The Lindbergh Board of Education authorized a 31-cent rollback of Lindbergh Schools’ blended tax rate during its annual tax-rate hearing Sept. 24.

The board voted 7-0 to approve a blended tax rate of $4.0222 per $100 of assessed valuation for 2019, a decrease from the 2018 blended tax rate of $4.3355.

“Property values have increased throughout St. Louis County, not just within the Lindbergh community,” said Chief Financial Officer Joël Cracchiolo in a news release. “Even with the increase, we are bound by state law to roll back our rates when property values outpace the rate of inflation. We are pleased to be able to keep our taxes low while continuing to provide high-quality educational experience for our students.”

2019 operating tax rates

• Residential Real Estate – $2.8736 (decrease of $0.3868)
• Agricultural Real Estate – $2.4608 (decrease of $1.1041)
• Commercial Real Estate – $3.7016 (decrease of $0.1997)
• Personal Property – $3.9096 (unchanged)

St. Louis County districts are required to calculate a single blended rate of the above rates, which is only used to compare Lindbergh with other school districts. The blended operating rate of $4.0222 is a decrease of $0.3133.

Setting tax rates

Missouri’s Hancock Amendment limits a district’s collection of revenue to the lesser of either the property value increases or the rate of inflation. In 2019, a property reassessment year, assessed value of property in Lindbergh increased by $175 million, or 11.31 percent.

However, the consumer price index, or rate of inflation, increased by only 1.9 percent. As a result, Lindbergh is required by law to roll back the tax rate so that only 1.9 percent more in new revenue is collected.

Debt service

The debt service fund is mandated to be used exclusively for the retirement of long-term debt from voter-approved bonds, such as Prop R, and that rate is also set by state statute. Lindbergh’s debt service levy remains unchanged at $0.8330.

The total assessed value of property in Lindbergh for 2019 is $1,554,594,940.