VIENNA — The Maries County Emergency Services Board may not receive any sales tax revenue until October, according to County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers.

The Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) lost the paperwork the county filed to start collecting the 1 percent sales tax in April and receiving it in July. This sales tax, approved by voters in November, may not start being collected until July and received until October.

To get the board started, the county funded it through June, but this delay could force the county to fund it through September, costing at least $100,000 of non-budgeted funds.

Bonnie Prigge, chair of the board, called the DOR to confirm that the sales tax would become effective April 1 and to take care of the necessary paperwork so that the board’s bank account could receive the money. But the DOR did not have any listed sales tax changes for Maries County for April.

Prigge then contacted Rodgers, who confirmed that as of Nov. 10, 2025, the required paperwork for the sales tax had been receive.  Understanding that April 1 was too soon to start collecting, Rodgers asked if it could start May 1 instead. However, the DOR told her that soonest date was July 1 because of the time required to notify businesses.

“Well, what happened?” Rodgers asked the DOR representative. “And his response was, ‘Well, we just lost it.’”

Under Missouri State Statute 32.087, when the county adopts a new sales tax approved by voters, it must notify the director of revenue by mail within 10 days. The sales tax will then be effective the second quarter afterwards.

Because the sales tax passed in the final quarter of 2025, collection was supposed to begin the second quarter of 2026.  But because the DOR lost the paperwork until the first quarter of the year, collection likely will not begin until the third quarter.

During the March 30 commission meeting, Presiding Commissioner Vic Stratman called state Rep. Bennie Cook to ask for help.  When Cook didn’t answer, Stratman left a message.

“We’re kind of in a panic this morning. This is something that is really important to us in all of Maries County,” Stratman said.