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Osage Ambulance District Administrator Josh Krull and County Clerk Nicci Kammerich are teaming up to figure out what happened in last Tuesday’s special election as there were some issues with voting eligibility. 

 

“We were contacted on election day by some voters living in the proposed annex area who were unable cast a ballot, and became aware that some others, who live outside the proposed area, were able to vote,” said Krull, who questions the accuracy of the end result, which saw OAD’s proposed annexation in the southern part of the county voted down by residents 37-22.

 

Early indications after reviewing records from the County Clerk's office show at least 376 people may have been incorrectly listed as eligible to vote, and others were excluded that should have been eligible. 

 

Kammerich explained the issue arose because voter information had not been updated. “When I had asked for all the voters for this annexation, I only got a list of voters in the COMM-Unity Ambulance District sent to me by the district, and not all of the voters,” she noted. “I pulled the Osage Ambulance District voters in my database and added them to the partial list I had received. We had found out during the election that some people who are not in the Osage Ambulance District had voted. When I had checked my database on MCVR, they were listed under OAD.”

This was the first annexation-related election undertaken together, so Kammerich and Krull were in uncharted territory. “This was all new to us, and after discovering issues and contacting the sources of these issues and what to do, that is when I was told that each political subdivision should be sending us a list annually or during the final certification before that election,” Kammerich explained.

“We are working with the county to figure out what happened,” Krull said. 

 

Kammerich added that during an audit log on the district, she noticed no new information had been provided to the clerk’s office since 2007. “All political subdivisions should provide a service list of all people in the district so we can update our database on an annual basis, but unfortunately, I have had only two districts send me updated lists in the last four years,” said Kammerich. “To fix this, we are working with OAD and the Collector's office to get tax receipts so we know who can vote on what. I will also be reaching out to all other political subdivisions to make sure they are aware to update their information with us on an annual basis.”

 

Kammerich wants residents to know what to look for on their voter registration cards. “When they receive a card in the mail, they should look at the bottom of the card that shows their election districts,” she said. “If something does not look right, please contact the office so we can look into it.”

 

Until annexation is resolved, Krull said OAD has a moral and ethical obligation to provide ambulance response in the area, but he would like to make it something more. “In addition to doing the right thing, we must be fair to our existing district residents and establish the legal obligation to cover the area,” he explained. “If we are responding to a call near Folk and someone in Chamois has a medical emergency, we have to justify that response as being in our district.”

 

Krull is also seeking legal advice and plans to speak with OAD board members at their meeting today (Wednesday) to determine the next step. 

Kammerich said the OAD board may accept or reject the results, adding that because of the issues in this election, the ambulance district may have a solution. “They would be able to run another election as long as they have a new order signed by the county commission approving them to run it again,” she said.

 

In other election news, Freeburg voters approved a $4 million bond issue for wastewater system improvements. According to Bartlett & West engineers, the sewer project will cost $2.4 million, meaning the village would have adequate funding available.

 

Mayor Scott Knoll expressed his appreciation. “We would like to thank everyone who came out to vote and help pass the bond issue,” he said. “The margin at which it passed was impressive! This bond will helps us minimize costs as much as possible on the improvements needed to the combined waterworks and sewerage system of Freeburg.”

 

Additional funding may come from other sources. Freeburg has already applied for a loan through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) State Revolving Loan Program. There is potential for grant funding with this program as well.

 

Bartlett & West is also looking into other potential state and federal grants, including alternatives with DNR, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Community Block Development Grants (CBDG), and other public funding programs. All these programs require bond issue passage to be eligible for grant funding.

 

At a recent town hall meeting, Bartlett & West presented various scenarios regarding how different funding sources might impact customer sewer rates. The increased sewer rates are based on an average monthly sewer usage of 5,000 gallons. Monthly sewer rates are $13.50 per month per 5,000 gallons of use. With passage, the village can secure a low-interest loan and grants, and the proposed flat sewer rate for 5,000 gallons would range from $13.50 to $66.40 monthly.

 

A measure by Osage County Public Water Supply District #3, based on CR 305 in Linn, to annex contiguous property won by a count of 8-6.

 

Last week's special election saw 118 ballots cast from a pool of 7,633 registered voters.