VIENNA — Landline users may still be paying the 15 percent tax on their landline phone bills, according to county commissioners at the May 14 meeting.

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers shared with the commissioners that a resident showed her his utility bill with the landline tax from Stimulus Technologies. The commissioners then called the company to get the situation resolved.

But the customer support representative said that the company was not notified and requested documentation of what changed.

Stratman encouraged people to look at their phone bills for the emergency services tax. While he couldn’t promise to get money back, he did say he would contact the phone companies if residents brought their bills to the clerk’s office.

“Let us know, and we’ll call and see if we can get that corrected,” Stratman said. “We appreciate that they voted that in then. We sure want to make sure that we fulfill our side of the deal.”

Stratman also called Trish Vincent, director of revenue, and left a message, inquiring if the Department of Revenue (DOR) was supposed to notify businesses about the end of the landline tax.

As for collection, Treasurer Angie Stricklan said that the tax levy was sent from the phone companies directly to the county, not the DOR. Each company sends the county a check, ranging from a few dollars to over $1000, depending on the number of customers in Maries County.

Missouri Revised State Statute 190.305 authorizes a tax levy for emergency phone services, but under Statute 190.335, a county may impose a sales tax up to 1 percent in place of the tax levy.

Voters approved in November 2025 separating emergency dispatching from the county into the Maries County Emergency Services Board.

The DOR was supposed to start collecting the 1-percent sales tax April 1, but because of a processing delay, collection started May 1 instead. Since the sales tax is now effective, the county should no longer be collecting the landline tax.

Patrick Kleffner, western district commissioner, said that AT&T is the main landline provider in Maries County and suggested that independent companies using voice over internet protocol (VoIP) might not have been notified.

The commissioners also discussed the cost of fuel causing an increase in the budget to grade the county roads. Stratman believes that the cost of diesel is 25-30 percent higher. Kleffner said that the graders work all day for road maintenance and that the costs can’t be offset.

“You still got to blade the roads. You still have to blade them and haul gravel and haul chat,” Kleffner said. “You just got to pay it and go on.”

However, Kleffner did say that the new 5M Rock Quarry near Meta will save the county money on fuel and vehicle wear and tear. Instead of sourcing materials from Rolla, the county can spend less time by sourcing them locally.

Rodgers also shared that $23,936.80 was the total cost of the April 7 election. The county’s cost was $14,783.71, and the other government entities that ran ballot measures paid the rest.