Details are still being gathered however the Missouri Department of Conservation is planning to close the Sullivan Conservation Office, Highway 185 South.
The announcement was made Friday, September 18, and officials are informing Sullivan staff this week of the proposed closure.
Statewide the conservation department has left some 39 full-time positions vacant since early this year and plans to not fill some 134 other vacancies. A total of 173 positions or 10.7 percent of the MDC staff will not be filled this year.
Revenue for the MDC’s one-eighth of one percent sales tax was $6.4 million lower in Fiscal Year 2009 than the previous year. The decline came on the heels of a $400,000 shrinkage of sales tax revenues in FY 2008. The new staffing plan is expected to produce an annual savings of approximately $7.5 million.
The Independent News will have more on this breaking story in the September 30, 2009, edition.