VIENNA — The Maries County Emergency Services Board approved July 17 the memorandum of agreement to contract 911 dispatching services with the county during the transition period.

As the emergency services board continues preparing to move operations to the former American Legion building, the county will continue to operate dispatching from the Maries County Courthouse.

President Bonnie Prigge and board members Allan Pollreisz and Steve Conrad discussed the MOA June 29 in closed session with Prosecuting Attorney Anthony (Tony) Skouby at the county commission.

The commissioners discussed the MOA with Skouby in closed session July 6, and after Skouby’s recommendation, they approved it.

The MOA states that, effective July 1, the county will continue to provide dispatch services 24/7 and that the MCESB will reimburse personnel costs and other significant, pre-approved dispatch-related expenses. The agreement also says that new hires must be approved by the board.

However, the board is determining what normal revenue is for its budget, and the MOA states that the board’s objective is to reimburse outstanding expenses by the end of the year.

“I think we’ll have a decent idea here when we are ready to put together a January budget, January through December. We’ll have four or five months of revenue,” Prigge said.

When voters approved the board in November 2025, they also approved a 1-percent sales tax that should have taken effect April 1, but the Department of Revenue didn’t process the paperwork, delaying collection until May.

According to the DOR’s local government and tax guide, businesses report sales taxes either monthly, quarterly or annually. Businesses then have until the end of the next month to pay the DOR, and the DOR will process revenue the next month and distribute the funds to the local subdivision the following month.

For example, a business reporting sales taxes monthly had until June 30 to pay the DOR for sales taxes collected in May. The DOR is currently processing that revenue in July and will distribute those funds in August. For businesses reporting quarterly, they have until July 31 to pay the DOR, which will process revenue in August and distribute it in September.

Therefore, Prigge said she was not expecting to receive first revenue until August, but during the June 19 meeting, she said that board received a check for a little over $16,000 for May. Board member Allan Pollreisz also said July 17 that the board received $39,490.29 for June with the year-to-date deposits at $56,269.43 total.

According to JoDonn Chaney, DOR director of strategy and communications, local sales taxes also apply to vehicle purchases. Therefore, that sales tax revenue, collected by the DOR in May, was distributed in June.

In other business, as part of the transition, the board also discussed hiring a 911 director to oversee dispatching, including recruitment, employee scheduling and payroll, equipment maintenance, preparing the budget, dispatching as a backup and more. After discussing duties and responsibilities, the board agreed on $56,000 to $68,000 for a salary range.

Robert Burtrum, of BPJ Insurance, also discussed insurance options, and the board approved purchasing the surety bond and general liability. The surety bond is $2,017.80 total for three years for $100,000 coverage. The general liability coverage is $2 million per occurrence with a $4 million aggregate at $1,537 per year.