VIENNA — The Maries-Osage Ambulance District (MOAD) received a positive financial audit report for fiscal year 2021. During the board’s August meeting Monday night, Lynn Graves, CPA and Managing Partner of Graves and Associates, CPAs, LLC, called into the meeting to give the audit report. 

Graves said MOAD’s operating revenues of $288,080 were down about 10 percent from the previous year. He attributed this to the federal coronavirus stimulus money MOAD received in 2020, which added to its operating revenue. Operating expenses were $645,799, which is down about nine percent from the previous year. Graves said the primary driver in this decrease is in the area of payroll as many organizations and companies are “battling staffing to provide services.” There was an operating income loss of $357,719. Graves noted in the previous year the operating revenue loss was $392,000. Non-operating revenues and expenses were down about 12 percent. Non-operating revenues include property tax income, which was $194,910, sales tax income of $210,445 and other income to total $404,505 during the fiscal year, with a change in net position of $46,785. Graves said the previous year the change in net position was $66,000. 

He told the board members the audit shows MOAD has 16 months of operating revenues, which is “a solid positive”  with the district’s operating reserves being very solid. He said this is an improvement over the year before when the district had 13 months of operating revenue. 

The assessed valuation of the tangible taxable property for 2021 in the district, for the purposes of taxation was $69,165,507 for Maries County, and $35,776,597 for Osage County. 

The aggregate receipts of current and delinquent property taxes during the year ended were about 98 percent for Maries County and 93 percent for Osage County. 

Maries County has entered into several tax abatement agreements as of the year ended, three of which are within the district’s tax jurisdiction. The agreement provides for abatement of 80 percent of real estate taxes on property subject to the abatement through 2036. This agreement resulted in tax abatement of about $8,320 for MOAD. 

Graves said there were no issues with MOAD’s financial audit for 2021. As usual, as with most small entities, a report on the segregation of duties was included in the audit. Graves said this stays in the audits because board members “come and go” and they need to know this exists. 

In other business at the August MOAD Board meeting:

—Administrator Carla Butler reported the Cradle point and tablet mounts will be installed in the trucks by Leonard this week. Some $6,000 is owed on the equipment and will be split between the district and Maries County, using the county’s ARPA money from the federal government. She said County IT Manager Shane Sweno helped her order more equipment for the mounting of the Cradle point and tablets. The laryngoscopes also purchased at the same time are already on the trucks. 

—Butler said she spoke with Shelter Agent Courtney Jeremy about the bonds needed for each person who is on the signature card at the bank. Jeremy advised it probably is not financially feasible to put all of the board members on the signature cards. 

—They talked about the NIMS training and how it is not as easy as they thought and it takes about three hours to do. The person taking the test has to pass, or it must be taken again. It is called NIMS 100, for National Incident Management System. All of the board members and Butler are required to have the certification for NIMS 100.

—Board Vice President Steve Maxwell and board member Laura Stratman both looked over the district’s bylaws and penciled in some changes. Butler will make the changes and a more up-to-date copy of the bylaws for the board members to look at and approve next month.

—The tax levy hearing was scheduled for Monday, Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m. MOAD’s tax levy will remain the same as last year at .1924 for both Maries and Osage counties. A notice of the hearing must be published in the newspaper. 

—MOAD received two bids for propane. Dickneite Oil, Freeburg bid $2.299 per gallon and Lock’s Mill Propane, Loose Creek, bid $2.29. The board members said they are the same price and Dickneite Oil is in the MOAD district. They approved the bid for propane from October through April for 600 gallons of pre-buy propane. 

—In new business, Butler said she is still waiting to hear from the person who is fixing the floor in the office at the Vienna base. People have been ill, or gone and they just need to find a time that works for them. Butler thinks white chat is needed along the driveway at the Freeburg base. Maxwell said he thinks it just needs to be sprayed. He said he will go take a look at it.

—Butler said MOAD’s EMS attorney, Frank Foster charges $950 a year with no other fees involved. Foster provides EMS legal services. Board member Laura Stratman said it is a good price. Butler said she has contacted Foster a lot this year. 

—Butler said the Missouri Rural services payroll audit gave $6,098 back to the district because MOAD didn’t have a lot of staff and the unemployment rate will be the same. 

—Butler said MOAD had standby and public relations events including active shooter training in Freeburg, CPR training at Maries R-1 school, and upcoming events at the Maries County Fair in early September, CPR classes for Holy Family School teachers, and the Holy Family Picnic Sept. 4. 

—The board discussed call in pay. This is for when there already is a scheduled crew during a shift. The crew gets called out. The additional pay comes into play when other local crew members who are not on duty but can be in the event of an emergency. They can take the second call and get additional pay for doing so. Butler thinks it is a good idea to add an additional incentive to their regular pay to make it more enticing to work a non-scheduled shift or a few hours. The board tabled this issue for another meeting.

—MOAD had a letter from MoDOT about doing a soil study at MOAD’s base property in Freeburg. Vic Stratman said he received the letter, too, and he thinks it means the new Highway 63 may be going through or by the ambulance base in Freeburg, but said he does not know for sure. Maxwell said he thought it was all settled with Highway 63 as they had meetings about it several years ago. Now they want to have another meeting.