HERMANN — Faced with no choice, the Gasconade County Commission last week adopted an order placing a state-passed property tax-relief measure on the April 7 ballot.

Senate Bill 3, which local government officials throughout the state fear could result in curtailed services to residents, would essentially freeze property taxes at the level paid by homeowners in 2024. A recent analysis of the state law’s potential impact by County Assessor Julia Baker showed that if all homeowners applied for the refund in the first year, the property tax-dependent public agencies could lose more than $600,000. Hit hardest by revenue loss would be the Gasconade County R-1 and R-2 school districts with other public agencies suffering to a lesser degree.

Senate Bill 3, which is being challenged in court by several counties, was passed in last year’s session of the Missouri General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe and ordered onto the April General Municipal Elections ballot.

The notice of election for the April ballot was read into the record by County Clerk Lesa Lietzow. “Julia and I worked together on this,” she said, referring to the language that will be at the top of the ballot countywide. “It will be the first question on the ballot,” Lietzow told the Commission.

“Let the people decide, I guess,” said Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann.

While county and local government officials can’t advocate for passage or defeat of the ballot issue, they can talk about the expected impact of the law on local revenues. Indeed, Baker recently discussed SB 3 at a meeting of the Owensville Chamber of Commerce. “She did a good job,” noted Southern District Associate Commissioner Ron Hardecke, R-Owensville.

In other matters, County Treasurer Mike Feagan reported that the county’s January reimbursement check from the state for its share of the Motor Fuel Tax was $78,429 — the largest January check thus far. Last year, the Motor Fuel Tax generated $937,801 for Gasconade County. Revenue from the Motor Fuel Tax is allocated to the county’s Road Department.

The county’s Opioid Settlement Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, Feb. 26, to consider any applications for a share of the county’s funds resulting from the settlement of a lawsuit against producers and distributors of opioid-based medications. It’s believed that the county’s University of Missouri Extension Center will be applying for about $14,000 from the fund to help finance programs such as those offered through the 4-H Program to educate youth against opioid addiction.

The Commission is scheduled to adopt the 2026 operating budget at tomorrow’s session. County administrators included in this year’s budget a 5-percent pay increase for county employees.

“The budget was finalized as of yesterday, except for my budget message,” said Lietzow. As a side note, this will be the last operating budget prepared by Lietzow, the county’s chief budget officer. She is not seeking re-election after two decades as the county’s chief records keeper, budget officer and elections official. Her successor, to be decided in November’s General Election, will have the primary role in assembling the 2027 proposed operating budget for the Commission to consider.

Consulting Engineer Paul Winkelmann of Howe Company encouraged the Commission to submit the paperwork this year for another round of funding to replace a bridge. The money is provided through the state’s Bridge Replacement Off-system (BRO) Program. Under this program, the county provides about 20 percent of the total cost of a project.

“If I was a county commissioner interested in replacing a bridge, I would send the application in,” Winkelmann said.

County officials earlier discussed a new span on Hog Trough Road as a possible BRO project. Another state transportation program — the Bridge Engineering Assisted Program, or BEAP for short — could be applied for regarding a new crossing on Kraus Road.