HERMANN – A leading proponent of a ballot issue that would grant tax credits to homeowners 62 and older says the Gasconade County Commission should respect the intent of state legislators and designate 2024 as the base year for calculating tax credits.

“I think the county ought to adhere” to the legislative intent in Senate Bill 190, said Cheryl Bohl, a leading proponent of Senate Bill 190, which was passed and signed into law in 2024. The law’s implementation could happen in one of two ways: Adoption of ordinance by the county’s governing body or by approval of a county’s voters.

Some counties with ordinance-making authority, such as Franklin County, a 1st-Class county, put the tax-credit program in place. Third-Class counties, such as Gasconade County, do not have ordinance-making authority and is presenting the implementation of SB 190 before voters next month.

SB 190 has not been put before voters until now because in this year’s Missouri General Assembly session lawmakers adopted and Gov. Mike Kehoe signed SB 3, which extends the tax credit to all homeowners, regardless of age. It also treats the state’s various counties differently regarding the amount of growth in property values. Because of that, a group of counties filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of SB 3.

County officials were reluctant to order SB 190 onto a ballot until the issue of SB 3 has been settled. A trial on the legality of SB 3 has been held but the circuit judge hearing the case has yet to issue a ruling, which is widely expected to be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court.

That same concern – that SB 3 would supersede SB 190 – is behind the commission’s reluctance to set a base year for figuring the property tax credits. In recent months, County Assessor Julia Baker, point person on monitoring the status of SB 3, has been calling on the commission to designate a base year to allow her office and the County Collector’s Office to get a head start on what is widely expected to be approved by the voters. Those are the two county government offices most directly affected by the tax-credit process.

Baker recently told the commission that of the counties she has spoken with that have set a base year, 2024 appears to be the preferred year to use to calculate the credits. There has been talk of the base year being the year in which a property owner applies for the credit, such as 2027 when SB 190 would become effective, if passed by voters. Bohl argued against that option.

“I would not agree to it being applied to 2027. That was suggested by a superintendent,” she added, referring to a comment at the previous commission session by Gasconade County R-1 Superintendent Geoff Neill.

Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, maintained his belief the county should sit tight and await the final decision on SB 3 before moving forward.

“As a commission, why would we want to jump the gun?” he asked.

The discussion ended with the question of the base year, and other questions related to the tax-credit program, yet to be answered.

In other matters, the commission got a clear picture from the county’s monthly bank balance sheet of just how busy the Road Department has been since the beginning of the year in making repairs to roads damaged by a series of heavy rains that have hit the region. County Treasurer Mike Feagan pointed out that the Road & Bridge line item in the account shows a balance at the end of September of $526,675, compared to a balance of $291,209 at this time last year.

“Any theories on this?” presiding commissioner asked the treasurer.

“We’ve spent more on equipment and materials,” Feagan replied.

While the Road Department has been pressed to dig deep into its operating funds, other departments have been able to be more frugal. Feagan pointed out that overall the county’s bank balance is significantly stronger than it was this time a year ago, $5,189,140 to $4,974,362.

Circuit Clerk & Recorder of Deeds Jennifer Schneider told the commission that her office hosted students in a high school history class that visited the courthouse to learn about the county’s past.

“We gave them a lot of history information,” she said. A similar visit by next semester’s history class is anticipated, she added.