Voters will decide tax levy request and choose school and municipal officials


Ozark County Ambulance emergency medical technician Ed Doiron stows a patient-transport gurney inside the ambulance to prepare for the next emergency call. Times photo / Jessi Dreckman.

Ozark County’s registered voters will go to the polls April 3 to decide a levy-increase request from the Ozark County Ambulance District and also to elect members to the ambulance district board; the board of aldermen in Bakersfield, Gainesville and Theodosia; the school boards in Bakersfield and Gainesville; and the Gainesville mayor. 

Seats are also coming open on the Public Water Supply District No. 1 board in Theodosia  and the school boards in Dora, Lutie and Thornfield, but state law allows government entities to bypass elections when the number of candidates equals the number of openings, which is the case for those boards.

March 7 is the last day to register to vote in the April 3 election. For more information, call Ozark County Clerk Brian Wise, 417-679-3516.

 

Tax levy-increase request

Ozark County Ambulance District tax levy increase request. The ambulance district will place a request on the upcoming ballot asking voters to authorize the district board to reset the district’s current levy rate of .1242 cents per $100 of assessed valuation up to a maximum of 28 cents per $100 assessed valuation starting in the current tax year. Ambulance district administrator Eddie Delp reminds voters that, if voters approve the request, the actual property tax collected will be reduced proportionately depending on the amount of sales tax collected. An existing half-cent sales tax helps fund the ambulance district, and the county “takes the total dollars of sales tax collected and deducts that amount from the property tax to be collected,” Delp said.

Voters turned down the ambulance district’s levy-increase request a year ago, with 432 voting for the increase and 530 voting against it in the April 4, 2017, election. The 2017 request asked voters to approve a maximum levy of 30 cents per $100 assessed valuation. Then, as now, the rate increase would have been subject to a corresponding rollback in the current half-cent sales tax that supports the ambulance district, as required by Missouri law.

Delp has said that the complicated funding system that includes the “sales-tax rollback” makes it hard to get a levy-increase passed because the required language makes it seem like the total levy is more than doubling, when in fact it’s not. 

The ambulance district operates 24/7 with two professional personnel and one vehicle available at all times. The ambulance is required to respond to all calls, but many of the calls don’t result in transport, which means the district earns no income for the call. However, the biggest factor that puts financial stress on the district is bills that go unpaid. Currently, the district is owed nearly $500,000 in unpaid bills that have accumulated over the last eight years, Delp said. 

 

Public boards

Ozark County Ambulance District Board: Two three-year positions are coming open: the District 3 seat currently held by Ray Peter and the District 6 seat currently held by James “Jim” Brown. Brown has filed for re-election to the District 6 seat. Peter, who has served as board chairman for several years, did not file for re-election, and no one else filed for the seat. Ozark County Clerk Brian Wise said Monday that he and the ambulance board are investigating whether the board can fill the District 3 slot by appointment or if an election must be held with a write-in line on the ballot for the District 3 representative.

Public Water Supply District No. 1, Theodosia: Two three-year terms on the board of directors are coming open, the seats currently held by Suzanne Meeks and Alan Edgington. Meeks has filed for re-election; Edgington did not. Ric Engelhardt has filed for Edgington’s seat. Because the number of candidates equals the number of vacancies, no election is required.

 

City and village boards

Bakersfield Village: Three two-year terms are coming open on the Bakersfield Village Board, the seats currently held by Tony Johnson, Jodi Burns and Albert Gargione. Incumbents Johnson and Burns have filed for re-election; Gargione did not file. Tony Schaab, Stephanie Guffey and Jonathan Belt have filed, so five candidates are running for the three seats. The Bakersfield mayor is elected by the board from its members. Johnson currently serves as mayor.

City of Gainesville: The two-year terms of mayor, east ward alderman, west ward alderman and center ward alderman are coming open. Incumbent mayor Deanna Gail Reich has filed for re-election; Carroll Wise has also filed for the office of mayor. Incumbents Lee Bowen, center ward alderman, and Rocky Sullivan, west ward alderman, have filed for re-election, but no candidates have filed for the east ward seat currently held by Lyndell Strong. Because there are three openings and only two candidates have filed, an election will be held. All Gainesville residents may vote in the mayoral race, but residents may only vote for alderman (or write in a candidate’s name) in the ward where they reside. To qualify for office, regular and write-in candidates must live in the ward they would represent.

Theodosia Village: Three two-year terms are coming open on the Theodosia Village board, the seats currently held by James “Jim” Brown, Bob Bochert and Randall Unruh. All three candidates have filed for re-election, and Jerry Smith has also filed.  

 

School boards

Two three-year positions are coming open on all five Ozark County School districts, but school board elections will be held only in Bakersfield and Gainesville, where the number of candidates exceeds the number of terms expiring. 

Bakersfield: The seats currently held by Scott Denton and Mike Scott are coming open. Incumbent Scott has filed for re-election, but Denton did not. Mike Zimmer and Chris Bales have also filed, so three candidates will be running for the two seats.

Dora: The seats currently held by Robert Lee and Terry Martin are coming open. Both incumbents have filed for re-election. Because the number of candidates equals the number of vacancies, no election is required.

Gainesville: The seats currently held by Billy Pippin and Wes Uchtman are coming open. Incumbent Pippin has filed for re-election, but Uchtman did not. David Pointer, Jabet Wade, Derek Alms and Mason Eslinger have also filed, so five candidates will be running for the two seats.

Lutie: Two three-year terms are coming open, the seats currently held by Carl Kruger and Jan Conklin. Kruger has filed for re-election; Conklin did not. Ric Engelhardt has also filed. Because the number of candidates equals the number of vacancies, no election is required.

Thornfield:  Two three-year terms are coming open, the seats currently held by Darrin Clayton and Jerry Donley. Clayton filed for re-election; Donley did not. Greg Prock has also filed. Because the number of candidates equals the number of vacancies, no election is required.

Ozark County Times

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Phone: (417) 679-4641
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