HERMANN – Gasconade County’s half-cent General Fund Sales Tax receipt for August rebounded strongly from the earlier two months’ payments – even though more than $15,000 was withheld by the state as the third and final refund payment of the sales tax applied to what was the only marijuana dispensary in the county.

County Treasurer Mike Feagan Thursday morning reported to the County Commission that the August General Fund Sales Tax reimbursement check from the Missouri Department of Revenue amounted to $111,980. That’s the second-largest monthly amount received this year and if the $15,000-plus that was withheld had been included, the August reimbursement would have been not only the largest amount received this year but the largest amount ever received, according to the year-by-year breakdown reported by the treasurer.

The General Fund provides the bulk of the money that pays for the various county government services and the day-to-day operations. Thus far this year, the General Fund Sales Tax has generated $821,973. That is $13,421 less than the sales tax produced during the first eight months of last year. However, this year’s receipts have been lessened by the three monthly withholdings to allow the refund of about $46,000 in sales taxes paid by CODES, the only marijuana dispensary to operate in the county until it relocated in the last two years to Jefferson City.

The refund was requested by the dispensary operator after a court ruled that a marijuana retailer was not subject to both a county sales tax and a municipal sales tax. The court agreed with the argument that the double taxation amounted to “stacking” and therefore was illegal. Missouri counties had been advised by the Department of Revenue that the state constitutional amendment that legalized recreational use of marijuana also allowed a county and a municipality to adopt a 3-cent sales tax, along with the state’s 6-cent sales tax.

Anticipating a challenge to the sales tax structure from the marijuana retailers, the County Commission set aside the sales tax in a separate line item in the county’s operating budget but did not use that money. When the ruling came down that retailers could seek a refund of the tax paid to a county, Feagan was able to avoid a major hit to the budget by arranging the withholding of one-third of the total amount from the monthly reimbursement checks for June, July and August.

The money that had been set aside has been made available for use in meeting operating expenses.

In 2025, the General Fund Sales Tax produced $1,240,668, the latest in a string of record-setting years.

Meanwhile, the county’s half-cent Law Enforcement Sales Tax (LEST) produced $90,865 for the August payment — the largest amount received since the tax was approved by voters in April 2022. The LEST thus far this year has produced $601,946 for the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department and $200,648 for the municipalities of Owensville, Hermann, Bland, Rosebud and Gasconade. Those municipalities receive a share of 25 percent of the total amount generated by the tax while the county receives a 75-percent share.

The county’s sixth municipality, Morrison, does not qualify for a share because it does not have a POST-certified law enforcement person. POST stands for Peace Officer Standards Training.

Last year, the LEST generated a total of $1,145,786 — $859,340 for the Sheriff’s Department and $286,446 for the five municipalities. You can see the breakdown of the monthly and year-to-date amounts going to the cities further in this story.

The county’s other major source of sales tax revenue is the Use Tax and for August this tax produced $60,518. While that amount is a significant drop from the $80,662 received in July, it’s still well ahead of the $52,978 received in August of last year.

The Use Tax is the sales tax applied to purchases made from out-of-state vendors and primarily involves online purchases. Gasconade County voters approved the tax in April 2021, which means this year is the fifth full year of collections. The Use Tax has provide to be a significant producer of revenue — and a much unexpected one, as well. County administrators did not know what to expect when the tax was approved and they’ve been pleasantly surprised with each year’s results. So far this year, the Use Tax has generated $467,122, an amount that is $68,367 ahead of the amount received during the same time period a year ago.

Last year, the tax generated a total of $611,768. That’s $42,000 more than was generated in 2024. The Use Tax is divided among three parts of county government: General Fund, Road & Bridge Fund and the Sheriff’s Department.

There is a portion of the 1.325-cent Use Tax that is dedicated to the county’s Enhanced-911 Program. Last year, that amounted to about $200,000.

Regarding the LEST allotments to the five municipalities, the figures for August and year-to-date show: Owensville — $13,932, $92,298; Hermann — $10,903, $72,233; Bland — $2,423, $16,051; Rosebud — $2,120, $14,045; Gasconade — $908, $6,018.