The Cole County Commission has denied a fee increase on criminal court cases that would have provided funding for the Jefferson City Rape and Abuse Crisis Service.
At the commission meeting Monday, representatives of the Jefferson City Rape and Abuse Crisis Service (RACS) asked the county to approve increasing a fee on criminal cases from $2 to $4 to support the RACS shelter. The increase is allowed under state law and was approved by the Legislature last year.
Renee Godbee, vice chair of the RACS board, said the organization has about $300,000 in reserves, but has been dipping into those reserves by about $60,000 per year. If that continues, she said, the reserves will be gone in five years and the shelter will begin operating at a loss, which could lead to a decrease in services.
Godbee said, while the shelter serves nine counties, more than half of the people they serve are Cole County residents.
Jim Clardy, former executive director of RACS, said grant funds they have relied on in the past are decreasing, noting the shelter lost a $50,000 annual grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health.
Alden Henrickson, current executive director of RACS, said the organization often depends on a number of one-time grants that cannot be counted on in the next year.
"Our funding situation is always tenuous," Henrickson said. "I'm trying to look at more consistent revenue sources."
Cole County Sheriff Greg White said domestic violence is a big issues, especially as it ties into substance abuse. Without a RACS shelter, he said, serious violent crime escalates. As it is now, White said he can't remember the last time the department worked a homicide case that was related to domestic abuse, something he credits to RACS.
But two of the county commissioners said the fee increase equated to a tax they could not support. Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher said while he agrees with what RACS does, he does not know if it's an operation of government to fund it.
"I still struggle with it," Hoelscher said. "I see it as another tax."
Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle said he agreed with Hoelscher, and when Presiding Commission Sam Bushman asked for a motion, none came.
Hoelscher said the issue is not dead, and RACS can come back next year to ask for the increase again. But for now, RACS will search for stable funding elsewhere.
Henrickson said the organization will go to the other eight counties it serves and some municipalities, including Jefferson City, to ask for the same increase.
"This was disappointing to us," Henrickson said of the commission's decision. "Every little bit certainly helps."
The shelter has been looking at every cost-saving measure possible, Henrickson said, with the staff going without a raise for the past four years. Henrickson said the organization has been searching for funding wherever it can and he noted the United Way has agreed to increase funding for the shelter this year.