HERMANN — The Gasconade County Commission Thursday morning agreed to accept more-definitive language proposed for the intergovernmental agreements with five county municipalities regarding the allocation of a major portion of the revenue that will be generated by a countywide half-cent sales tax for law enforcement.

The new language was proposed by the city halls for Owensville and Hermann. Officials of the two municipalities proposed reworking the portion of the agreements that called for up to 25 percent of the total revenue generated being allocated to the cities of Owensville, Hermann, Rosebud, Bland and Gasconade — the municipalities that employ a licensed law enforcement officer. The county’s sixth municipality, Morrison, does not have a certified law enforcement officer and was not eligible to participate in the revenue-sharing program.

An ordinance that won first-round approval last week from the Hermann Board of Aldermen (BOA) aims at removing the phrase “up to” from the document, guaranteeing that 25 percent of the revenue would be shared by the five cities. The Owensville Board of Aldermen is expected to adopt similar legislation when it convenes on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Rosebud, Bland and Gasconade had already signed off on the original wording of the agreement, but the change made by Hermann’s BOA — and the acceptance by the Commission — means that the three smaller cities had to adopt the new version of the agreement. County Clerk Lesa Lietzow told the Commission that Gasconade and Bland already had endorsed the new version and returned their signed copies in quick fashion. Rosebud’s mayor was out of town and unable to sign the new version when it was delivered last week by Sheriff Scott Eiler.

Initial estimates of the half-cent sales tax is that it could generate $1 million, based on other countywide taxes. Of that, the municipalities would share $250,000. Owensville will receive the largest slice of the revenue-sharing pie.

Meanwhile, the Commission adopted a property tax rate of .3914 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The county’s property tax that fuels the General Fund had to be lowered because of growth in the county’s sales tax revenue and the growth in property values in the county. Unlike school districts, which can waive a rollback and keep revenue that was generated by the growth in property values, county government cannot. State law requires counties to roll back their rates to prevent a windfall of new revenue.

The county’s General Fund property tax rate is .1373 cents per $100 value and the Road Department’s rate is .2541. Property tax bills will be mailed to property owners in the county in November with a Dec. 31 due date.

The Commission will not meet tomorrow, Sept. 1, at Owensville City Hall because the staff of the County Clerk’s Office will be attending a conference. The next session will be Thursday, Sept. 8, at the courthouse.