Bollinger County mulls tax to cover debt service

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- With a debt service of more than $200,000 and expenses that loom beyond revenue, the Bollinger County Commission held a special meeting Monday night with a chosen list of county residents. The objective, according to Presiding Commissioner Travis Elfrink, was to gauge whether county residents would support a half-cent sales tax that would support the county's road and bridge department.

After about an hour of discussion, an informal show of hands indicated two people out of a courtroom of about 40 individuals said they would support a special sales tax.

The commission distributed figures to those present outlining how since 2010 the county's revenue has slipped from $1,732,955 in the road and bridge department to a 2014 total as of Oct. 20 of $1,056,941. Expenditures between 2010 and Oct. 20 ranged from $1,242,653 to $988,780.

A half-cent sales tax, if approved by voters, would bring in about $300,000, Elfrink said. Out of that sum, the county would have to pay off whatever amount the county had borrowed for that year -- currently it is $200,000 in debt, which has to be paid before income is spent on anything else. Then, Elfrink said, the county envisioned fixing two roads from each numbered area per year -- a total of 16 roads yearly, in addition to paying for salaries, health insurance, maintenance and 31 line items that make up the department's list of expenditures.

The meeting was held before the full board of commissioners in the courtroom, but the commissioners did not notify the press of the special meeting for public inclusion. Instead, nearly every person present in the audience had been personally invited. Gary Beal of Zalma, Missouri, said Commissioner James Null had contacted him three days previously about the meeting, and Marty Calvert of Leopold said Elfrink had called him about a week ago.

News of the meeting was leaked to the Banner-Press. The editor was allowed to stay and report on the meeting, but it was not the intention of the commission to have the media present.

Elfrink and Null said they didn't want the local newspaper editor to cover the meeting because it was merely a brainstorming session to get a feel for how the proposed tax would be accepted.

"We tried to find a group of people to form a committee to help with the tax," Elfrink said. "Then we would have planned some open meetings. As a commission we did not want to notify The Banner Press."

The Missouri Sunshine Law states that when a public body is assembled to discuss public business -- such as tax increases and county finances -- the meeting is considered open to the public. Elfrink said a notice was posted last week on a bulletin board in the courthouse. There was no notice posted Monday night that could easily seen on the crowded bulletin board.