Boone County News Release


Press Archives Press Room

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Boone County Commission Administrative Coordinator
Phone: (573) 886-4312


Boone County Week In Review

July 8, 2011

For the week ending July 8, 2011

Things you may have missed...

Commission adopts new road tax formula

The Boone County Commission has adopted a new formula to share road tax revenue with the various municipalities within the county. Passing the ordinance during the Commission's regular session on Tuesday, July 5, capped off a two-year process in which Boone County officials worked with the leaders of Boone County's towns and cities to develop a fair and sustainable distribution of road tax revenues.

The new formula is based on a community's assessed valuation to determine the share it receives of road tax monies available Boone County, along with other factors. Ashland, Columbia, Hallsville and Centralia, including the Centralia Special Road District, will share 13 percent of the tax revenues, while another 2.25 percent will be distributed among Ashland, Centralia and Hallsville. Pierpont, Sturgeon and other smaller municipalities in the county will be able to apply for funds from a common pool each year.

The bulk of the remaining road tax revenues -- 82.25 percent -- will go to Boone County, which maintains over 800 miles of road within the county.

The need for a revision to the County's revenue sharing formula was first brought to the attention of the Commission by Boone County Auditor June Pitchford, who informed the Commission that, based on the previous formula, disbursements of road tax funds to Boone County municipalities exceeded actual sales tax collections. Work between the County Commission and the county's municipalities began in 2009, ultimately resulting in the ordinance adopted by the Commission this week.

Lamar Henderson, Public Information

Boone County Recorder publishes foreclosure and real estate recording volume reports

Boone County Recorder of Deeds Bettie Johnson has announced that her office will publish two statistical reports monthly on the Recorder's website (http://showmeboone.com/RECORDER/). One report covers the number of Trustee's Deeds recorded in the county, while the other lists total real estate recordings.

Links to the downloadable PDF reports are available on the website's left-hand menu under the heading Statistics.

The first report, Total Trustee's Deeds Under Foreclosure, details the number of properties resulting in a Trustee's Deed being recorded in the public record in Boone County. The report lists the number of deeds by month going back to 1986.

The second report, Real Estate Recording Volume, lists the total number of real estate documents recorded at the Recorder's office by month back to 1993. The highest, second highest and third highest volume by month are color coded in the report for easy identification.

In addition to the reports' uses within the different offices of Boone County government, Johnson said that this information may be valuable for real estate agents, mortgage lenders and other professionals who deal with real estate issues as a gauge of the health of the market in Boone County.

"It's sort of a capsule of what Boone County has done in recording real estate documents over this time period," Johnson said. "Right now, with the way the market is, foreclosures are a huge discussion. A lot of people want to know how Boone County is doing on foreclosures. Are we lower or higher than we have been in the past? What they don't realize is that we have traditionally tracked it."

Johnson said that the reports will be updated during the first week of each month. You can contact the Recorder of Deeds Office at 573-886-4345 if you have any questions about the reports.

Bettie Johnson, Recorder of Deeds

Week in preview

Sheriff's Department conducts sobriety checkpoint

In an effort to detect and apprehend intoxicated and impaired drivers traveling the public roadways of Boone County, the Boone County Sheriff's Department will conduct a saturation and/or sobriety checkpoint in Boone County between July 8 and July 10. The sobriety checkpoint will begin during the late evening hours of the determined day and will conclude during the early morning hours of the following day.

Law-abiding motorists encountering the saturation and/or sobriety checkpoint should expect minimal delay. The Sheriff's Department wishes to thank motorists of Boone County in advance for their patience and cooperation during this operation.

This event is funded by a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation Division of Highway Safety.

Nikki Antimi, Sheriff's Department

OEM and Red Cross sponsor blood drive at Government Center

Did you know there is an American Red Cross blood drive next week? And if you donate, you will be entered to possibly win a $250 gas card?

The Office of Emergency Management and the Mid-Missouri American Red Cross are teaming up for this blood drive! The drive will be at the:

Boone County Government Center
Commission Chambers
Friday, July 15
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
801 E. Walnut

Make an appointment today! Simply click here to schedule your appointment! (Just click on the left side where it says 'Schedule an Appointment Online' and go from there!)

All blood types are needed -- especially type O negative during the summer months!

If you have any questions, please contact the Red Cross at 573-489-2450.

Won't you please join us and give the gift of life?

Zim Schwartz, Office of Emergency Management

Job opportunities

Boone County Human Resources is currently accepting applications for: Accountant - Treasurer's Office; Office Specialist - Warrants Division; Corrections Officer; and Deputy Sheriff - Roster Eligibility Only. For more details about these positions, or to apply, please visit www.showmeboone.com/hr.

Kara Coustry, Human Resources

In the news

Boone County traffic fatalities on downswing

"We're seeing fewer head-on crashes," said traffic Sgt. Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff's Department, referring to median cables added to Highway 63 in the past year. "Those crashes end badly." | Columbia Daily Tribune

County's economy fares well

The economic snapshot for the first quarter of this year, a list of statistics compiled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and released Friday, shows Boone County and Columbia are still faring well compared with the state and the nation. | Columbia Daily Tribune

Hartsburg safe from flooding, river level drops

With the Missouri River standing at about 27 feet, Hartsburg is still safe from flooding, for now. | Boone County Journal

Boone County scrutinizes budget rules

Boone County offices vying for state or federal grants likely will have to follow a new policy requiring that the full Boone County Commission review the applications. | Boone County Journal

County is done with road plan

The nearly two-year process of fixing the formula used for sharing road tax revenue with Boone County municipalities ended with the lengthiest county commission motion in recent memory. | Columbia Daily Tribune

Property lists seek owners

Boone County Treasurer Nicole Galloway has claimed nearly $10,000 worth of unclaimed property from the state treasurer's office in the name of Boone County. | Columbia Daily Tribune

Have an item for Week in Review?

Do you have something coming up that you want to share? Send it in! Let us know what's coming up in your week that your colleagues may be interested in, or what happened in the previous week that everyone should know. Contact Lamar Henderson, Boone County Public Information Officer, at 886-4312 or lhenderson@boonecountymo.org; the deadline for next week's Week in Review is 5 p.m., Thursday, July 14.



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