October 24, 2024, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

I attended the October 24, 2024, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

The first agenda item was “Maintenance Dept. budget amendment – $57,049.09.”

This amendment was signed to reflect a $57,049.09 change in the LEST (law enforcement) maintenance budget.

This budget amendment was approved unanimously by the Commission.

The second agenda item was “Ordinance to establish LEST II trust fund.”

(LEST stands for Law Enforcement Sales Tax. The original LEST-1 was a half-cent sales tax passed in 2007. Half of that tax money funded new construction for the county’s justice system. That part of the tax increase sunset after the construction bonds were paid off. The remaining quarter-cent sales tax stayed active as LEST-1 and was divided among the Sheriff’s Office, the Prosecuting Attorney, and the judicial operations.

LEST-2 was passed on August 3, 2021. This new quarter-cent sales tax goes solely to the Sheriff’s Office and was intended to raise salaries in the department and allow the department to hire more deputies.

These two quarter-cent sales taxes are projected in the 2024 Camden County Budget to generate $3.4 million each.)

According to Presiding Commissioner Skelton, he felt that LEST-2 should have been a separate fund along. The County Treasurer agreed that LEST-1 and LEST-2 funds should be separated. Apparently, since January 2022, the funds have been intermingled.

The Commission directed the County Attorney to meet with the County Auditor and other county officials and draft an ordinance to establish this LEST-2 trust fund.

The third agenda item was “Discuss possibility of establishing ordinance to allow UTVs to be driven on county roads.”

Current Missouri law allows UTV’s to be driven within 3 miles of your primary residence. Municipalities can make their own restrictions. Camden County forbids driving UTV’s on county roads.

Sheriff Helms stated that his deputies generally don’t worry about UTV usage if it’s for farming. However, if they see four kids riding around on a county road, they would enforce the restriction.

Presiding Commissioner Skelton asked the Sheriff to have someone in his office look into the requirements for what might be need to be included in any new ordinance regulating the use of UTV’s.

The final agenda item was “Discuss purchasing land adjacent to county property located at intersection of Hwy 7 and State Road J.”

Presiding Commissioner Skelton said that he had received a phone call from a woman whose mother had passed away. She owned a property near the intersection of Highway 7 and State Road J. The property was approximately 5 acres adjacent to a county-owned lot and had been appraised at $20,000. There was a discussion about whether the county might consider purchasing the lot and add it to its existing property since the location might prove useful for future Camden County Road and Bridge operations.

Nobody seemed particularly enthusiastic about the idea so the Commission tabled the matter for future consideration.

And that was that.