Improving government a goal of commissioner candidates

Both candidates for Cole County Eastern District commissioner say a desire to improve county government is the driving force behind their campaigns. Each believes he is better suited to do the job.

First elected in 2008, Republican incumbent Jeff Hoelscher said his contracting and business experiences have been and will continue to be benefits to him if he is re-elected.

"Probably forming and improving inter-governmental relations is the biggest accomplishment I've seen happen in my time in office," he said. "Working with all the cities in our county, we've been able to do many cooperative projects. Getting the new jail and sheriff's office done was also a big accomplishment. We got that project done on time and within budget, and I'm proud of that."

Democrat Ed Williams said he's running to generate more interest in county government. Williams worked for 21 years as a wholesale grocery salesman and said he retired from his most recent part-time job to devote his time to run for this office.

"County activity doesn't get as much attention as it should," he said. "The only real reason to be a commissioner is to serve the citizens of Cole County, not your own enrichment. The element of service is something we've been missing for a long time. The people we have had in these offices are serving more of the various special interests. I think the people of Cole County deserve a better government than what we're giving them."

County surtax

Among the challenges Hoelscher has faced as a commissioner has been the issue of the county's surtax.

In April 2012, more than a year after lawsuits were filed over a 20-year-old mistake in the surtax that resulted in taxing entities being overpaid or underpaid, the 11 parties involved reached a settlement.

The surtax is charged against commercial property, and state lawmakers created it in the 1980s to replace the Merchants and Manufacturers Tax.

They also wrote a formula to be used for distributing the tax money, but a mistake made in the Cole County clerk's office apparently changed the distribution formula, resulting in some entities - including Jefferson City government - getting substantially less than it should have received, while others got too much.

Before the settlement, Hoelscher noted the county had money in reserves to take care of the matter and made a motion to use that money to settle the suits, but it died for lack of a second from his fellow commissioners.

"I wanted to try and work on a solution to keep the issue out of the courts as much as possible," he said.

Renns Lake

Another issue Hoelscher has wrangled with is Renns Lake.

In October 2009, heavy rain compromised a 30-foot stretch of the dam. To prevent a dam collapse, emergency crews and landowners spent several days pumping water out of the lake to ease pressure on the dam.

Lake owner Patricia Renn didn't have the money to repair the dam, so her family deeded the property to the county. The county removed part of the dam to prevent the lake from building back up, which they feared could cause the dam to fail completely.

Residents tried unsuccessfully to form an association to take over the land from the county.

Some residents argued the county should never have gotten involved in the matter, but by taking over the land the county was obligated to rebuild the lake.

Since 2015, the commission has looked to get rid of the property so the county would not have to continue maintaining it.

Hoelscher has pointed out no one on the current commission voted for the measure to take ownership of the lake in 2009 and reiterated he would like to give property owners around the lake the first chance to buy it.

"The county took their property and lowered the owners' property values by breaching the dam, some as much as 15-20 percent," he said.

Relationship with chamber

This is the second time Williams has run for the commission, but it's not the first time he has been involved in politics. He led the successful opposition to the Transformation Sales Tax in 2012. Transformation called for a 10-year sales tax, which would have raised more than $41 million to complete a list of 30 projects around Jefferson City. Williams also led the effort in 2014 to defeat a proposal for countywide zoning. Both propositions failed at the polls.

Williams said his first order of business as a commissioner would be to make sure the needs of county residents are addressed over the wishes of special interest groups.

"I don't believe the money the county is paying ($150,000) to the Chamber of Commerce is justified," he said. "Is it possible to try and bring more jobs into Cole County, I think is the question. We have a 4 percent unemployment rate, which is below what is considered to be full employment for an area. Industries in the area now don't seem to be able to get enough employees. And that's not to say we shouldn't be doing something, but we need to ask is it possible to spend money that will get us a return of bringing in more jobs. I'm not sure. I think the money we've been giving to the chamber could be used more for the betterment of the citizens. In the end, the chamber is really just a political organization."

Hoelscher said the county is getting a good return on the funds sent to the chamber: "He (Williams) picks on the Chamber of Commerce, and I know we give them a big check. But we also make sure we are getting our money's worth.

"When you look at the membership they have, it's a huge resource, and to have access to that is a benefit to us. There's no way we could try and do economic development on our own, and to do nothing at all wouldn't be what anybody wants."

Roads

Hoelscher said the majority of comments or questions he has heard from people he talks to while campaigning have dealt with roads.

"I know a lot of people would like to see their roads paved, but we have a limited budget. And we have policies to guide us on which roads get paved based on how much traffic or vehicles travel the roads," he said. "The other big issue is public safety, and I think everybody feels pretty good about that right now. I know we live in scary times, but this is a great community. And we watch each other's backs, and that helps."

If elected, Williams wants to have the county participate in the state sales tax holiday, which occurs the first weekend in August each year.

"State government doesn't receive any sales tax money that weekend, and if you also take the local taxes out, I think it would be a boost to working families," he said. "There are limits, but it's already a big retail draw. And I think this would be a benefit to those spending the money."

Salary

In a campaign post on social media, Williams said he would take only $12,000 to work as commissioner if elected. This came after the County Commission voted in August to give county officials back pay owed because of an unnoticed change in state law. Hoelscher voted against the back pay, although calculations showed he would get the most back pay of any county elected official - $99,125.93.

After the change, the Eastern District commissioner's salary is $58,494.79. It had been $41,497.15.

"I think it was just a charade," Williams said. "I think Jeff Hoelscher is the only one who had an opponent in the election. This isn't something that popped up overnight. It was a problem that had been around since 1994. This was just an opportunity to get this done with the least political damage. If I'm elected, I'll only accept $1,000 a month pay."

Hoelsher said of the issue: "My opponent has been saying he can do the job for certain amount of dollars if elected. I knew what I was going to get paid when I got elected, and I think if he wants to come in and work for less, then you'll get what you're paying for."

Although the commissioners' positions in Cole County generally have been viewed as part-time positions, County Finance Officer Debbie Malzner and County Attorney Jill Lahue said there is no law addressing any county elected officials' position as full time or part time.

"With an elected official's position, it's looked at as, 'How long does it take you to do your job?'" LaHue said.

The officials said those elected to their offices must take the money they are paid - what they do with that money is up to them.

"I guess part time, but we are always working," Hoelscher said. "We're getting calls at night wanting us to look at roads and other issues. I'd actually call it a job where you're always accessible."

Williams added: "It's a service, not a job. If it takes 50 hours to complete the job, I'll do it. If it takes 20 hours, I'll do it. I want to do this because there is a need. I'm not doing it for the money."

Candidate forum set for Nov. 1

The candidate forum will be live streamed on the News Tribune website, newstribune.com, and aired on JCTV.

MEET THE CANDIDATES

Ed Williams

Age: 67

Occupation: Retired

Education: Master's degree in history from the University of Missouri in Columbia

Family: Married 41 years to Carole; two sons - Phillip, who is studying at University of Central Missouri and Robert, who lives in Seattle.

Campaign finance

The latest campaign finance report shows as of Sept. 1 that Williams had:

Raised $4,350 for this election cycle

Spent $2,340.93

$2,275.58 cash on hand

$3,000 in debt

 

Jeff Hoelscher

Age: 45

Occupation: Private contractor and real estate broker

Education: Bachelor of science degree in agriculture business from Lincoln University

Family: Two sons - Dylan, who is currently attending University of Missouri St. Louis and Colton, who is a junior at Blair Oaks High School

Hobbies and civic involvement: Board of Realtors, Home Builders Association, Wardsville Lions Club. Hobbies include hunting and anything that allows him to be outdoors.

Campaign finance

The latest campaign finance report shows as of Oct. 1 that Hoelscher had:

Raised $11,540 for this election cycle

Spent $6,739.73

$5,083.75 cash on hand

No debt