Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES—The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) board adopted the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget at its June 10 meeting. Fiscal Officer Linda Loughridge reviewed the budget in detail with members.

The 2021-22 budget projects $3,300,423 in revenues with $3,283,411 in expenses, leaving the organization with a surplus of $17,012. These revenues are up $7,637 from fiscal year 2020-21. MRPC’s revenue is approximately 68 percent federal funding, 27 percent local and private sector funding, 3 percent membership dues that come from the cities and counties who MRPC serves and 2 percent state funding.

Indirect costs, or the costs of running the organization, increased approximately 7 percent from last fiscal year and represents 18 percent of the total agency budgeted expenses in 2021-22. Management continues to seek ways to reduce overhead costs. MRPC’s largest expense remains personnel (wages and benefits), which is typical of a service organization. This coming year it is anticipated that a full-time bookkeeper and a full-time community development specialist will be added to the current staff of 29 full-time and six part-time employees. 

MRPC goes through a budget process twice a year. The commission takes steps to minimize operating expenses and increase revenues as much as possible. For more information, please contact MRPC at 573-265-2993.

In other business, the MRPC board: 

• Announced the MRPC annual dinner will be Oct. 21, 2021, and ticket prices this year will be $35 a person. The External Relations Committee also selected volunteer award recipients for 2020 and 2021 who will be honored in October. The event is planned at State Technical College of Missouri in Linn;
• Proposed a bylaw change to eliminate the Emergency Management At-Large position from the board due to new requirements on how the Meramec Regional Emergency Planning Committee and MRPC can work together;
• Approved two resolutions to defederalize two loan funds granted by the Dept. of Commerce Economic Development Administration. The funds will continue to be used as loan funds. Legislation passed two years ago allow for EDA RLF dollars to be defederalized when the last loan of the original grant is at least seven years old. By defederalizing, MRPC can reduce the reporting burden on these funds; 
• Learned that four of MRPC’s state priorities passed the Legislature this session. Legislators gave approval to the state fuel tax increase, the prescription drug monitoring program, the Wayfair legislation and included a $100,000 increase for State Aid to Regional Planning Commissions; and 
• Heard an update from MRPC Planning Manager Anne Freand on the Southeast Missouri Transportation Service (SMTS) deviated fixed-route that MRPC is conducting under contract with SMTS. The study focuses on the cities of Rolla, St. James and Salem.. 

The MRPC board will not meet in July. The next board meeting will be Aug. 12 and will be available via Zoom or in-person attendance. 

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. Steve Vogt, representing the city of Belle, assumed the position of chairman at the June meeting after Gasconade County Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel completed his second term as the chairman. A professional staff of 34 led by Executive Director Bonnie Prigge offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

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