HERMANN — Gasconade County government is poised to write a new chapter in its financial history.

Barring any sharp drop in the next three months, the county will top last year’s sales tax revenue by a significant amount. And last year was a record-setting year for sales tax revenue. The county’s September reimbursement check from the state is for $100,753 — the fourth straight month that sales tax revenue topped $100,000.

“That’s unheard of,” said County Clerk Lesa Lietzow at Thursday morning’s County Commission session. “Pretty impressive, is it not?” she asked.

The September check pushes the county's year-to-date total to $826,384; that’s $69,796 more than the county had received at this point last year. It was last year that Gasconade County set its high-water mark in sales tax dollars when it tallied $1,037,402. The first time the county received $1 million in sales tax funds was 2018 with $1,006,640. A year later, the final amount slipped to $990,969.

Last year, the county saw only one monthly check of $100,000 or more. That came in December, reflecting sales made in November, and was for $103,504.

Considering those numbers, county government is in a position to end the year in exceptional financial shape.

“We will exceed our budgeted amount at this rate,” Lietzow said. As the county’s chief budget officer, the county clerk pay close attention to what’s coming in during the year. It is this year’s sales tax revenue that will provide the basis for next year’s operating budget.

In this year’s budget, county officials projected sales tax revenue of $1,040,000. If the local economy remains healthy through November, the projected amount should be easily surpassed, setting yet another high mark for county officials to work toward.

Storage fee concerns

In other matters taken up at last week’s session, the Commission voiced concern about a bill for storage of a UTV for three weeks. The vehicle was evidence in a legal case. The county was charged $800 total, or $40 per day, to store the vehicle.

“That’s highway robbery,” said Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville. “We shouldn’t pay that kind of storage,” he added.

The Commission was expected to talk with Sheriff Scott Eiler about the storage issue. He was not at the Commission meeting Thursday; rather, he was taking part in a gathering of law enforcement personnel from throughout the county who were meeting with Prosecuting Attorney Mary Weston to review some of the new state laws that will be enforced by county and municipal law enforcement agencies

Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, quipped that if the need arises to store another vehicle similar to this one, perhaps the Doerr Building — adjacent to the courthouse and used to store a variety of county materials — could be pressed into service.

“We could put it in that old building,” Holland said, as a way the county could save on storage fees.

Regarding the Sherif’s Department, the agency has applied for two grants being made available through the Missouri Department of Public Safety. One would pay for new portable radios and the other would finance officer safety equipment.

County Government Day will return this year to the Gasconade County Courthouse, although it will be in a different format. Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, said the county’s University of Missouri Extension Center is still working on the details of this year’s event, which tentatively set for October.

County Government Day was scratched last year because of the coronavirus. The event traditionally gives government students at Hermann High School and Owensville High School an up-close look at the workings of county government. Not only do the students visit the various offices in the courthouse, they also get to sit through a session of Division 4 of the Circuit Court and hear from Associate Circuit Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger.

The students also have been treated to lunch of burgers and hot dogs that were grilled up by the County Commission and County Treasurer Mike Feagan.

But this year, with the latest wave of the coronavirus settling into the region, things will be different. The Extension Center, which organizes the event, will break the day into two parts — the morning portion for one school district; the afternoon portion for the other. The move is being made to keep down the crowd size, the county clerk said.

“There won’t be any real court,” Lietzow said, although she added that Brehe-Krueger would be available to talk to the students. And, the county clerk told the commissioners, “You won’t be cooking for them.” These steps, also, are being taken to reduce the risk of spreading the Delta variant, which seems to affect younger people moreso than older residents, unlike the initial COVID-19 virus.

The change in format also will affect another aspect of County Government Day. Part of the day’s activities has been the recognition of county employees for their years of service. Employees hitting certain milestones have been cited for their years of work with plaques with the students looking on, as well as taking part in the lunch prepared by county officials.

This year, the recognition of employees will be held on another day, the Commission agreed. There are 15 plaques to be awarded. Lietzow said.

The regular inventory of county-owned equipment is taking place, Lietzow reported. As of Thursday morning, only one office in the courthouse had completed the task and turned in its list to the County Clerk's Office. The inventory is required by the county’s insurance carrier and is conducted regularly.

Bids to build a new bridge on Valentine Ford Road are due to be received by the County Clerk’s Office on Sept. 30 and scheduled to be opened by the Commission at its Oct. 7 session in Owensville City Hall.

Also set for the Oct. 7 session is a meeting with Kelly Sink of Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC). The planning agency is assisting Public Water Supply District 1 at the Peaceful Valley Lake community outside Owensville in applying for a Community Development Bloc Grant.

Sink also is heading MRPC’s efforts at administering Gasconade County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money. The county has received half of a $2.8-million allotment to help the county’s economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus. Sink might ask about the status of the county’s effort to identify priority projects to be funded with the ARPA money. She met with the Commission in recent weeks to offer more-detailed information on the use of the funds, but thus far county administrators have yet to identify any specific projects.