VIENNA — Maries County Collector Jayne Williams and Assessor Dana Simmons joined the county commission’s Aug. 7 meeting to discuss details of how Senate Bill 190 could affect the county.

Gov. Mike Parson signed the bill into law in July. The law has two components. One allows taxpayers to deduct Social Security benefits and other certain retirement benefits from Missouri income taxes beginning with the 2024 filing year. The other allows counties to adopt an ordinance to grant property tax credits to eligible seniors who receive Social Security benefits and own or have a large equitable interest in a homestead for which they are liable for real property tax payments. Voters may also petition to add the issue to a future ballot.

The commission has no plans to adopt an ordinance to provide the credit.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman began the conversation by asking what the implications of Senate Bill 190 would be for the county.

“I think Senate Bill 190 has a good concept to give relief to seniors on their taxpaying,” Williams said. “The only thing that’s unclear is the implementation of it. How are we going to do it? The bill is gray. Nobody knows.”

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said there was also a question of how counties would make up the revenue lost by providing the tax credits.

“It sounds good to the voter, but where is it going to make it up?” Stratman said.

“They’re going to have to generate the revenue somewhere,” Fagre said. “It’s got to be replaced.”

“Exactly,” Williams said. “We can’t survive without it.”

Williams said census data says 21.7 percent of Maries County’s residents are in the over-65 demographic. The census data is not an exact translation of how much tax revenue the county would lose from the credits. Social Security benefits vary in age with some people collecting them at 62 years old and others collecting them at 67 years old. Some people do not collect Social Security at all, and some people in that demographic do not own homes.

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers mentioned how a lot of tax money goes to schools. Williams said there were still questions about whether the credits would affect only county revenue or include all political subdivisions.

Simmons said the county will have to show that they collected the credited money. She questioned if the county will have to pass that value onto the political subdivisions even if the county does not have the money. Williams said the subdivisions set tax levies based on total assessed valuation without considering possible tax credits.

Williams said there are also questions about what entity will handle the application process and communicate taxpayer eligibility to the county.

Fagre suggested the county continue to wait and see how the results of the bill develop. He said he had heard about potential lawsuits to challenge the bill.

“It sounds like the people who voted on it didn’t even read the thing,” he said.

Simmons said she knows that the Missouri Association of Counties and Missouri State Assessors Association are working to clarify information about the bill.

GIS maps

Stratman asked Simmons if she likes the geographic information systems (GIS) digital mapping that the county uses.

Simmons said she really likes the service, but sometimes Google Maps is more recently updated.

Stratman asked how the county can keep the maps more up-to-date.

Simmons said the state offers some free flyovers to make maps, but the available dates she has seen are in the summer when foliage obscures some areas. She said she checks listings often and will stay on the lookout for anything helpful.

Assessed valuation

Rodgers shared the amended aggregate assessed valuation for Maries County and the two road districts.

The total current valuation for the county is $170,580,594. The total increased from last year’s figure of $164,540,409. Of the total, $88,395,360 is from real estate, $21,747,313 is from commissioned assessed real property, $59,037,760 is from personal property, $1,388,411 is from commissioned assessed personal property and $11,750 is from local assessed railroad and utility. Of the local assessed valuation, $10,770 is from personal property and $980 is from real estate. New construction contributed $2,307,700 to the total valuation.

The total current valuation for Road One is $78,980,719. Of the total, $40,746,920 is from real estate, $12,098,087 is from commissioned assessed real property, $25,428,560 is from personal property, $705,152 is from commissioned assessed personal property and $2,000 is from local assessed railroad and utility. Of the local assessed valuation, $1,020 is from personal property and $980 is from real estate. New construction contributed $1,144,260 to the total valuation.

The total current valuation for Road Two is $69,515,941. Of the total, $31,768,680 is from real estate, $8,211,349 is from commissioned assessed real property, $29,014,110 is from personal property and $21,802 is from commissioned assessed personal property. New construction contributed $874,800 to the total valuation.

Sales Taxes

Treasurer Angie Stricklan shared sales tax figures for the year so far. Two-thirds through 2023, the first sales tax fund has brought $242,457.74 to General Revenue.

The second sales tax, which gives one-third to each of General Revenue, Citizens Safety and Roads, has brought the county $241,204.65 in revenue so far this year.

The third sales tax has raised $241,204.50 in revenue this year. Two-thirds of the tax supports Citizen Safety. Roads and General Revenue split the other one-third.

The revenue from each of the three taxes is up by about $23,000 from the totals this time last year.

The law enforcement sales tax has brought in $80,077.79 this year, which is about $8,000 more than this time last year.

The use tax on online orders has brought in $212,937.77 so far this year, which is already more than last year’s $177,029.33 total for the whole year. August’s $45,996.68 total is more than double the total of any single month from last year.

Black Vultures

Stratman said he had received a permit to use lethal force on up to five black vultures. He said he wanted to get it while his cattle are calving because that is when cattle are most at-risk of black vulture attacks.

“Supposedly, if you harass them, they’ll leave,” he said.

After someone obtains a permit and kills a black vulture, the Missouri Department of Agriculture recommends using the carcass as an effigy to deter future issues with black vultures. Homemade effigies, such as upside-down black garbage bags, could also be effective in deterring the birds.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said he had seen a similar technique used to discourage horse thieves on “Gunsmoke.”

The Missouri Farm Bureau has sub-permits for killing black vultures available to livestock producers.

Other Business

Stratman reminded the other commissioners that in about two months they will need to determine the county’s priorities for road improvements so they can submit them to the regional Transportation Advisory Committee.

Fagre said Road One recently got its road grader back after a motor overhaul. The road district spent $22,751 on the repairs.

“That’s cheap,” Drewel said.

“Cheaper than a new road grader,” Fagre said.

Fagre said at the Aug. 10 meeting that Road One had been working to clear debris off the roads following storms in late July and early August. All roads were open, and the crew was close to finishing the clean-up.

The county received a letter from the Missouri Department of Conservation that said the agency can now make a 2020 payment in-lieu-taxes to the county following a recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling. The payment is for public land held by the Conservation Commission and/or for private land classified as forest cropland. Rodgers said the county did not yet know the value of the payment.

Stratman said the next regional electronics, appliance and tire collection will be in Salem on Sept. 9 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The county tax levy hearing will be in the commission room at the courthouse on Thursday, Aug. 24, at 10 a.m.