Friday – 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. by appointment only. Serving only Stevens County residents, please call (620) 544-2542 for an appointment.
A. If you are under the age of 17, yes (one parent or guardian). If you are over 17, no, unless you have not had your parent certify your 50 hours of driving time.
A. A state-issued United States birth certificate, a DE-99 (Driver’s Education Completion Form), your social security card, an affidavit stating you have completed at least 25 hours of supervised driving if you are under age 16 (and knowing that 50 hours of supervised driving, 10 hours at night, must be completed before your restriction can be removed), and your parent or guardian to sign the proper documentation. You must have held a state issued instruction permit for 1 year before you can apply for a restricted license. You will also have to pass an eye test and pay the appropriate fees.
A. No, you have to go to a full service station.
A. No. You would have to go to a full service station in Garden City, Dodge City, or Liberal.
A. Yes if it is a renewal. For new ID card you must go to full service station. You must have proper documentation to apply for one.
A. Contact the Treasurer’s Office.
A. If the license has expired within a year, we can renew it. Otherwise, you would have to go to a full service station in Garden City, Dodge City, or Liberal.
A. You need to call Driver’s Control in Topeka. They will help you with what exactly you need to do to get your license back. You will need to know your driver’s license number and your date of birth.

Motor Vehicle Questions

a. If the weight of the trailer and the load combined is less than 2,000 pounds, registration is optional. If a farm trailer hauling the farmer’s own product has a load of less than 6,000 pounds, registration is optional. For fees on trucks with gross weight of over 16,000 pounds, call the County Treasurer’s Office.

b. Property tax is paid at the time of registration/title application and is determined in the County Treasurer’s Office. The exceptions are heavy trucks, trailers, and mopeds, whose taxes are determined by the County Appraiser’s Office.

c. Sales tax will be collected in the tag office if the vehicle is bought from an individual or purchased out of state.

A. If you have the title, you need to bring in the title, the vehicle inspection, and the proof of insurance. The person who is named on the title is the only person who can register the vehicle. If two names appear on the title with or between the names, only one person has to come in. All vehicles coming from out of state must have a VIN inspection from the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office.
A. You will need the title or MSO (if it’s a new car), signed over to you, the sales tax receipt or bill of sale, the car’s current mileage, and your proof of insurance. When transferring a tag between two cars, you need the current registration or tag number of the old car and the name and address of the person to whom the vehicle was sold. If out of state title of any kind a VIN inspection is required.
A. The Tag Office is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., including lunch hour, Monday through Friday. The office stops doing vehicle business at 4:30 p.m. in order to run reports and balance the day’s business.
A. The Tag Office is located at the Stevens County Courthouse at 200 E. 6th in Hugoton, Ks.
A. All out-of-state title for used vehicles (and Kansas Non-Highway vehicles) require inspection.
A. Take your registration or tag number and proof of insurance to the Stevens County Treasurer’s Office, and they will be able to process your renewal.
A. Bring in your tag, current owner’s registration, Social Security number (for a personal vehicle) or Federal ID# (for business or lease vehicles), and name and address of the person to whom the vehicle was sold. Refunds are calculated from the month they are received.
A. These tag forms and many others are available on this web page in the Vehicle Tag Forms section . You will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and/or print these forms. This is a free download, and the site can be accessed from the Vehicle Tag Forms section above.
A. You will need to report the plate stolen to the Sheriff’s Office. Bring the registration and proof of insurance, and we will replace it for a minimal fee.
A. You can have one personalized tag per state.  Contact Treasurers office for further information.
A. If you have delinquent personal property taxes in ANY county in Kansas, they MUST be paid before vehicles can be tagged.
A. Acceptable forms of payment are cash, check, money order, cashier’s check or credit card(with fee).
A. This is done at the Stevens County Treasurer’s Office in the County Courthouse. It can also be mailed to Stevens County Treasurer, 200 E 6th, Hugoton, Ks 67591.
A. Auto, truck, and motorcycle tags expire on the last day of each month, with the exception of heavy trucks (over 12,000 lbs.) and trailers, which expire Dec. 31 with a grace period until last day of February.
A. Tag renewals are good for a full year. Tags for vehicles bought new within the year will be good for the period between the purchase date and the expiration date; in some cases this will be for just a partial year. Tags are prorated from the month the title is notarized until the month your tag comes due, which is determined by your last name. See the Tag Schedule table on the Motor Vehicle Site.
A. No. Only the active duty military member is exempt.
A. No. There are no extensions.
A. Law requires re-certification every three years for verification of status of the handicapped individual.
A. The leased vehicle is in the leasing company name; therefore, they are the legal owner of the vehicle and not exempt.
A. The vehicle should be registered in the county where the main business in located, or where the vehicle is housed.
A. Yes. The service member must be included on the title in order to be exempt.
A. Yes
A. Yes. You first have to acquire a title in your name before it can be sold to another individual or business.

Property Tax Questions

A. You should receive your real estate and personal property tax statement for the current year by the middle part of November. If only the first half of the current year taxes are paid in December, the second half tax reminders are mailed out May 1. If the full amount was paid in December, you should not receive a second half reminder.
A. If you have an escrow account for your real estate taxes with a mortgage company, the mortgage company should receive the tax statement. If you do receive the tax statement instead of the mortgage company, we ask you to forward it to the mortgage company so they can pay taxes from the escrow account. We also ask you to have your current mortgage company notify the County Treasurer’s office so that we can get the correct billing information from them.
A. If you are to receive a statement but do not by the end of November, please contact the County Treasurer’s office at 620-544-2542.

A. If you are responsible for paying taxes on a home or other real estate property, the full amount could be paid or the half amount on or before December 20 of that tax year. If the first half is paid, the second half of that year’s taxes are due on or before May 10 of the following year.

Mortgage companies are required by Federal Law to make half payments, so they will be paying taxes on or before December 20 and on or before May 10.

A. If the first half of the current year real estate taxes are not paid by December 20, interest will start accruing December 21.

If the mortgage company was to have paid these taxes, you must inform them that the Treasurer’s office for the County did not receive the payment. If there are any questions, the mortgage company needs to call the County Treasurer’s office at 620-544-2542.

You or the mortgage company can pay the first half of the current year taxes with interest up until May 10. After May 10, if the first half of the real estate taxes has not been paid, the full amount of the current year tax plus interest will have to be paid. If the current year tax has not been paid by the first of August, there will be an additional fee of $16.00 for advertising. Stevens County is required by Kansas State law (KSA79-2303) to publish a list of unpaid real estate taxes.

If taxes go unpaid by the first Tuesday after the first Monday in September, taxes will be put on the delinquent tax roll, and it becomes a lien on the real estate. If you want to pay delinquent years, Kansas State Law (KSA79-2401A) requires that the most delinquent year be paid first.

A. Real estate property taxes three years delinquent are subject to a tax foreclosure action and public sale.
A. The first half of the personal property taxes are due on or before December 20. If you pay the first half of the personal property taxes in December, the second half is due on or before May 10 of the following year.

A. If the first half of the personal property taxes are not paid by December 20, the full tax amount plus interest becomes due, starting December 21. Delinquent notices for personal property are sent out the third week in February. If they are not paid, warrants are issued. Warrants are issued 10 days after notices are mailed. Tax warrants go to the County Sheriff for collection of delinquent taxes, interest, and sheriff fees.

If you paid the first half of your personal property taxes on time, the second half of the personal property taxes are due on or before May 10. If these taxes are not paid by May 10, interest will begin to accrue.

Delinquent personal property tax notices are mailed on or before July 27. If they are not paid, tax warrants are issued by August 15. All delinquent personal property tax must be paid at the County Treasurer’s office. Kansas State Law (KSA79-2017) requires delinquent personal property to be advertised in October. If you have any previous years owing on personal property tax, they must be paid at the County Treasurer’s office.