HERMANN — While some Gasconade County government officials feared the light at the end of the financial tunnel might be a runaway freight train, others, such as Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore of Owensville, was less skeptical.

“You’ve got to be optimistic,” he said during a recent Commission session.

On Thursday morning, Lairmore’s optimism paid off.

Strong retails in November pushed the county’s General Fund sales tax revenue to a level that was unimaginable when this year began — well past the $1-million mark.

Indeed, the $103,504 sales  tax reimbursement payment from state government pushed the county’s year-end total to $1,037,402. That’s $19,000 more than the $1.016 million projected in this year’s operating budget — an amount that through most of the year all county officials seriously doubted could be achieved.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic —or, perhaps, because of it — Gasconade County’s General Fund will be much more secure as county officials cobble together the 2021 operating budget. Crafting this year’s spending blueprint was an arduous task, considering that the General Fund began the year with a mere $22,000 balance.

County Treasurer Mike Feagan said the strong finish for the sales tax poses somewhat of a dilemma for budget-makers. “It makes it hard to forecast for next year, because is this thing going to change?” Feagan asked during last week’s Commission meeting.

County administrators’ concern about a painfully tight budget at year’s end began at the very beginning with the January reimbursement check, which was $12,000 below the amount received in January of 2019 — a year in which the county received $990,000 after seeing the sales tax revenue break the $1-million mark in 2018.

This year’s February check was only $2,000 more than the February 2019 check and the amount received this March was $12,000 less than the amount received in March of last year, all of which only increased county officials’ skepticism of even coming close to the $1 million received in 2018.

The $103,504 received in November is the largest monthly amount received this year. The General Fund finances the bulk of county government operations, from salaries and benefits for employees to vehicles and office equipment to paying monthly bills and purchasing insurance coverage.

The good news regarding sales tax revenue came the same day the Commission received a pair of budget requests from outside agencies.

Lydia Nipper of the county’s University Extension Center presented that organization’s 2021 budget request of about $57,825. Last year’s request was for $57,000. Nipper noted that after Extension shortened its hours because of the coronavirus in recent months it has returned to a full-time status with the addition of two part-time employees to fill the post of a longtime employee who retired.

She also said the local Extension Council this year will be conducting its election of members online as a way to save funds.

Kristy Goss presented the Gasconade County Historical Society’s budget request of $17,000, which is $500 more than it requested for this year.

“2020, obviously, has been an unusual year for us,” Goss told the Commission.

As of last Thursday, the Society’s Archives Center in Hermann had registered only 224 visitors. However, she said, the amount of hours donated by volunteers working on the Center’s records has remained consistent with previous years.

The funds requested for 2021 will be used mainly to pay two research assistants.

“They are the ones who mostly interact with the people who come in,” Goss said, adding that the budget increase would be used to cover “a little bump” in the hourly wage to $11.50 to keep up with the state’s minimum wage boost.

Lairmore and Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland of Hermann, as well as Feagan, urged the Historical Society to apply for CARES Act funds to cover the cost of a badly needed microfilm reader. “I would make an application,” said Feagan.

Even though Thursday was the deadline set by the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) to submit applications for CARES Act money, the elected officials strongly urged Goss to contact the planning agency about applying, saying they felt a microfilm reader would be a legitimate use of the money.

“It covers a whole gamut of things,” Holland said of the funding.

Goss said she would contact MRPC. “I’ll take whatever money they can give us,” she said.

Lairmore cautioned Goss about getting too excited. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to get it,” he said, adding that “it’s not a guarantee.”

Lois Kruse said the Society is looking to expand by having an architect conduct preliminary work on an addition to the Archives Center. “We’re going to need more space,” she said, noting that some of the Center’s parking space might be needed for what is anticipated to be a two-story addition. The community should have an idea of what’s being considered in the coming weeks, Goss said. “This year we’re going to have a drawing” of an addition, she said.

Meanwhile, Kruse said, because of the virus, the Archives Center is open by appointment. “So we can control the number of people,” she said.

Lairmore and Holland heard the budget requests and relayed the information later in the morning to Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel of Hermann. Miskel was unavailable to hear the budget requests because he was attending Gasconade County R-1 School District’s Govermental Relations Day event.