County budget hearings continue

Pettis County commissioners continued budget hearings Thursday morning during their regular meeting.

Leaders from each division in the county had the opportunity to request funding for 2010. The hearings, which conclude Friday, will enable the commissioners to develop a preliminary 2010 budget.

Since the economy is still questionable, commissioners expect to spend less in 2010 and put more funding in reserve. Presiding Commissioner Rusty Kahrs said commissioners only acknowledge budget requests during the hearings before approving funding in December.

“We will have some tough choices before the budget is balanced,” Kahrs said.

Commissioners on Thursday also met with representatives of Pettis County Johnsongrass Control. The Pettis County Johnsongrass Control receives 0.5 cents per $100 assessed value from Pettis County taxpayers to handle the spread of johnsongrass, which is considered a noxious weed by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. The perennial grass weed reduces yields in corn, grain sorghum, soybean and cotton.

Pettis County Johnsongrass Control Coordinator Mark Edwards said the johnsongrass control is managing the troublesome weed.  

“You never eradicate it,” Edwards said, “you just handle it.”

But, the control board has encountered an up and coming problem in a weed called cutleaf teasel.

Cutleaf teasel is a 6-foot tall plant imported from Europe for its use in the textile industry. The plant grows in open, sunny habitats preferring roadsides and other disturbed areas. It spreads by producing abundant seeds.

Edwards describes the plant as “a cactus-like and succulent weed that cattle and other livestock won’t eat.”

Edwards and others on the control board spend their days spraying chemicals on county right-of-ways and private property to keep the worrisome weed under control. But, some property owners are refusing to allow the control board onto their property to spray, which is causing the weed to spread to neighboring land, ditches and other areas. The service is offered free of charge to property owners.

“We’re spraying neighbor’s fence lines,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to keep it under control but it is useless if we don’t spray it all.”

Edwards asked the commissioners and Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Mittelhauser, who also was in attendance at the meeting, if any options were available to urge residents into compliance.

Mittelhauser said he planned to research legal options and would have a plan of action ready to discuss at the Nov. 26 meeting.