HERMANN — With the looming implications of Senate Bill 3 and a growing dissatisfaction with the statewide body that represents county government, Gasconade County officials are looking to directly make their case with Missouri state legislators and the executive branch.

The decision to amplify their collective county government voices was agreed to during Thursday morning’s session of the County Commission. Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, suggested that county officeholders not rely solely on their various statewide associations to express the officials’ interests and concerns regarding state government and its relation to county government.

County government’s primary voice in the state capitol comes through the Missouri Association of Counties (MAC). But that organization has drawn some criticism in the past couple years from county leaders throughout Missouri, including Schulte, resulting essentially from a lack of information regarding two laws of importance to counties: Senate Bill 190, adopted two years ago, and Senate Bill 3, approved and signed into law this year. Both bills aim to give property tax relief, but they carry a big expense to county governments in terms of implementing the programs and to the various property tax-dependent on public subdivisions in terms of potential lost revenue.

Gasconade County government officials were having the discussion about directly expressing their concerns only days after returning from MAC’s annual conference at the Lake of the Ozarks. Prior to the conference, local officials had said they hoped to gain a better understanding of the controversial Senate Bill 3 (which appears to have replaced Senate Bill 190), which is set for the April 7 ballot.

Schulte Thursday morning told the Gasconade County Republican that SB3 indeed was discussed at length by those attending the conference, but not much new was learned about the impact of the law on local governments. County officials throughout the state are continuing to take a wait-and-see position regarding the program in light of a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the law, which, among other things, treats Missouri’s 114 counties differently regarding the growth in property value.

Schulte said local officials should have a greater presence in Jefferson City “to advocate for Gasconade County. I think it would be good if we as a county went up there,” he said. Making a personal visit with legislators and executive-branch officials might have a greater impact than leaving it to MAC and the individual associations of the various offices of county government.

County Assessor Julia Baker, who has been researching the potential impact of SB3 on local agencies, agreed with Schulte.

“We have to do more to bridge” the connection between the state level and the local level, she said.

In other matters, the Commission unanimously agreed to include the County Coroner’s Office in the county’s Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS).

“I’m on board to give you LAGERS like all the other officials,” said Schulte to Coroner Jeff Arnold, who was attending the Commission session.

During a meeting of the county’s Salary Commission, Arnold and Public Administrator Kelley Brehe-Thomas fell short in their effort to have their salaries increased. According to Salary Commission Chairman Mary E. Weston, the county’s prosecuting attorney, the state law governing the Salary Commission was clear in that the panel could not grant a mid-term pay raise. Arnold and Brehe-Thomas are in the middle of their 4-year terms and will not be eligible for a pay increase until their offices’ new terms begin Jan. 1, 2029.

As for the reason why the Coroner’s Office has not been included in the county’s LAGERS contribution plan, it was decided several years ago by the County Commission that the part-time office would not be treated the same as the full-time offices. In addition to receiving a LAGERS contribution, the Coroner’s Office also is part of the county’s CERF (County Employee Retirement Fund), which is another program aimed at supplementing the retirement income from LAGERS.