HERMANN — Gasconade County government officials’ irritation with Associate Circuit Court hearing cases previously handled in a city’s Municipal Court has been ratcheted up a bit as commissioners try to find projects for offenders given community-service sentences.

Part of that irritation comes from the cities not accepting the county’s offer of having offenders work off their community service time on projects within the municipalities.

Under a recent state law that overhauled the Municipal Court system, cities can opt-out of operating a Municipal Court. If they do, as many area cities have done, city ordinance violation cases that previously would have been heard in a Municipal Court now are transferred to the county’s Associate Circuit Court. In Gasconade County’s case, that means six municipalities are sending their cases to the county.

That makes for a crowded docket handled by Associate Circuit Judge Ada Brehe-Kruuger.

“I know Judge Ada has been overwhelmed,” said Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann. “The county courts have taken over the city courts’ responsibility.”

While many of those city ordinance violation cases result in fines being assessed, others result in a sentence of community service. Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville, said Thursday morning about three or four community service cases are generated each week in the Associate Court. Lairmore and Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, oversee the community service workers in their respective portions of the county.

County officials, already upset that none of the fines being generated by the municipal cases goes to the county, now are miffed that cities won’t accept community service work from offenses committed within their own cities.  According to county officials, the cities say they can’t accept the workers because of insurance liability concerns.

Lairmore said he would attend a session of the Owensville Board of Aldermen and again offer the use of community service workers. Likewise, Holland said he would talk with Hermann city officials about the workers.

“It would help the city,” Lairmore said, recognizing that community service workers are prohibited from operating motorized equipment. “But,” he said, “picking up trash doesn’t take a lot of energy.”

Miskel said better coordination is needed between the cities and county government.

“I’d like the municipalities to realize they are part of the county,” he said.

Lairmore said that as the Associate Circuit Court’s caseload grows with municipal cases, so, too, does the time needed by the commissioners in finding projects for the community service workers. “It’s amazing how much time this takes up out of our agenda,” Lairmore said.

Weather alert changes

In other matters Thursday morning, the commissioners heard that revamping the severe weather alert system to include all residents would be a large task, but, they said, it needs to be done.

County Clerk Lesa Lietzow reported that she had met with Emergency Management Director Dan Dyer in recent days and let him know the Commission wants the alert system reconfigured to its earlier format of including all but those residents who opt out.

Now, the system alerts only those residents who have contacted the Emergency Operations Center and opted in.

But, being able to do that has proved difficult for some residents, especially those in the far reaches of the county where Internet service is unavailable. For those residents, the number to call to opt in is 573-569-2449. For those who have been trying contact the EOC online through the Gasconade County website — only to find there is no contact information available for the EOC — they should go to the EOC’s separate website of gascoemd@ktis.net.

The all-in version of the alert system was set up during Dyer’s previous tenure as EMD. It was scrapped by former EMD Kris Bayless after complaints were received about multiple calls regarding the same weather event. Many residents, unaware of the change, were questioning why they weren’t receiving severe weather alerts.

Lietzow said Dyer is checking into an overhaul of the system.

Miskel said he wants the business community to be involved in the reconfiguration of the system. “But,” he said, “I’m primarily concerned about the residents.”

Lairmore said Dyer should get outside help with the project, noting that the EOC budget has adequate funding available. “I’d like to see this implemented, because it’s very, very important,” Lairmore said.