HERMANN – The effort to collect almost 400 signatures of registered voters aimed at having a property tax-break measure placed on the November ballot is about finished. As it turns out, the petition drive might not have been necessary.

The Gasconade County Commission last week indicated a willingness to place on the November General Elections ballot a question about Senate Bill 190, a measure adopted by the state legislature and signed into law two years ago designed to freeze the assessed value of the primary residence of a homeowner 62 and older. That law could have been made effective on a county-by-county basis either through adoption of an ordinance by a county’s governing body or by a countywide vote.

But 3rd-Class counties such as Gasconade County do not have ordinance-making authority, as do 2nd- and 1st-Class counties and all municipalities. But because of its controversial nature and the potentially expensive cost to counties to put in place the tax-break measure, and because the Missouri General Assembly this year adopted the more-controversial Senate Bill 3 that would supersede SB 190, the County Commission was advised to not act on 190.

Outside legal counsel Ivan Schraeder, a longtime legal expert on county government, advised the Commission to take a wait-and-see attitude regarding the outcome of a trial challenging SB 3. That trial is set in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City Wednesday, July 29. It’s not expected that a summary ruling will be handed down that day, making it unclear when a final decision on SB 3’s legality will be issued.

The County Commission was the target of critical comments recently by Dennis Granahl of St. Louis County. Granahl is the founder and chief executive office of Mo Tax Relief Now and a leading advocate of the passage of Amendment 5, which would eliminate the state’s income tax. He also is a supporter of the petition drive and getting SB 190 on the November ballot.

Speaking by phone at a July 10 informational meeting sponsored by the county’s Republican Club, Granahl essentially said that by not placing SB 190 on a ballot, the Commission was opposed to a property tax break for senior citizens.

That drew a sharp response from Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann.

“We did not say that,” Holland said, loud enough for Granahl to hear. After earlier telling the Gasconade County Republican he would be at the July 10 event to explain Amendment 5 and the SB 190 petition drive, Granahl was unable to attend. A week later, Holland still chafed at Granahl’s comment. “You could tell he yanked my chain,” the commissioner said.

Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, and Southern District Associate Commissioner Ron Hardeck,-R-Owensville, both explained that the Commission held off on a vote because of the advice from legal counsel. Schulte said he appreciated Holland’s response to Granahl’s comment.

“I was glad to see Jim speak up,” the presiding commissioner said after this week’s session.

County Clerk Lesa Lietzow, the county’s chief elections official, reminded the Commission at last week’s session that it does not have to wait until the signatures on the petition have been verified. While it can’t put the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot by adopting an ordinance, which is a local-government law, it can do so through adoption of an order, which has less weight than an ordinance.

SB 3 also was made subject to approval by a countywide vote. Many of Missouri’s counties, including Gasconade, put the issue on the April ballot. Voters in this county easily adopted SB 3, which will take effect next year — if it withstands a legal challenge that will be made beginning next week.

Supporters of SB 190 want the measure on the November ballot as a fall-back move should the courts rule SB 3 to be unconstitutional. It was earlier reported incorrectly that the petition drive aimed at getting SB 190 on the August ballot; however, that ballot has been set for some time.

The County Commission has until Tuesday, Aug. 25, to place SB 190 on the November ballot.

The petition drive needs to obtain the signatures of just under 400 registered voters — that’s 5 percent of the less-than-8,000 votes cast in the county in the last gubernatorial election.