Implementation of St. Louis County’s senior property tax freeze remains in limbo as additional funds are sought to get the program up and running.
At the July 16 County Council meeting, 6th District Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-Oakville, moved to hold his proposed bill that would allot an additional $600,000 to the Department of Revenue to administer the program.
The legislation for the freeze was passed last October and $300,000 was approved for the program in April. However, the Department of Revenue said that is not enough to cover the costs of new hires and new software, which it said will cost approximately $1.8 million.
“There’s nothing I’d like more than to move this final passage tonight. This is the bill appropriating an additional $600,000 to … begin the process of implementing the senior tax freeze that this esteemed body passed 10 months ago,” Trakas said at the meeting. “Be that as it may, without Councilwoman (Kelli) Dunaway (D-2nd District) present, I’m not going to run the risk of this bill failing, so I move to hold Bill No. 140.”
The freeze passed in October would freeze property tax increases for homeowners who are at least 67 years old and whose homes are $550,00 or less. Qualifying residents will have to apply once the county can open applications.
The freeze is possible due to legislation passed statewide in 2023 that allows counties to opt into the tax freeze or put it to a public vote. St. Charles County and St. Louis City have implemented freezes.
Additionally, Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation during this year’s legislative session that expands on last year’s senior property tax freeze eligibility requirements. Previous requirements required seniors to be receiving Social Security benefits. The expanded requirements now allow any seniors who receive their retirement income from pensions to be eligible for the program, as well as lowering the age of eligibility for the freeze to 62.
Because of the latest statewide legislation, the council is also considering its own legislation that would lower the age of eligibility to 62, in addition to a bill introduced by County Council Chairwoman Shalonda Webb, D-4th District, which would allocate over $8 million from the Rams NFL Settlement Fund to several different areas, including supporting the purchase, installation, storage and maintenance costs for the software to support the senior tax credit.
The council was set to once again review the bills at its July 23 meeting.
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