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Dowil said she is not against the collecting of taxes because it will "simplify" taxpaying for Union residents. However, she questioned why the city is seeking to reduce the salary of the "only full-time city officials" without voter approval.
"I urge you not to do it through the backdoor," said Dowil. "I urge you to allow the voters to decide."
She explained that reducing the salary would make the position undesirable to a capable candidate.
The city must decide whether or not to contract the services with the county by mid-August in order for the county to perform the 2010 collection. The city must seek voter approval to eliminate the collector as an elected city position.
The board of aldermen can set the collector's salary.
In July, aldermen were told the cities of Pacific and St. Clair did not cut their collector's salary when they contracted with the city.
City Administrator Russell Rost noted that the city of St. Clair laid off a clerk when the county began to collect city taxes because the amount of collection work was reduced.
Dowil said the elimination of the position was due to a "budget crunch" in St. Clair.
"I assure you that there will be ample responsibility for the collector if you choose to outsource the collection of the taxes," she said. "My office was responsible for collecting over $4.8 million during the last fiscal year - of this amount $980,000 was taxes."
She added that the city added the new full-time position of a finance director in 2008. The new position decreased the duties of the city clerk and the city administrator, however their salaries were not decreased.
Dowil presented figures to the public works committee that show a salary increase for department heads ranging from 5-14 percent. Dowil's figures show a 7 percent increase for the city administrator, an 11 percent increase in salary for the financial officer and a 14 percent increase for the parks director.
"This puts into perspective the $60,000 salary of the collector as discussed at an earlier meeting and reported in The Missourian, Dowil said. "You can see that the lowest increase was 5 percent and both the finance director and the park director enjoyed an increase in excess of 10 percent."
Mayor Mike Livengood told The Missourian that the figures Dowil presented are not accurate and have not been verified. He added that when the financial officer was hired additional duties were given to the city administrator.
Dowil noted that the board of aldermen are considering a "paperless council" which would reduce the role of another city hall staff member.
She added that she does not suggest those salaries be reduced, but that they be taken into consideration.
Alderman Bill Isgriggs said he was "told point blank" that a secretary position was eliminated in St. Clair because of a "budget crunch."
"We ain't going to be saving that much," he said. "If you are going to mess with the position let the people decide."
The county collector's office began collecting for municipalities in 1998 when it started collecting for Washington. Other cities began soliciting the service. In 2006, Pacific was the latest to have the county collect its taxes.
Each of the cities the county collects for is assessed a charge for the service. One and one-half percent of the total charge goes to the collector's fund and one-half percent goes to the assessor's fund.
That money goes to the general revenue fund and offsets the extra costs in each office. In addition to the collector and assessor charges, the county collector and clerk each get a $2,000 commission for their services. This is because both are held personally accountable for the accuracy of their offices.
Berger, Gerald, Leslie, Oak Grove Village and Parkway Village do not have to pay to have the county collect their taxes for them because so little tax is collected.
Another benefit to cities is that the county is better able to collect on delinquent bills. As long as the individual lives within the county, he or she will have to pay the collector's office personal property tax to renew license plates and tags at the Missouri Department of Revenue.
