The Dent County Commission on Monday unanimously amended the 2021 budget. The amended budget became necessary when the county discovered that the Department of Revenue would be withholding a substantial sum from Dent County’s sales taxes due to a DOR coding error.
The sales tax withheld from the county by DOR totals around $1 million, and on top of that each half-cent sales tax that the county has (for example, General Revenue, Law Enforcement, Jail Fund, Road and Bridge) is anticipated to pull in an average of around $6,500 per month less than originally expected.
The commission approved the new budget 3-0.
• Dee Jessen and Maria Jessen were present and discussed a gate that is across road 4128. They would like the gate to be taken down and believe all the people that lived on that road when Commissioner Bobby Simpson was in office paid half to have the road chip and sealed. Commissioner Wes Mobray is waiting to hear back on the survey to see how far the county road extends.
• Presiding commissioner Darrell Skiles expressed his concern about the legislature’s approval of a bill that ties another county office holder’s salary to circuit judges’ salaries, which are tied to the salaries of federal judges, which are determined in Washington. The 101st legislative session ended on Friday.
“This piece of legislation has created the greatest divide between county commissioners and the legislature that I think I’ve ever seen,” said Skiles.
The county prosecutor’s salary was already tied to the position. Now the sheriff’s salary is tied to the position in the same way, setting the sheriff salary at $72,500, which for Dent County is more than an $18,000 increase that the county is responsible for paying, not the state.
Skiles said that he had heard that some legislators were already having buyer’s remorse and that some have even promised to try and do something about it next legislative session.
“But by then we’ll have already had to do it for at least a year,” said Skiles.
• District One Commissioner Mobray reported that the crew will be taking a truck to Columbia for maintenance, cutting brush on county road 5600, fixing a backhoe and service grader number 38.
• District Two Commissioner Gary Larson reported that the crew will be hauling material for conservation rock replacement on 2520 and 2530, checking roads and replacing road signs.
• New District Ranger Michelle Capp of the National Forest Service and retired Ranger Rich Hall visited the Commission meeting. They discussed Title II funding.
