Rollback Of Property Tax Rate Measure Of Economic Stability
They say an optimist is someone who looks at a glass with water to the halfway point and says it’s half full. A pessimist looks at the same glass and observes that it’s half empty.
Then there are those other folks. The ones who observe:
There’s no ice. The glass is dirty. I think I see a crack. I wanted tea. You didn’t use a coaster.
Such people have few friends, the result of offering way too much advice on their personal wardrobe, home furnishings, raising children and social etiquette. They burn the same bridges at work. After a while, they are left with one outlet for their compulsive behavior…local government.
Such people are nearly impossible to please, but being an optimist, I keep trying. I believe all elected officials are natural born optimists. It’s what keeps us from going crazy. That and leaving half full water glasses sitting around to drive pessimists crazy.
In local government we often have to deal with controversial topics. Fortunately there are times when things are not that tough. Tuesday the Council passed a bill which came about as close to pleasing everyone as it gets. It was my pleasure as Council President to sponsor the bill. No one spoke in opposition at a public hearing the week before. There was no debate. It had the unanimous support of the Council and the Mayor was expected to sign it immediately.
What generates that kind of unanimity? Bill 8666 rolls back the City property tax rate. The current rate is 97 cents and passage of this bill lowered it 5 cents to 92 cents.
But before breaking an arm patting myself on the back, I have to admit State Law requires us to do it. Local taxing entities in Missouri must adjust their property tax rate each year to generate the same amount of revenue as the previous year, with an adjustment for new construction.
Some communities see little growth. We are among the more fortunate. Our assessed valuations went up 13.3% in one year or nearly $127 million. Our total assessed value (a percentage of overall value) broke a BILLION dollars for the first time in the history of St. Charles!
I know that receiving a higher property tax assessment is never fun. It is particularly worrisome for those Seniors on fixed incomes. Fortunately, there are safety nets for those who qualify under the Circuit Breaker Law or, under the Homestead Act, for those Seniors who want to go through the trouble of applying for a credit against next years tax bill for any increase over 5%. Doesn’t sound easy does it?
But higher property assessments also have an up side. They tell us the investment we made in our homes was a sound one. Real estate returns more on the dollar than many other investments people can make. Increasing property values add to our personal wealth. Increasing property values also mean people want to live in our community and are a sign of stable neighborhoods.
St. Charles City also experienced an overall increase in our tax base of over $20 MILLION from new construction in one year. Developers and businesses are investing in our community. Part of the reason is the pro-growth policies of your City Council. We may disagree on some issues, but by-in-large the Council is united when it comes to cutting edge innovation, helping new industries, encouraging redevelopment of older commercial districts, improving our streets, upgrading public utilities and creating a business friendly environment.
To further put the proposed property tax rate rollback in perspective, the City Finance Director presented the Council with a comparison of the top four communities in our County. To make for a fair comparison you have to add the Fire District tax being paid in these other communities, since St. Charles provides its own. Here are the numbers for each community:
City of St. Charles $ .9200
City of O’Fallon $ 1.4541
City of St. Peters $ 1.4675
City of Wentzville $ 1.5290
The City of St. Charles has been able to keep its property tax rate low for a variety of reasons. Of course we have gaming revenues. Along with all of the public infrastructure improvements we’ve been able to do, we have been able to keep taxes down as well. When I hear someone ask what benefit the gaming money has had, I can start with the fact our City property tax rate averages 53 cents “less” than what our neighbors to the West are paying for their city services and fire protection combined.
The pessimists among us will point out the economy is still sour, gas prices are outlandish and sales tax revenues sluggish. But as an optimist, I have to believe things are going to get better and that these numbers reflect some strength in our local community. Go ahead and pour yourself a glass of water to celebrate...just not all the way to the top
ttt.
