I attended the October 3, 2022 Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.
Commissioners Hasty and Williams were present.
The meeting was held in the conference room of the Commission Annex Building. There were two people present besides the usual Camden County employees who attend.
The only agenda item was a road petition to vacate a small portion of a county road easement that is on private property at 665 Coelleda School Road. A gentleman was present on behalf of the petitioner who owns the property and lives out of the area. He wanted to vacate the easement to make it easier for her to sell the property.
Since the property is not in a subdivision outside of a city, the petition would require the signatures of 12 property owners who reside in Russell Township. Commissioner Hasty stated that the petition was not the correct petition for this type of property and it needed to be re-submitted on the proper petition form.
Commissioner Hasty also said the petition will need a legal description and a new survey. Missouri statutes mandate that legal descriptions require surveys.
The commission voted unanimously to table the road petition pending a survey and an amended petition.
There was a closed session listed on the agenda, but Commissioner Hasty explained they were not going to have that closed session. Instead, he discussed what occurred at the emergency closed session the Commission held last Friday.
The Horseshoe Bend Special Road District and the Osage Beach Special Road District have been complaining about the irregular and inconsistent manner in which they have been receiving their share of revenue from the Camden County Collector. They have requested that a forensic audit be conducted on the Camden County Collector’s Office.
At the emergency meeting on Friday, the Commission unanimously directed the Camden County Auditor to find an accounting firm to audit the Collector’s Office. The Commission also sent a letter to the Collector notifying her of their decision. They intend to give the road districts an opportunity to provide input on who is selected to conduct the forensic audit.
Commissioner Williams asked the Collector if she has been complying with the guidance Camden County received from their state audit in 2018. She said that her office has been following the procedures suggested in that audit. The general tone of the discussion was positive and Commissioners Williams and Hasty seemed confident that the audit would not discover any issues of concern. They have both mentioned at several meetings that Camden County has passed its last two self-imposed audits with flying colors so it will be interesting to see what comes out of all of this.
For those that don’t know what the Collector does, the main responsibility of the Collector is collecting current and delinquent personal property and real estate taxes. The Collector then distributes these funds to the various entities and political subdivisions within the county which have an authorized property tax levy.
One of the County Auditor’s main jobs is to audit the accounts of all officers of the county annually or upon their retirement from office. It’s literally in the title. Hmmm.
It’s never a boring day in Camden County!
And that was that.
On a side note, I heard an interesting turn of phrase during the meeting: “Licking the calf over again.” I have never heard that used before, but I think I’m going to add it to my vocabulary.
And considering this meeting, it is very appropriate.
Among the Dogwoods 