Candidates for Butler County eastern commissioner see budget as top issue

Two Republican candidates seek election Tuesday to the Butler County office of eastern district commissioner.

The winner of the primary race will face independent candidate Van Rhodes in the November general election.

Newcomer John Edwin Ross DeGaris faces incumbent Don “Butch” Anderson for the Republican nomination in the primary.

Candidates were asked the same series of questions. Their information is listed in ballot order.

__Ross DeGaris__

DeGaris feels his drive to help people would serve him well as eastern district commissioner, as well as bringing fresh ideas to the office.

“I figured out a long time ago, if I wanted to be happy and have a sense of fulfillment in my career, I need to be helping people,” said DeGaris. “Being a commissioner is the best way to help the most citizens in Butler County that I can.”

DeGaris said he would like to see more involvement and interaction between the commission and the community.

“The stronger the community is, the stronger the county is,” and the commission can help lead that effort, DeGaris explained.

He would like the county to have an annual clean up like the city of Poplar Bluff has through Buff up the Bluff. The city provides dumpsters for trash disposal at that event. DeGaris suggested seeking business support and donations to fund a county effort.

He would also like to offer a monthly forum for residents to speak with commissioners during an evening time.

“The commissioners meet from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday now,” said DeGaris. “A lot of citizens work throughout the day. People who work during the day would still have the same opportunity as everyone else.”

It is the commission’s duty to serve the citizens of Butler County, he said.

“The best way to serve them is if we know all their thoughts and concerns,” DeGaris said. “We may not be privy to all the issues of the county unless we’re told them.”

He has concerns about the county budget, especially in light of cuts at the sheriff’s department, but admits he needs more information on the topic. If elected in the primary, he would like to sit in on commission meetings before November to learn more about the current situations.

DeGaris supports the law enforcement sales tax on the Tuesday ballot.

“Nobody likes the idea of more taxes, but you can see the need for them,” DeGaris said.

He would also like to see the county seek more grant funding.

He considers the budget one of the biggest issues facing the county. Costs have increased, but sales tax collections have struggled, he said, especially with the shift from local purchasing to online shopping.

Among the qualities he believes would serve him well in office are compassion and an ability to listen.

“People a lot of times just want their voice heard,” said DeGaris, who previously has also held jobs with the county and the city.

DeGaris believes most people don’t realize that a commissioner’s job is more than three meetings a week.

“There’s a lot of little things they do that help the community,” he said.

As someone who was born and raised in Butler County, and is raising children and grandchildren here, DeGaris said, he wants to help make a county his grandchildren will be proud of.

__Butch Anderson__

Anderson has completed three terms as eastern district commissioner and believes this experience would serve the citizens well in a fourth term.

The duties of the office require everything from making sure officeholders stay within their budgets, to assisting the public with concerns about water, sewer and drainage districts to seeking state and federal funding for various county projects, Anderson explained.

“The commission makes decisions on where our tax dollars are spent,” he said. “The other offices each have their own budgets, and we have to be sure they don’t overspend. And, then we oversee the maintenance of all county roads, whether it be blacktop or gravel, and the bridges.”

It’s a constant hunt for money to fund county needs, said Anderson. Funding is among the biggest challenges for the county, he said.

“Most of our funding comes from sales tax, and when our sales tax is down, we have to try to figure out a way to cut our spending to go along with the downside of the sales tax spending,” said Anderson. “You have to learn over the years to stay within your means.”

The costs go beyond maintaining roads and bridges, he said.

Anderson also supports the law enforcement tax, explaining the county population has grown and the budget for the sheriff’s department also needs to grow.

“(Or) we’re going to be in trouble down the road,” Anderson said, adding, “I don’t like taxes any better than anybody else.”

The needs of the sheriff’s department have grown, and the county commission has supplemented the money to cover that over the years, he said.

“We’re just getting to the point there’s no money to support it,” Anderson said.

Other parts of county government also have seen funding needs, including the county juvenile office, he continued.

The commission also continues to work on efforts to get clean up of the Black River approved and funded.

Many of these ongoing projects are proof of the need for experience in the office, according to Anderson.

“I was with MoDOT (the Missouri Department of Transportation) for 34 years,” he said. “I’ve been with the county now for 12 years. Experience counts.

“When I first came to the county, we had no money for black topping and resurfacing our asphalt roads. Now, we have a way to do it with our own equipment. We don’t have to contract out, which costs more.”

Anderson said he also has worked closely with the senior citizens board on funding for nutrition centers because seniors are very important to him.