BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Stoddard County 911 Services Administrator Carol Moreland told the Stoddard County Commission Monday the Citizens Advisory Board has recommended the service ask for 3/16th of a percent sales tax to fund 911 service in the county with the issue to be on the April 2016 ballot.
Moreland said the County 911 Services Board voted at their Christmas meeting last week to proceed with placing the issue on the ballot next year.
The commission took no action on the request by Moreland at their regular meeting Monday. The commission has the authority to place the 911 tax issue on the ballot for voters to decide. If they do not vote to place it on the ballot, it would have to be done by petition.
Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis said the commission would put the issue on their Dec. 14 meeting agenda.
Moreland said the 3/16th of a percent sales tax would generate $520,000 per year.
"It is not a new tax, it is a replacement tax," Moreland told the commission. "We will drop the fee on land telephone lines if the sales tax passes."
The County 911 Services Board has been looking for several years at ways to increase revenue to pay for the service, after the number of land lines has steadily decreased due to cell phones. The county 911 service does not receive any revenue from cell phone users. Efforts to levy a fee on cell phones have been unsuccessful. Missouri is the only state without a tax for 911 service on cell phones.
Moreland said the board felt that the sales tax was the fairest, most dependable way to provide revenue to pay for the service.
Commissioner Danny Talkington asked how long the tax would remain in effect if passed by voters.
Moreland said it would remain in effect until something caused the revenue to not be needed.
Mathis asked who would prepare the ballot wording for the measure.
County Clerk Joe Watson said it would be up to the 911 Services Board to prepare the ballot wording for the tax measure.
Moreland said the advisory board was to meet in January to put together the ballot language for the proposed tax. She asked Watson the deadline for having the final wording to his office.
Watson said the deadline was Jan. 26, at which time it must be filed with the Secretary of State.
Commissioner Carol Jarrell noted that the tax issue has received considerable publicity, and asked Moreland what kind of feedback the board has received.
Moreland said there had been some "minor negativity" on some social media sites, but it has been minimal. She said most people she has spoken with personally have understood the need for more revenue to provide the essential county service.
Jarrell also asked if other counties had passed sales taxes to fund 911 service.
Moreland said all but 14 or 15 of the counties providing 911 service in the state have passed some form of tax increase instead of or in addition to the fee on land telephone lines.
Justice Center renovations
Architect Dale Rogers, representatives of Keifner Brothers Construction and County Building Superintendent William Dowdy met with the commission to discuss ongoing renovations at the Justice Center.
Rogers reported the foundation drains on the north side of the building had been flushed, repaired and were working well. He said there were still issues with the foundation drains on the south side of the building. He said there were some 90 degree angles that prevent inspection by camera, and also made it difficult to clean out the drains.
Dowdy said the only way to assure that the drains were working properly was to excavate down to them.
Mathis asked, "Can you dig them out?"
"Yes," responded Dowdy. "That's what we want to do."
Mathis asked if the drains were under concrete. Dowdy said he believed they were covered by dirt, but they wouldn't know until they began excavating.
All three commissioners agreed that the drains on the south side of the building needed to be excavated and cleaned so they were working properly.
Rogers said clean out valves would be installed so that they could be regularly maintained in the future.
Rogers said there had also been a problem with an underground conduit, and Keifner Brothers had repaired it. He said the repair would not last though, and that conduit needed to be brought above ground and tied into the main electric box.
Talkington told those present that the county wanted everything "done right." He said the commission didn't want to be addressing the same issues again in the near future.
Rogers said the county had a $3,430 credit because there was less excavation work required than anticipated along the north wall. He said work done by Langford Mechanical would be in addition to the work called for in the contract. Langford provided the water jets and cameras for the foundation drains. He said the county could save money by dealing directly with Langford for that work, and not have to pay Keifner a "mark up" for the work. The representatives of Keifner agreed and did not have a problem with the county dealing directly with Langford.
Rogers said he had looked into a billing from ESI to repair a fiber optic cable and wiring that was cut during project work. He said the labor cost was acceptable, but that he found the wiring material cost to be higher than projections. He said he contacted ESI and they reduced that charge, but added a freight charge for overnight shipping. Dowdy said there should not have been a freight charge because it was three days before the materials were delivered.
Mathis asked Keifner representatives to keep the commission informed about any problems they may discover during the renovations. He said the commission would be prompt in addressing any issues that were found.