HERMANN — Now we wait.

With all the necessary paperwork in hand, law enforcement agencies in Gasconade County have moved into the wait-and-see mode regarding the new sales tax that became effective Saturday for county and municipal police agencies.

The countywide half-cent sales tax for law enforcement will be shared with five of the county’s municipalities on a 75 percent-25 percent basis. Based on the amount raised by the county’s General Revenue Fund half-cent sales tax, the law enforcement sales tax is estimated to raise about $1 million a year.

The portion that will be divided among Owensville, Hermann, Rosebud, Bland and Gasconade will be allocated according to the cities’ populations.

County officials don’t expect any significant law enforcement sales tax reimbursement checks from the state until after the first of 2023. Indeed, the first reimbursement check for the county’s new use tax was for little more than a dollar. The slow start is likely because it’s expected that businesses might be slow in working the new sales tax into their myriad of state, county and local sales taxes that are applied to retail sales.

In an effort to kick start the collection process, Gasconade County Clerk Lesa Lietzow Thursday morning told the County Commission that businesses have been notified of the new sales tax. The law enforcement sales tax was approved in April after being rejected just a few years ago after being proposed by then-Sheriff John Romanus. The difference in voter outcome in this year’s election is that incumbent Sheriff Scott Eiler proposed sharing the revenue with the county’s municipalities, instead of keeping all of the sales tax money for the Sheriff’s Department, as Romanus had proposed.

There are six municipalities within Gasconade County; however, only five employ at least one certified law enforcement officer. Morrison does not and is not eligible to take part in the revenue-sharing program.

Also on the law enforcement front, Eiler was given the green light Thursday morning to switch brands if necessary in order to get new vehicles into the Sheriff’s Department fleet. The county has preferred to use Ford vehicles for the department, but ongoing supply-chain issues is making for lengthy waits — not just for the sheriff’s agency but other public-service agencies, also. 

And while county administrators prefer ordering from the local dealers — in this case, Hermann Ford — the delay in receiving vehicles might mean going outside the county’s boundaries to place orders.

“Do what you have to do for the county,” said Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, to Eiler. “Get on a waiting list, fine; go to GM (General Motors), fine. You need to get new rubber on the road.”

Regarding the roads that will be patrolled by the department’s new vehicles, county officials are hoping for a break in the dry weather. “We need some rain,” said Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville. “It’s really dry again.”

Moisture in the ground makes it easier to grade county roads.

Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, said the county learned that a designated funding source for bridge projects can be used for county road repairs associated with a recent bridge-replacement project on Valentine Ford Road. Final efforts to repair damage from a rushing water that damaged the road near the bridge were scheduled to be made in recent days, Holland said. There had been some questions by county officials as to whether BRO (Bridge Rehabilitation Off-system) funds could be used for the repairs or if the county would need to dip into regular road-maintenance money.

In other matters, county administrators meeting tomorrow morning at Owensville City Hall could decide what to do about the proposed study for an elevator in the courthouse. So far, the Commission has held off on moving ahead with a proposal from consulting engineers Archer-Elgin because of the cost. Holland, who is concerned about spending money on a study, has been in contact with elevator companies in Metro St. Louis and has asked for a presentation to be made to administrators.

“I’ll see if (a representative) can come to Owensville next week,” Holland said at last week’s session.

Miskel said that’s fine, but he’s not willing to wait much longer to decide to act — considering the number of requests pending for a share of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, the source of the funding for an elevator at the courthouse. The Commission is tentatively scheduled to meet with Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) staffers early this month to consider the more-than-a-dozen applications for some of the second round of allocation of the ARPA money.

The Commissioners can’t act on the requests until they know how much will be needed for the elevator, Miskel said. He said if an elevator company representative can’t attend tomorrow’s session, the county should be prepared to move forward with the Archer-Elgin proposal.

County employees will be able to take part in health screenings at the courthouse Friday, Lietzow noted. The screenings will be provided by Gasconade County Health Department staffers.