HERMANN — Concerned that Gasconade County residents aren’t being notified well enough of approaching severe weather, a county government official is seeking an overhaul of program automated alert system now in place.

Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville, Thursday morning called for a review of the system and believes it should be altered to inform all county residents unless they opt out of the system. That’s a reversal of the situation now: Residents are notified by telephone only if they opt into the alert system.

“I think we need to revamp this and start over, put everybody on the system unless they opt out,” said Lairmore during last week’s session of the County Commission.

Lairmore wants the three-member administrative panel to discuss the matter with county Emergency Management Director Dan Dyer, whose office oversees the notification system.

Previously, the county’s notification system contacted all residents other than those who had opted out, but repeated notifications about the same weather event prompted some residents to complain. That persuaded the previous EMD to discontinue the alert system and when Dyer assumed the office at the start of the year the system used the opt-in process for notification. However, there is some concern that the general public might not be aware of how to sign up for the service, which involves contacting the EMD’s office online.

But, as county officials note, there are areas of Gasconade County without Internet accessibility making the residents unable to contact the EMD’s office.

The commissioners Thursday again applauded the work being done by Dyer, a full-time firefighter with a West St. Louis County fire protection district. They cited Dyer’s monthly report of activities as EMD, a three-page account of events and meetings he took part in.

“I know he’s got a lot on his plate,” Lairmore said, regarding the need to rework the weather alert system, “but that’s important.”

Juvenile court budget

Commissioners also heard that Associate Circuit Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger is working on averting a potential shortfall in the budget of the county’s Juvenile Court, which is financed through the county’s General Revenue Fund. County Clerk Lesa Lietzow, the chief budget officer, in recent weeks cautioned the Commission that the Juvenile Court was underfunded, based on the budget request of 20th Circuit Presiding Judge I.I. “Ike” Lamke during the 2020 budget process.

Brehe-Krueger serves as the Juvenile Court judge in Gasconade County and will be exploring a possible revamp of the way private attorneys are contracted to represent the juveniles, Lietzow told the Commission. Still, she said, the appropriated finances are expected to run out, which will put the Juvenile Court fund in a deficit position for part of this year.

“I think we can make one more payment and then the budget will be depleted,” the county clerk said.

Regarding Lamke, Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, reported that the presiding judge issued an order extending his decree prohibiting evictions of renters through the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Lietzow’s staff this month is taking on another of the many duties delegated to the office: The annual inventory of property and equipment that involves every department of county government.