CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — Two critical government entities—the Road & Bridge Department and the Sheriff's Office—will have millions of more funds to work with after the Camden County Commission passed an order Tuesday morning.

The hearing room was packed at the courthouse Dec. 16, with lively discussion about the county budget. The biggest issue stemmed from a 1/2 cent sales tax that voters approved in 2007.

The ballot question in 2007 specifically said the tax was "to be used for Law Enforcement improvements, Road and Bridge improvements, and employee retention." But the budget shows those two departments have only ever received a small portion of the revenues from that tax.

Of the $91 million collected since 2008, R&B has only received $5 million. The law enforcement portion, which includes the Sheriff's Office, Prosecutor, E-911, and courts, has received $38 million of the total.

And over the same time, nearly $44 million of the revenue was unappropriated.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, County Auditor Jimmy Laughlin recommended cuts in the 2026 budget totaling $3 million from the Sheriff’s Department and $7 million from the Road & Bridge Dept.—reductions that would have required each entity to eliminate three positions.

"These are the two biggest departments, and it's honestly insulting to see them cut down so bad," said 1st District Commissioner James Gohagan. "It's like a manufactured crisis that I'm not buying for a second."

Presiding Commissioner Ike Skelton and Laughlin both said they can't find records as to how the apportionment percentages were decided after the 2007 vote.

"The will of the voters has not been honored," Skelton said. "For many years, the Road & Bridge budget has been stagnant while other offices seem to grow...it might be time we look at other budgets instead of balancing the county on the backs of Road & Bridge."

So on Tuesday, the Commission ordered that beginning next year, 50% of the 2007 sales tax revenues will go to R&B, while the other 50% goes to the Sheriff's Office (to be used at their discretion). This means each entity would receive over $3 million based on 2026 estimations.

Read the full order at the end.

The commission also approved shifting certain financial obligations to the county’s Use Tax to offset the changes, including TIFs owed to the City of Osage Beach and Sunrise Beach.

"The way I see it boiling down, the other offices within the county will have to determine how to cut budgets, not R&B and Sheriff," Skelton said.

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