County approves record budget

Ozark County Commissioners signed off on the 2022 county budget this past week, and with a combined leftover balance and expected revenue totaling $7.5 million, and anticipated expenditures totaling nearly $6.5 million, the 2022 budget is the largest in the county’s history.

The 249-page budget book details 30 funds and county offices, with most of them receiving a similar budgeted amount as 2021. One new fund was added to the budget, as the county is set to receive its second and final installment of $890,000 in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds in 2022. The county received $891,764 in ARPA funds in 2021 and had a leftover balance in that account of just over $704,000, giving the county $1,594,531 in ARPA money to spend in 2022.

County Clerk Brian Wise said the county just recently wrote checks to local organizations and entities totaling about $244,000 from that fund (see related story page 3).

That leaves about $1.3 million from ARPA funds that must be allocated and spent.

Presiding County Commissioner John Turner said the county has received a request from White River Valley Electric Cooperative to partner with them and the four other counties WRVEC serves to bring high-speed fiber-optic internet to the county. WRVEC had asked for $1.5 million from Ozark County to help foot the bill in the $234 million project.

Turner said he and commissioners from Taney, Douglas, Christian and Stone counties will be meeting with WRVEC officials on Friday in Branson to talk about the fiber-optic internet initiative.

“We’re going to see where they’re at on this,” Turner said. The commissioner said if the plan by WRVEC proceeds, he could see Ozark County allocating up to $1 million of the ARPA funds to be spent on the high-speed internet. “Nothing is set in stone,” Turner said. “We’re waiting to see how it goes and how other funding comes in.”

County revenue

The county’s budget includes expected revenues of $7,526,948 for the coming year. 

That total comprises $2,307,015 cash available at the start of the year, paired with $503,000 in expected property tax, $1,740,000 in expected sales tax, $1,836,253 in “intergovernmental revenues,” $204,800 in charges for services, $3,550 in interest, $665,060 in other revenues and $267,268 money transferred in.

Expenditures

In the county summary funds, the following expenses were allotted for each office: prosecuting attorney, $236,117; assessor, $194,336; county collector, $113,500; county clerk, $96,029; county commission, $99,666; treasurer, $61,380; public administrator, $50,350; recorder, $41,247; circuit clerk, $10,300; court administration, $10,005; juvenile officer, $27,644; and coroner, $28,089.

The budget allows for $66,130 for buildings and grounds, $75,180 for elections, $10,500 for health and welfare and $46,253 in the emergency fund.

Road & bridge

Ozark County has two road and bridge departments, east and west, and they have separate funds in the budget.

The road and bridge east fund, overseen by Commissioner Gary Collins, has a starting balance of $691,231, with estimated revenues of $754,000 and estimated expenditures of $1,146,653 for an estimated ending balance of $298,578.

Collins said the inflated starting balance was bolstered by FEMA money that was reimbursed to the county at the very end of 2021. That money was a federal reimbursement for funds the county had spent during the 2017 flood.

Collins said he plans to take a good chunk of that windfall and pay off a road grader at an estimated cost of a little more than $200,000.

On the west side, first-term commissioner Layne Nance has a starting balance of $202,303, with estimated revenues of $928,850 and estimated expenditures of $984,494 for an estimated ending balance of $146,655.

Law enforcement

As has been the case for several years, the county’s half-cent sales tax revenue for law enforcement is just not keeping up with the expenses. Again this year, money from the county’s general revenue fund had to be allocated for law enforcement to keep that fund out of the red. This, despite the sheriff’s department cutting a jailer position.

The position is not all that Sheriff Cass Martin will be cutting. To save his department money, the sheriff will be bringing in his personal lawn mower and cutting the grass at the county jail. That is estimated to save about $1,500 per year. In addition to that, the sheriff will be changing the oil on patrol vehicles in the basement of the jail facility. That is estimated to save about $2,400 per year.

“We’re trying to take it as easy as we can on the budget,” Martin said. “To me, coming up here and cutting the grass once or twice a month is not that big of deal. And changing the oil is not a huge thing either. We’re going to do what we can to save the county some money.”

The sheriff said the jailer position that was eliminated was the overnight position, so deputies would be cross-trained to book in any incoming prisoners during the third shift.

According to the budget report, $200,000 is being transferred into the law enforcement fund from the county’s general revenue fund for 2022. This is the same amount as last year; however in 2020 only $108,000 was transferred in from general revenue.

The law enforcement fund has a starting balance of $20,814, with projected revenues of $813,556 and projected expenditures of $834,371 for an estimated ending balance of $0.

“The law enforcement sales tax is supposed to fully fund the sheriff’s department and jail, but it doesn’t and it hasn’t for several years now,” Turner said.

Wise said that he worked with sheriff’s officials to trim more than $130,000 from their original budget request.

Turner said that if voters approved the local internet use tax, which is going to be on the April ballot, that would help the sheriff’s department. “It would benefit all of the departments and level the playing field for local businesses who have to collect that tax now,” Turner said.

“Just think about it,” Turner said. “An Ozark County business has to charge and collect that extra tax amount, but these big corporations like Amazon and such don’t have to do that, so that gives them an unfair advantage and they have no ties to Ozark County.”

General revenue

The county’s general revenue fund has a starting balance of $440,979, with estimated revenues of $1,541,934 and estimated expenditures of $1,540,279 for a projected ending balance of $442,633.