Mark Ruether News Today

Voters participating in the April 4 municipal election will be asked to decide if Jefferson City and Cole County should tax the sale of recreational marijuana.

In 2007, Cole County residents voted to approve a half-cent law enforcement sales tax. The revenue from the tax was used to pay for land, the construction and the operation of a new jail and sheriffs department since then.

Five Cole County officials gathered at the courthouse Friday morning to be sworn into their offices. The Division I courtroom on the third floor of the historic building was full of friends, family and colleagues supporting the elected officials.

With the end of the year almost at hand, Mark Ruether is approaching the end of his first major task since taking office as Cole County auditor.

The Cole County Commission has tentatively come to an agreement about how salary increases will be given in 2023.

The second day of hearings for the 2023 Cole County budget ended Wednesday in an argument between Assessor Chris Estes and Western District Commissioner Harry Otto.

The fairness of salary increases for county employees and the creation of new positions were the only real points of contention at Tuesdays Cole County commission meeting.

The most highly funded items on the proposed Cole County 2023 budget are law enforcement, emergency medical services, capital improvements and general accounts.

The proposed 2023 Cole County budget projects $115.2 million in revenue, $83.7 million in expenditures and a 4 percent cost-of-living salary adjustment for employees.

Republican incumbent Sam Bushman successfully defended his seat Tuesday in the Cole County presiding commissioner race.