OSAGE COUNTY — During the June 18 commission meeting, Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Peters moved to reduce the commission meetings to once a week, on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. until weekly business is concluded. Beginning June 23, the change will consolidate commission business into a single weekly meeting day, a schedule that is common among smaller counties.

Commissioners said Tuesday was selected in part to align with county payroll and bill-processing schedules.

• Presiding Circuit Judge Ryan Helfrich, Sheriff Michael Bonham, and Chief Deputy Travis Shaffer met with commissioners to begin discussions about deputy staffing levels and compensation. Helfrich said he approached the commission after speaking with Bonham about the issue and learning more about his role in approving deputy positions and pay. “Why don’t I just get in touch with the commissioners, and we’ll start talking about this issue, because it’s a budgetary issue, and it certainly warrants discussion,” Helfrich said, of his conversation with Bonham. He added that he wanted “to number one, introduce myself and answer any questions that you guys might have” and “kind of lay the groundwork for you all, about this budgetary issue that we’re going to have to address.”

Bonham said the discussion was being driven largely by increasing demands on the sheriff’s office. While crime remains low, he said calls for service have risen sharply. “The numbers are showing compared to last year to this year, our calls for service is 58-59% more than it was last year,” Bonham said. He said domestic incidents are driving many of those calls and noted that welfare checks have also increased significantly.

Bonham said staffing concerns extend beyond workload. He said the office has retained its upper level staff, but newer deputies have been more difficult to keep as costs rise and neighboring agencies offer higher wages. “We can’t compete with Cole (County), but we’ve got to be somewhat relative for our area, we’ve got to be competitive as well,” Bonham said.

He noted that new deputies require academy training, certification, and field training before they can patrol independently.

Shaffer said the increase in calls for service has led to more frequent instances where multiple emergency calls occur simultaneously. Recounting a recent shift, he said deputies responded to several domestic incidents and an injury accident at the same time. “What we’re seeing from an operational standpoint right now is an increase in what we call points of maximum saturation,” Shaffer said. “We are getting calls simultaneously at various parts of the county that outpace the labor that we have on hand.”

Shaffer said he previously conducted a staffing analysis using a model provided during Command College training. Based on the department’s call volume, he said the analysis indicated “about 12 to 14 deputies” would be needed to maintain a balance between responding to calls for service and conducting proactive patrols, traffic enforcement, and business checks throughout the county.

Helfrich and Bonham said they do not intend to seek an immediate increase to the 12 to 14 deputies identified in Shaffer’s staffing analysis. Instead, they said the meeting was intended to begin a long-term discussion about staffing needs and compensation as future budgets are developed. Helfrich said the goal is to maintain a balance between proactive law enforcement and simply reacting to calls as they come in. He noted that experienced deputies are often able to prevent problems before they escalate, while understaffed departments can become consumed with responding to incidents after they occur. Bonham added that retaining trained deputies is important not only because of recruitment and training costs, but also because experienced officers are more effective and efficient in serving the public.

• Elizabeth Thompson of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) met with commissioners to discuss the federal disaster declaration process and the requirements counties must meet to qualify for potential FEMA reimbursement following severe weather events. Thompson explained that once emergency response efforts are complete, damage assessments focus on the monetary impact to public infrastructure, emergency work, equipment use, overtime, and other disaster-related costs. She said Osage County’s current damage threshold for inclusion in a federal disaster declaration is approximately $64,111.

Thompson explained that damages throughout the county can contribute toward that threshold, including damages reported by agencies such as MoDOT and electric cooperatives. She said counties that meet their local threshold can be included in a request for a federal disaster declaration if Missouri as a whole reaches its statewide threshold of nearly $12 million in eligible damages. If that occurs, FEMA representatives conduct preliminary damage assessments before determining whether reimbursement assistance will be made available.

Commissioners expressed frustration with the complexity and length of the FEMA reimbursement process. Thompson acknowledged those concerns, telling them, “Unfortunately, it is a long drawn-out process.”

She said communities often complete recovery work long before reimbursement decisions are made and noted that “it is going to be months, if not years, until you get that reimbursement.”

Thompson cited recent examples in Camden and Morgan counties, each of which sustained more than $1 million in road damage, but were not eligible for reimbursement because statewide damage totals failed to reach the federal threshold.

Discussion also focused on FEMA’s 72-hour incident period and how successive storms are grouped for reporting purposes. Thompson clarified that counties do not have to submit all paperwork within 72 hours. Instead, she emphasized the importance of early communication when damages appear likely to exceed the county threshold. She encouraged county officials to provide preliminary estimates as quickly as possible so SEMA can begin tracking potential declaration requests and ensure affected communities are not overlooked.

When commissioners raised concerns that road crews are focused on reopening roads rather than documenting damage, Thompson said FEMA provides some flexibility. While photographs are helpful, she said documentation such as equipment usage records, gravel quantities, and repair records can also support claims. “We don’t want any of the paperwork to get in the way of providing for life, safety, and property preservation,” Thompson said. “Those are our ultimate goals.”

Before concluding her presentation, Thompson urged county officials to quickly compile damage estimates from future storms and provide them to Osage County 911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman as soon as possible. “That way, I can send it up to the recovery manager, and we can make sure to include Osage County going forward,” she said.

Following the meeting, Peters said preliminary estimates place damage to county roads, bridges, and low water crossings from the recent storms at just under $3,000,000.

• Employees from several county offices attended the June 18 commission meeting to ask questions about the county’s proposed paid time off (PTO) policy, which would combine vacation and sick leave into a single accrual system. Much of the discussion centered on calculations showing some employees would receive less total time off under the proposed formula than they currently receive through separate vacation and sick leave benefits. Assessor’s Office employee Vickie Huckstep said employees had been comparing the numbers and were concerned about losing accrued benefits.

Western District Commissioner Dale Logan acknowledged that the commission’s calculations failed to account for the county’s existing sick leave policy. “Where I dropped the ball was I did not realize that the county was giving every employee 12 days additional of sick leave,” Logan said. “Okay, so that’s my bad. So, we’re gonna fix it. Nobody’s gonna lose time.”

He said the PTO proposal was intended “to improve the benefits, not to degrade and take away from” employees and later added, “I should have done a better job.”

Logan said he believes the county should reevaluate the amount of sick leave provided to new employees. He noted that first-year employees can receive 12 sick days annually under the current policy and said he felt that amount was excessive. “That’s great for the employee, obviously, but I don’t think it’s good for the taxpayers,” Logan said. He suggested a future system could provide fewer sick days to newer employees while increasing benefits with longevity. However, he emphasized that any changes would require additional discussion and calculation.

Peters said he would not support reducing benefits already provided to county employees. “That’s what the county offers,” Peters said. “I’m not going to vote to take any of that away.”

Later in the discussion, he reiterated that any revised PTO formula must leave employees with at least as much total leave as they currently receive through the combined vacation and sick leave system.

Logan noted the commission planned to work with County Attorney Amanda Grellner to revise the accrual formulas before implementing the new policy. “Amanda is helping us as well,” Logan said, adding that he hoped to have revised formulas ready “the first part of next week.”

Commissioners repeatedly assured employees that accrued sick leave would not be forfeited. Logan said employees would retain any sick leave already earned, while Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin said existing sick leave balances would be frozen and remain available for use under the current rules. Logan stressed that the purpose of the proposal was to improve the county’s benefit package and simplify leave administration, not reduce employee benefits.

• Logan and Griffin also reported on a data center summit they attended the previous day. Logan said he went into the event strongly opposed to the idea of locating a data center in Osage County but left with a different perspective after hearing presentations from industry representatives and officials from communities that host the facilities.

“Up until yesterday, I was 100% against the data center in Osage County. I don’t feel that way anymore,” Logan said.

He said many of the concerns he had heard regarding noise, water consumption, and power usage were addressed during the summit. Logan added that speakers presented information he believed contradicted “a lot of false information” being circulated about data centers.

According to Logan, one of the most valuable parts of the summit was hearing directly from local officials in communities where data centers have already been built. “There was a whole lot more positive than there was negative,” he said.

Logan said the discussion changed his view of the industry and the potential benefits data centers can bring to local governments and school districts.

Although Logan said he does not believe Osage County is a likely location for a major data center because of infrastructure limitations, he acknowledged that he would view a proposal differently than he would have before attending the summit. “I tell you this much, if one did, I’d be a whole lot more open to that,” Logan said. He noted that communities hosting data centers have received significant revenues from the developments.

• Groundskeeper John Kennedy told commissioners he’d received flooring quotes for the expanded portion of the Recorder of Deeds’ office. Epoxy, he said, would cost $2,116 and carpet of the same type would be $973; however, the carpet would not be a perfect color match because the original color had been discontinued. Logan suggested replacing the floor in the entire office at one time, however concerns were raised about the amount of work and disruption involved in moving all the records in the existing office, and Peters said he had a hard time with removing good carpet. Griffin made a motion to put new carpet in the expanded portion only, which was approved unanimously.

• Logan said he had a meeting scheduled with Missouri Department of Transportation Director Ed Hassinger on June 22 to discuss the Highway 63 project. “We’re still trying to save our little town of Westphalia by keeping our south entrance,” Logan said.

The other commissioners also expressed concern about the project’s potential impact on Westphalia. Griffin said no one who had approached him about the proposal thought it was a good idea. Logan compared the design to something “a bunch of third-graders” had come up with, while Peters predicted the changes would have serious consequences for local businesses. “I think it’s going to be catastrophic,” Peters said.

• Peters said he is having trouble getting a hold of a landowner near Belle regarding work that needs to be done to modify the junction of two creeks outside the county’s right of way on CR 736, to keep the water from continuing to wash out the road. Peters said landowners are frustrated with the lack of progress, but the county’s hands are tied until the creek issue is resolved.

“It’s not a quick overnight fix,” Peters said. “The problem is it’s you’re talking about $100,000 plus in rock just to get that back to where it was at.”

Peters said he would continue trying to reach the man.

• Interim County Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer brought the commissioners each a questionnaire to fill out at the request of the financial auditors.

• Treasurer Valerie Prater presented commissioners with a procedure the auditors asked them to review, adjust as necessary, and put in place.

ROAD & BRIDGE

Road & Bridge Foreman Neil Mantle said their phones have been ringing off the hook regarding new road signs.

• Griffin said he’d received a call from someone in the Meta area saying the grass on CR 551 is hard to see over at the intersection with Hwy B.

• He also asked the other commissioners how they wanted to handle replacement of driveway culverts in the future.

• The June 9, 2026 to June 15, 2026 road report showed creek rock was hauled on CR 319 (388.13T) and CR 723 (224T); quarry rock on CR 621 (88.44T), 706 (82.83T), 708 (16.46), 711 (98.09T), 724 (68.99T), 726 (52.45T), 734 (123.62T), 735A (99.50T), 737 (156.62T), 740 (54.65T), and 801 (244.02T); culverts were replaced on CR 602 (19.28T placed at culvert site) & 726 (18.62T placed at culvert site); road work was done on CR 306, 501, 516, 713, 736, 741, and 801; trees were removed on CR 275, 412, 724, and 801; a slab was repaired on CR 516; brush mowers were working on CR 274, 275, 321, and 322; and grader operators were active as follows: G01 (424, 425, 431, 602, 604, 606, 714, 715), G03 (201, 201, 302, 401, 604, 609A, 621, 711, 712, 712, 802), G04 (622, 624, 634), G05 (702, 703, 704, 726, 734, 735, 735A, 737), and G06 (232, 233, 241, 243, 251, 252, 275).

• Service truck ST48 (2009 Ford F550) was serviced in house.

FINANCIAL

• Time sheets were approved by commissioners.