HERMANN – The city’s airport has seen a bustle of activity recently as crews work to put a shine on what will be a pitched as an asset for the business community.

“We’re getting that spiffied up,” said City Administrator Patricia Heaney during the recent monthly session of the Hermann Regional Economic Development (HRED) Corporation board. City Hall is looking to mount a marketing campaign featuring the general aviation airport across the Missouri River as a big asset to doing business in Hermann. Heaney also reported during the Feb. 3 meeting that city crews are acting to remove derelict and abandoned properties.

In reporting on activities within the Gasconade County R-1 School District, Superintendent Geoff Neill said he would be meeting with East Central College officials and others about a potential Career Center — something that has been discussed regularly in the past year.

Also, he noted that administrators are seeing the end of the school year on the horizon with an eye toward this year’s graduating class.

“Believe it or not, we have two and a half months of school left,” he said.

The administrator said he’s continuing to monitor state legislation that could have a harmful impact on local school districts — such as the measures aimed at cutting property and income taxes. A bill to further cut property taxes in the past week was approved in the Missouri House of Representatives and sent to the Missouri Senate for consideration. Gov. Mike Kehoe during his State of the State address earlier this year announced he would seek to eliminate Missouri’s income tax.

It’s unclear how the revenue that would be lost through these moves would be recouped. And locally, a property tax measure on the April 7 ballot — Senate Bill 3 — is at the forefront of concern for R-1 officials. If the measure is adopted by county voters, R-1 could lose an estimated $400,000, Neill said.

R-1 Proposition CARE

R-1 also has a bond issue on the April 7 ballot. The $3.5-million issue, dubbed Proposition CARE, would provide funding to replace the aging roof on the high school, make improvements to parking lots and replace outdated heating and ventilation equipment at Hermann Elementary School. A four-sevenths majority is needed to approve the no-tax-increase bond issue.

Auditors will be taking a close look at the workings and the financial books of Hermann Area District Hospital in the next couple weeks, according to Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Bill Hellebusch. He said it will take about two months for the results of the 2025 audit to be ready for consideration by the hospital’s Board of Directors. Hellebusch and his leadership team are hoping the 2025 review will build on the positive results coming out of the 2024 audit.

Potential impacts of SB 3

Gasconade County Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, told the board that this county has joined 40 to 50 other counties in challenging the legality of Senate Bill 3. The counties are concerned about the effect on services if Senate Bill 3 is passed in the April 7 vote. It’s estimated that, under a worst-case scenario, all local government taxing entities in Gasconade County could lose a total of at least $600,000 in 2027, the first year of the proposed property tax freeze on primary residences.

“I would say if the lawsuit doesn’t work out, it’s (Senate Bill 3) going to pass,” the commissioner said. If that happens, he added, county officials likely will be forced to “step back and really look” at the effect on services to residents.

The HRED board’s next meeting is set for Tuesday, April 7, in the Hermann Area Chamber of Commerce meeting room because the R-1 Administration Building will be used as a Hermann polling place.