County surveyor requests funds for remonumentations

A request by Phelps County’s surveyor to fund corner remonumentations used in surveying land was tabled Tuesday morning by the Phelps County Commission.

Phelps County Surveyor Lou Gilbert initially requested a total of $3,750 from the county for 15 corner remonumentations, but after county commissioners noted that no funds were approved in the surveyor’s budget this year for remonumentations, Gilbert asked for any amount.

Remonumentation refers to the act of preserving original corner monuments of the original government survey through the Land Survey Program.

Missouri has about 50 monuments left to be used to remonument corners, according to Gilbert who has been corresponding with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) about the remonumentation program.

The state will pay $250, or half the cost it takes to remonument each corner, for up to 15 monuments, Gilbert told commissioners. Gilbert asked the county to find enough money for the remaining $250 for each corner.

“Try to find as much as you possibly can to support this program ... whatever you can come up with,” Gilbert said, noting that the last time corners were remonumented in Phelps County was in 2009, when the county approved funding for eight corner remonumentations.

Gilbert said once the state signs off, he can begin work to remonument the corners that need it.

However, after reviewing this year’s budget, Presiding Commissioner Randy Verkamp said, “We zeroed that out (budget for remonumentation). That’s the problem ... We’ve been a supporter of this for a long time, but this year, things were tight.”

District One Commissioner Larry Stratman said because the third commissioner, Bud Dean, was absent, he asked to hold off on any decision regarding this program.

“If we amend the budget, Bud needs to be a part of the discussion,” Stratman said.

Verkamp said he also wanted to see a map of which corners have already been remonumented.

When Verkamp asked Gilbert why the commission should fund this, Gilbert said, “to perpetuate the original corners or else they will be lost.”

Gilbert also noted that if it takes longer to find a corner while doing his job, it will cost more.

The commission agreed to discuss a possible budget amendment or finding funds for the program at its meeting Thursday morning.

Tax hearings

Also at Thursday’s meeting, two public hearings on Phelps County’s 2012 tax levies will take place.

A hearing on the county's general revenue as well as the road and bridge tax rates will be held at 9 a.m. followed by a hearing on the tax rate for the Phelps County Board for the Developmentally Disabled at 9:15 a.m.

The public is invited to comment at these times and after the hearings, the county commissioners will set the 2012 tax rates.

The county is proposing a 2012 tax levy of $0.1526 for every $100 of assessed property value for the county’s general revenue fund, a decrease from the 2011 rate of $0.1560.

For the bridge and road fund, the county’s proposed levy for 2012 is $0.935 for every $100 of assessed property value, a decrease from $0.0956.

There is no change proposed to the tax levy for the Phelps County Board for the Developmentally Disabled, which is currently $0.0708 for every $100 of assessed property value.