Several taxpayers who needed to use the services of a busy county office found the doors locked Wednesday afternoon.

The Douglas County Assessor and Register of Deeds offices closed for four hours Wednesday afternoon, leaving some taxpayers puzzled and frustrated.

One taxpayer standing in front of the county office locked door said, "I'm thinking of time lost, we should have called."

A notice stated the offices will be closed from 12:30 - 4:30 pm. During a half hour of that time period, 6 On Your Side recorded eight citizens surprised by locked doors.

One said, "I should have called first." Another said, "It's OK, they got to have something going on."

The post gives no explanation for closing the main and fourth floor offices. However 6 On Your Side found the reason. The offices a closed for a holiday and staff recognition party in a 7th floor Civic Center conference room where cheers and applause could be heard through thin walls in the hall and city offices.

There was food, gifts, and prize drawings for Assessor and Register of Deeds employees.

"I don't apologize for acknowledging my staff. I don't apologize for trying to instill a positive atmosphere. The only thing I would apologize for is if we missed somebody that didn't have the notice about us not being open," said Douglas County Assessor & Register of Deeds Diane Battiato.

Battiato said workers either took four hours comp time or vacation. One employee said, "It's helping our units to units come together because we're on two different floors."

Battiato and her Chief Deputy Larry Miller said work hours work best. Miller said, "It's better to have this during the day than in the evening because they do have other commitments but it is important to them that we have this kind of event."

Byron Krause took time off work only to find the county office closed during regular business hours. Krause said,"I had to take a half day off to come down here and now I lost all that money."

$100 he estimates, since he'll have to take time off again to return.

The Assessor and Register of Deeds said she'll have another staff holiday recognition party next year after assessing how to avoid taxpayer inconvenience. The combined Assessor and Register of Deeds office also had a daytime holiday recognition party last year.

Battiato said she and managers always donate the gifts and food. She stresses no tax money has ever been used.