HERMANN — For the third straight year, Gasconade County’s General Fund Sales Tax produced more than $100,000 to start a new fiscal year, laying the foundation for what might be another record amount of revenue.

County Treasurer Mike Feagan Thursday morning noted that the January reimbursement check of $103,452 was about $1,600 less than the January check in 2023.

“Still not bad,” Feagan said during last week’s regular session of the County Commission. Last year’s January check was in the amount of $105,122 while the January check in 2022 was for $106,177.

But the General Fund Sales Tax revenue wasn’t the most exciting fiscal news for county government officials.

The Use Tax check this month is one of the largest monthly reimbursements received since the tax first was collected in October of 2021. This month’s Use Tax check came in at $46,926 — an amount that Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville, confirms that county residents continue to use online shopping, a practice that increased tremendously during the coronavirus pandemic and which, apparently, hasn’t slowed much in the two years since the pandemic largely was declared over.

County government’s operating budget for this year received a major boost from the Use Tax, which generated $535,723 in 2023, more than $200,000 above the most optimistic estimate offered by county officials. That money helped push the county’s beginning balance this year to about $1.8 million, an unprecedented level of available funds with which to begin an annual budget process.

Likewise, the county’s half-cent Law Enforcement Sales Tax (LEST) posted a strong start to 2024.

This month’s reimbursement check from the Missouri Department of Revenue is for $97,339. Of that, county government receives $73,019 while the five municipalities that participate in the revenue-sharing program received a total of $24,339.

Here’s the amount each of the five cities received this month as their share of the 25-percent of the LEST: Owensville – $11,106; Hermann – $8,762; Bland – $1,947; Rosebud – $1,703; Gasconade – $730. The money is allocated according to population with Owensville receiving 46 percent of the cities’ set-aside; Hermann receiving 36 percent; Bland receiving 8 percent; Rosebudy receiving 7 percent; and Gasconade receiving 3 percent.

Meanwhile, county officials finally are getting a glimpse of what local government might be receiving from the sales tax on the sale of marijuana at the county’s single retailer, located in Hermann. Feagan reported that the county received a check for $3,122 from the 3-percent sales tax adopted by county voters in the wake of statewide approval of Amendment 3, which legalized the sale of marijuana.

However, county officials still don’t know if the sales tax payments to the state will be made monthly, quarterly or yearly.

In other matters, Monday might have been a holiday for government workers and local schools, it was a work day for Franklin County Construction, the contractor building the shaft for the installation of an elevator in the courthouse. The New Haven company was scheduled to take advantage of an empty building Monday and get a chunk of work done without disrupting county government offices.

And, just as the front (south) entrance to the courthouse has reopened in recent days with completion of outdoor restoration work, county administrators heard from County Clerk Lesa Lietzow that elevator work near the front entrance might prompt another move of the security screening equipment to the north-side door for about a week. The elevator work also might affect the scheduled Emergency Operations Center response plan drill on Feb. 13. But to what extent, if any, won’t be known until closer to the date of the mandatory exercise.