HERMANN — Gasconade County government’s primary source of funding — the General Fund Sales Tax — topped $100,000 again in this month’s check, pushing the 7-month total to just shy of $700,000, putting the county in a good position to post a fourth consecutive record year for the tax.

County Treasurer Mike Feagan Thursday morning reported to the County Commission that the General Fund Sales Tax reimbursement check for July — mainly reflecting retail sales made during June — was for $100,718, pushing the total received during the first seven months to $699,559. The year-to-date total is running $27,515 ahead of the amount received in the first seven months of 2022.

“It’s a little bit better than last year,” Feagan said of the July check from the Missouri Department of Revenue. Last July’s reimbursement check was for $98,280.

After the county received a total amount of $1,006,640 in 2018, it saw the General Fund tax fall to $990,969 in 2019 — possibly reflecting a drop in sales as the COVID-19 pandemic began taking hold. However, the total climbed back over the $1-million mark in 2020, coming in at $1,037,402, and the sales tax topped that amount for the next two years — $1,122,323 in 2021 and $1,200,185 in 2023.

The year-over-year total could be expanded with another strong reimbursement check in August. In the past two years, the August checks have been especially large — $100,836 in 2021 and $112,574 in 2022. The August 2022 check is the second-largest monthly reimbursement received by the county, trailing only the $113,483 received in December of last year.

This month’s check is the fourth of the year that has topped the $100,000 mark.

Even more surprising for county government administrators is the amount of money received this month generated by the Use Tax, the sales tax applied to purchases made from out-of-state vendors. The July check was for $58,397, compared to the $13,622 received in July of last year. Feagan noted that this month’s amount is “the highest ever” monthly check received since the Use Tax became effective in October of 2021.

Indeed, the total amount received during the first seven months of this year already has topped last year’s 12-month total by about $20,000 — $255,214 so far this year compared to the 2022 total of $237,081.

With five months worth of checks yet to be received, county officials are looking at source of revenue that could produce at least $300,000 or more this year.

The amount received this month was more than twice the amount received just a month earlier. The June check was for $26,905.

When the Use Tax was presented to voters in April of 2021, having failed in six previous votes, county administrators were cautious in forecasting a possible receipt of $150,000 a year. After some surprising monthly checks last year, officials began talking about hitting the $200,000 mark from the new source of revenue.

Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, took a leap of faith and predicted the Use Tax could hit $300,000. Based on the figures so far, it appears he will be correct in his forecast.

The third sales tax being tracked monthly by the treasurer, the half-cent Law Enforcement Sales Tax, appears on its way to reaching the $1-million projection by year’s end. This month’s reimbursement check was for $70,419, down from June’s high mark of $76,324. This is the first full year of collection for the tax and in the first seven months it has produced $634,560.

That revenue is split 75 percent-25 percent with five of the county’s six municipalities. Of the total amount, $475,920 has gone to the county and $158,640 to the cities of Owensville, Hermann, Bland, Rosebud and Gasconade. Morrison does not receive a share because it does not have a certified law enforcement officer of its own, relying on the Sheriff’s Department for coverage. Here is what the five municipalities received this month and the total for the year, respectively: Owensville — $10,797, $72,974; Hermann — $8,450, $57,110; Bland — $1,877, $12,691; Rosebud — $1,643, $11,104; and Gasconade — $704, $4,759. The tax was approved by voters in April of 2022 and became effective in October. Dedicated to the sheriff’s agency, the county’s portion supplements the department’s operating budget. It appears to be especially important at the present time, according to County Clerk Lesa Lietzow.

“He’s (Sheriff Scott Eiler) had a hard month,” she said, explaining that the agency has been faced with a rising bill for inmates housed primarily in the Crawford County Jail but also in the Osage County Jail. Gasconade County contracts with those two counties to hold inmates awaiting trial.

Gasconade County is reimbursed by state government, but at a per-day amount less than the actual cost to county tax taxpayers. Gasconade County is charged about $32 a day per inmate and receives about $23 a day from the state.