March 18, 2025, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

I attended the March 18, 2025, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

All commissioners were present.

Camden County EMA Director John Scheper and Mid County Fire Chief Scott Frandsen briefed the commission on the current state of the fires occurring throughout the county.

Per Missouri statute, the State Fire Marshal can declare that the conditions are appropriate for a fire ban which would allow the Commission to enact a temporary countywide fire ban.

Presiding Commissioner Skelton stated that the commission had previously declared a state of emergency because of the fires.

Chief Frandsen complimented Camden County on its mobilization of heavy equipment from Camden County Road and Bridge to help with the fire-fighting efforts. He also appreciated that the county provided access to the fire companies to refuel their vehicles at the Road and Bridge maintenance sheds. Chief Frandsen also commented that the majority of the fires that occurred during the emergency appeared to have been intentionally lit, but it is very difficult to investigate and definitively prove the cause to a legal standard.

The Commission voted unanimously to enact a burn ban that declared it unlawful to start or initiate a fire on property located in Camden County, Missouri until April 1, 2025. Violations of this ordinance could be prosecuted as a Class A misdemeanor.

The first agenda item was “Budget amendment for Purchasing Dept – $53.70 (reimbursement from MU Extension for supplies).”

This was approved unanimously and I wasn’t quite sure why such a small reimbursement would come before the Commission.

The second agenda item was “Review/adopt changes to Purchase Order policy in Accounting Policies/Procedures Manual.”

Purchases in excess of $12,000 have to comply with state requirements. The current county policy will require purchase orders for purchases of $3,000 or more.

The final agenda item was “Read/review/edit – Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual.”

Jennie Wall has been involved with a review of the county’s accounting and purchasing policy and she was present at this meeting. Wall pointed out to the commissioners that the county’s policies were great on paper, but that really didn’t count for much if the county wasn’t following the policy.

She observed that the county is still not providing requests for bids that are specific enough about the bid requirements/parameters and as a result, the bids the county receives vary wildly from each other. More specificity would produce bids that could be weighed fairly against each other and more easily compared. Wall also proposed that Camden County would benefit from upgrading the purchasing clerk to a purchasing agent with the increased responsibility and authority that would be attached to the new position.

The commissioners seemed receptive to Jennie’s suggestions and hopefully this long process of reviewing and establishing a single county accounting policy will bear fruit.

It’s not easy to change decades of common practice and culture, but they need to start somewhere. It gets to a point where it’s just not good enough to say, “At least it’s better than it used to be.”

And that was that.