HERMANN — The concern among Gasconade County government officials about the process of permitting and tax assessment of off-road vehicles apparently has been resolved by Sheriff Scott Eiler and County Assessor Paul Schulte.

After the matter was considered during last week’s session of the County Commission, it was determined that the biggest hurdle in the process — a needed change to the Assessor’s Office form used to list personal property items — could be corrected in time for the 2025 tax year.

It was estimated by county officials that the majority of the off-road vehicles — ATVs, UTVs, side-by-side cars and similar vehicles — are not voluntarily reported as part of the springtime assessment of personal property items. Officials place the value of some new off-road vehicles to be as much as several tens of thousands of dollars, which means the potential property tax amount could be several hundred dollars.

The Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department is responsible for issuing permits for off-road vehicles — a program started by the county’s former sheriff, John Romanus, as a way to track the many vehicles operating and sometimes damaging the county’s gravel roads. The fee to receive a permit is $15 per year.

After it was learned from the assessment form producer that a change could be made to the reporting document, communication between the Sheriff’s Department and the Assessor’s Office improved significantly. The sheriff noted to the Gasconade County Republican shortly after the conclusion of Thursday morning’s session that he and Schulte had resolved the issue. The forms will be amended; applicants will have to show the sheriff’s agency their vehicle has been reported for assessment; the sheriff will issue a permit.

If the vehicle comes into Gasconade County from another county, the information that would be gathered by the GCSD would be provided to the vehicle owner’s home county. It would be up to that county to place the vehicle on the person’s list of personal property items.

The permitting of off-road vehicles is not a significant source of revenue for the county. Indeed, Eiler told the Commission that the program last year generated between $3,200 and $3,500. The sheriff’s agency processes permit applications both at the main office in the courthouse and at the department substation in Swiss.