MARIES COUNTY — The Maries County Emergency Services Board (MCESB) on May 15 approved pursuing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the county to keep the dispatchers as county employees during the transition period.

The board reviewed how to prevent benefits from lapsing during the transition, especially with funding less than initially expected. The county commissioners joined the board’s meeting at the courthouse to provide their perspective.

While the MOU still needs to be drafted, the board agreed that starting July 1, it would reimburse the county for employment costs, including salaries, compensatory time, FICA taxes and benefits. This would allow MCESB to keep its dispatchers on the county insurance rate while they figure out benefits.

The commissioners agreed that the MOU was the best option.

“I think we have to. We need 911. We have to keep funding it,” said Vic Stratman, presiding commissioner.

The board plans to eventually make the dispatchers MCESB employees and remove the center from the courthouse in the next six to 12 months. The cost of biweekly payroll per pay period is about $7,700 before FICA, insurance and worker’s compensation.

When voters approved the board’s creation in November 2025, a 1-percent sales tax replaced the 15-percent landline tax.

Under Missouri law, when a new sales tax is passed, the government body is supposed to notify the Department of Revenue (DOR) so that the tax will become effective the following quarter. However, because the DOR did not properly process the paperwork to begin collection on April 1, the sales tax started on May 1 instead.

Since the county only funded the board through June, this one-month delay has left the board to resolve how to keep dispatching services funded through July.

Funds are not expected to begin distribution from the DOR until August and September. Businesses report sales taxes annually, quarterly or monthly. If a business reports monthly, then May sales taxes will be due in June. DOR will process the payment in July and distribute it to the MCESB in August.

Allan Pollreisz, western district board member, expressed concern about the county’s planning being “shortsighted” because of the gap between the end of county funds and start of the board’s funds.

“We didn’t think about that probably,” Stratman said.

Bonnie Prigge, board president, said she thought that the tax would start in January instead of April, but Pollreisz said that he wasn’t expecting any money until October.

“So when I heard you guys didn’t budget for that, I was like, ‘This is going to be a problem because where’s the money going to come from?’” Pollreisz said.

Instead of promising to reimburse all costs after June 30, Pollreisz suggested reimbursing parts of the cost so that the board can start building funds for future operations. He said that they wouldn’t have any money except the Thomas R. Coffey Trust funds, which donated $10,000 to the board after learning about the situation from The Advocate.

The board also discussed the desire to pay its employees more. The current dispatcher wages range from $17.50 to $19.50 per hour, but they want to stay competitive with what Phelps, Osage and Gasconade dispatchers are paid to avoid turnover.

“We need to be on par with them to keep our employees,” Prigge said.

As for benefits, the board approved a bid proposal from BPJ Insurance to be its agent of record. The board plans to have a representative from BPJ attend the next meeting to discuss the benefits options for when the dispatchers separate from the county. The meeting is June 19 at 1 p.m. at the board’s new building and the former American Legion hall at 541 1st St, Vienna.