Scott County tax revenue up

BENTON, Mo. -- Car dealers and manufacturers aren't the only ones who cashed in on clunkers.

"Our sales tax for September was up quite a bit," Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn said during the regular Scott County Commission meeting Tuesday.

Revenue received in September from the half-cent sales tax for the county general revenue fund was $207,906.16, according to Ziegenhorn, "which was considerably more than it was the year before."

Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said the amount was $11,023 more than what was received in September 2008.

"It's the biggest September we've had in the last five years," Ziegenhorn said. "It is probably due to the Cash for Clunkers program, the purchase of new cars."

After figuring in September's receipts, the county is down about $17,357 in sales tax revenue as compared with last year by this time.

In other business during Tuesday's meeting, the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Emergency Watershed Protection Program program is improving drainage in the county but inconveniencing local anglers.

"They ruined my fishing hole," a county resident said about a ditch that is now flowing well after an excavation. "It was a good fishing hole."

Howver, the resident did agree drainage is more important and said he would just have to find himself another place to do his fishing.

"They're doing a lot of cleaning," Ziegenhorn said. "It will be good to get a lot of those ditches cleaned out before the rainy season."