Gasconade County Associate Commissioner Ron Hardeke, on Nov. 4, visited with the Crawford County commissioners about the benefits of a use tax and the challenges his area faced in implementing one. 

Hardeke shared with commissioners that their use tax was implemented a few years ago, and Gasconade County residents voted six times on the measure before it passed.  He estimates the tax generates more than half a million dollars, and recently, a portion of that money was shared with the road department, the sheriff’s office, and the 911 dispatch center. 

Once before, the Crawford County Commission requested voters approve a use tax, but the ballot measure failed. A use tax is typically assessed on storage, use and consumption of goods within a state when no sales tax is paid. It is often viewed as a complementary tax, as the end result is to promote fairness between in-state and out-of-state businesses. Also, a person does not pay both sales and use tax on the same item. It is either one or the other. 

“I think a use tax would definitely be beneficial for Crawford County,” said District #2 Associate Commissioner Jared Boast. “The reason is because we are seeing our sales tax within the county dwindle, and the substantial amount of online purchases within the county go up. We’re seeing the brick and mortar stores go away within the county, and as purchases turn towards more and more online, that is a contributing factor towards the decline of sales tax within the county.”

Presiding Commissioner Steve Black agrees that a use tax would be beneficial to Crawford County, estimating a county budget increase of $900,000 to $1 million per year if a use tax were passed. 

“I’m a lifelong resident of Crawford County,” Black noted. “When I grew up here, regardless of pretty much what I wanted to buy or my parents wanted to buy, we bought it in Crawford County. It was accessible in Crawford County then. But as online sales took over, then of course, the mom and pop stores, they couldn't afford to stay open. There’s so many of them that closed that you can't go uptown and buy what you need. You pretty much almost have to, in many cases, buy it online or get in your car and drive to another county to buy it. 

“The county lost that revenue basically due to technology. The use tax would bring that money back into our county again due to technology, so I think it's a fair tax,” Black said. 

Both commissioners stated that the use tax has a high likelihood of appearing on a future ballot, but neither mentioned a timeframe.

In other county business, Danny Brown, Crawford County road and bridge engineer and consultant, gave an update on the High Point Bridge in District #2, located north of Cuba off Highway 19. 

The work on that bridge will likely start any time before Thanksgiving. Brown said it will be a replacement of the old bridge and will include “demolishing and demoing out the old bridge.” That same work will be done to Sellers Bridge in early December, located off Highway 49 between Davisville and Dillard, to the east. 

“We’re putting in better bridges than what's there now, and it should carry a lot more water flow and high water flooding,” Brown said. “It won't carry 100 percent because a lot of this is a low-lying area. It’s a big benefit to the county and all the people in the county, even outside of the county, hazard and safety-wise. You will be able to cross it at better times. The mail route and the emergency vehicles will have a lot better route to go on to travel.”