HERMANN — Faced with a sharply increased estimated cost for providing security this year at the Gasconade County Fair, leaders of county government and the city of Owensville are scheduled to talk more about security funding during the County Commission’s Feb. 5 session at Owensville City Hall.

Owensville Mayor Kevin McFadden and City Administrator Randy Blaske raised the issue of Fair security funding Thursday morning during the Commission’s regular weekly session in the courthouse. The city officials noted that the Fair Board had a cost of about $10,000 this year for security provided by the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department.

“Well, this year it’s $26,000,” said Blaske, referring to a cost estimate from Sheriff Scott Eiler.

Historically, the Sheriff’s Department provides security inside the Fair’s gates while the Owensville Police Department provides security outside the fences. McFadden told the Commission that the city has never billed the Fair organization for its costs associated with security.

“We just took that (cost) on,” he said.

The increase in projected cost by the Sheriff’s Department, city officials said, appears to reflect the difficulty the agency has in finding enough active-duty and reserve deputies — along with any law enforcement officers from other agencies — to work the Fair. One problem is that the Gasconade County Fair takes place during a period of heavy county fair activity throughout the region and law enforcement personnel that might be available to work the local Fair are signing on to work at other fairs that offer higher pay.

A significant increase security cost could work a hardship on the Gasconade County Fair, which in some years does not make much money. For instance, if the event is hit by bad weather — either rainy days or extreme heat, which has been the case in recent years — city officials said the ending profit might only be $1,000.

One option for security during the four-day event appears to lie in a plan crafted by Owensville Marshall Scott Griffith. He proposed a security plan with a cost of $21,000. That plan could be a focus of the Feb. 5 Commission session.

Blaske and McFadden used Thursday’s Commission meeting to dispel a belief that the fair gives Owensville a big boost in terms of sales tax revenue. Indeed, the mayor said Owensville Walmart Manager Glenn Ely told him that he does not see an appreciable increase in sales from traffic generated by the fair.

“The fair does not spike the city’s sales tax,” Blaske said.

There also might be an issue, at least with some members of the Fair Board, of the size of the security detail. The city officials said some Fair Board members have expressed a concern that the security detail might be larger than is actually needed.

For county government administrators the issue might be one of the county helping pay for the cost of security. If the county does provide a portion of the expense, it would have to be included in the county’s operating budget, which is scheduled to be approved at next week’s Commission meeting. A decision to contribute to the cost might require an amendment to the newly adopted budget.