HERMANN — Gasconade County’s property tax rates will be lowered again, thanks to growth in the assessed valuation of real and personal property and the continued growth of revenue generated by the county’s General Fund sales tax.

The property tax rates have been trimmed at least slightly in recent years to reflect the increase in revenue from the sales tax. State law requires counties to roll back their property tax rates to avoid a windfall of revenue whenever there is strong sales tax growth and/or an increase in assessed valuations. The reduction in the property tax rate will be made this month after a public hearing on a proposed rate.

Unlike other government entities that levy a property tax, county government does not have the option of waiving a rollback, which would allow a county to keep all of the money resulting from higher property values.

“Of course, our (property) tax rate is (going) down because assessed value is up,” said County Clerk Lesa Lietzow at Thursday morning’s County Commission session.

Meanwhile, Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore, R-Owensville, presided over the session with Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel, R-Hermann, absent. Lairmore and Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, heard that the cities of Rosebud, Gasconade and Bland had returned their signed copies of the Intergovermental Agreement that will govern the distribution of up to 25 percent of the total revenue generated by the sales tax.

Officials of the two largest towns in the county, Owensville and Hermann, have voiced concern recently about the language of the Intergovernmental Agreement. In that document, it refers to the amount set aside for the municipalities to be “up to 25 percent” of the total amount generated by the tax. The Owensville Board of Aldermen reportedly will take up the matter at its Sept. 6 session. Hermann’s Board of Aldermen was scheduled to take up consideration of the Intergovernmental Agreement.

The remaining portion of the mile stretch of Stony Hill Road targeted to receive chip-and-seal should be finished this week, Holland said. 

The commissioner took the opportunity to express appreciation to the owners of Purdy’s Hall in Stony Hill for providing a staging area for the rock needed for the project.

Presumptive Presiding Commissioner-Elect Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, attended the session to become familiar with some of the issues he could be dealing with after he begins his four-year term as the county’s top administrator.