ROSEBUD — At first, there were two 911 programs in Missouri who challenged their counties’ governing bodies’ decision to stop allocating Use Tax revenue. Now, there are several other 911 programs joining the lawsuit aimed at reclaiming a share of Use Tax dollars.

But thanks to a good working relationship between Gasconade County government and the county’s Enhanced-911 Program, this county is not part of that legal scrap.

Indeed, Gasconade County E-911 Executive Director Michael Lockhart Wednesday morning said the agency is pleased with the working relationship with county government, which allocates a portion of its 1.375-cent Use Tax to the 911 agency. Last year, that amounted to $100,000 or more, Lockhart said.

In those other counties, the dispersal of Use Tax money stopped after the Missouri Department of Revenue issued a decision saying the Use Tax is a tax of a central county government, which can keep it all if administrators of a particular county so decide.

“We’re still not involved (in the legal action),” Lockhart said during the Jan. 14 monthly session of the 911 Board of Directors. “We’re perfectly happy with the way things are going with Gasconade County (government),” he added.

The feeling is mutual.

Members of the County Commission have publicly acknowledged the key role the 911 agency played in winning voter approval several years ago of the Use Tax — the sales tax applied to purchases made from out-of-state vendors, mostly those purchases made online. After failing at the polls in six previous votes, county government and the 911 agency joined to make the case one more time for the Use Tax at a time when online purchasing was exploding because of the coronavirus pandemic. In April of 2021, voters gave solid support for the proposed sales tax.

County officials, who agreed to allocate a portion of the tax to the 911 Program, initially estimated revenue no more than $200,000 from the tax. But it soon was clear the Use Tax would become a substantial source of revenue; last year, the tax generated more than $600,000.

In other matters taken up during the 911 directors’ session, it was noted that an April election will not be needed to fill the three seats scheduled for new terms. With only one candidate for each of the seats, the agency can avoid the cost of having an election. Avoiding an election will allow the agency to save several thousand dollars.

Board President Mike Mueller, chief of the Hermann Area Ambulance District, is the candidate for the at-large position, which is the president’s seat. Racheal Brinker, who was appointed late last year to Mueller’s Northern District seat when he was named by the board to succeed retiring longtime President Betty Estes, is the only candidate for the Northern District seat to be filled this April. Lisa Thacker, the former E-911 executive director, is the only candidate for the Southern District seat being vacated by Joyce Baxter, who is retiring after a long tenure on the 911 panel.

With Board Vice President Clyde Zelch presiding in the absence of Mueller, the board voted to amend the 2025 operating budget to reflect actual revenue and expense figures. It was reported that the agency saw higher-than-projected revenue and higher-than-estimated costs. The agency’s General Fund sales tax was down slightly but the Use Tax revenue was up for the year.

The board cleared its agenda in under a half-hour. Zelch is Gasconade County’s emergency management director and a professional welder. Afterwards, pointing to the short meeting, he quipped that he told the board he had a lot to do that day and needed to move through the agenda quickly.

The next 911 Board of Directors meeting is set for Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 9 a.m. in the agency’s offices in Rosebud.