HERMANN – Gasconade County government officials project spending $4,810,363 in General Revenue Fund money to provide services to the nearly-15,000 residents during the course of this year.

Much more than that will actually be spent by county government, but the General Revenue Fund is the source of money provided by county taxpayers, both through the property taxes and sales taxes. It is the fund that finances the bulk of county services. Other funds include essentially pass-through money, such as grants, that come into the county and goes back out for specific projects.

The 2026 operating budget was adopted Jan. 29 by the County Commission. Third-class counties have until the end of January to put in place a spending blueprint for that calendar year. According to the budget, the total amount of money across all funds available to use this year is projected to be $13,724,374.

The year-end balance is projected to be $2,130,269, which includes $351,120 estimated to be needed for early-2027 operations.

The Gasconade County Road Department projects spending $4.3 million this year and finish the year with a balance of $58,177. The road agency is responsible for maintaining more than 400 miles of roadway contained in the network of more than 200 county roads.

County Clerk Lesa Lietzow, the chief budget officer, noted in her annual budget message that revenue generated by the General Fund Sales Tax and the Use Tax “were right on track as budgeted.” The Use Tax has become a significant source of revenue, generated more than $600,000 last year. The Use Tax is the sales tax that’s applied to purchases made from out-of-state vendors, mostly those made online.

The Use Tax — 1.325 cents on the dollar — provided a portion of funding to the Gasconade County Enhanced-911 Program. The bulk of the Use Tax for the second consecutive year will be divided between the General Revenue Fund, the Road Department and the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department.

Lietzow noted an upcoming change in county government structure that affects this budget and future budgets.

“The biggest change within the General Revenue budget was the splitting of the Recorder of Deeds from the Circuit Clerk; while the newly-elected officials won’t take office until January 1, 2027, there is a lot of preparatory expense during this year so the office will be fully functional on Day One,” the county clerk said.

The splitting of the Circuit Clerk & Recorder of Deeds Office was made official last year by the County Commission. The county’s first recorder of deeds will be elected in this November’s General Elections. The recorder of deeds will be a county government employee, whereas the circuit clerk is a state government employee although the officeholder is elected by county voters.

The clerk, who is retiring at the end of her current term Dec. 31, also pointed out the capital murder trial held recently for the man convicted of killing one Hermann policeman and severely wounding a second in 2023 will impact this year’s operating budget. Even though the trial was held in Franklin County, it is a Gasconade County case. That means Gasconade County is responsible for paying all the costs associated with the trial. This year’s operating budget contains $261,000 to cover trial costs.

This is the last county budget with which Lietzow will be involved. She talked about that to close out the 2026 budget message.

“It always feels good to reach the end of the budget process for another year, but this time feels especially ‘sweet’ since it’s my last one,” she wrote. “While budget work is a long, sometimes painful process, the elected officials and department heads do all they can to make it go as smooth as possible, which is so appreciated. This year of 2026 will end with significant changes into 2027, more than usual, and I like to think that the future of Gasconade County government looks bright,” she said.