The March 19 Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors meeting had a packed agenda and an audience to match.
“It’s seriously been like a decade since we’ve had so many people in the crowd. This is incredible. You can tell I’m not used to such excitement,” MFPD Board Chairman Aaron Hilmer said in reaction to the six Oakville High School students in attendance.
There to fulfill a civic engagement assignment, the OHS juniors chose an important meeting to attend, as topics including the 2025 projected non-binding tax rates, the district’s new transfer division and the addition of a second baby box.
As 2025 is an odd numbered year, it is a reassessment year, requiring all political subdivisions to submit projected non-binding tax rates to the county clerk’s office by April 8. These projected tax rates provide taxpayers with preliminary estimates of their 2025 tax bills.
A review by St. Louis County of the 2024 Post Board of Equalization Assessment Roll and the 2025 Preliminary Assessment Roll showed that assessed values have preliminarily increased $496,271,810, a 14.03% increase since the 2024 tax rates were fixed. This is primarily from a 15.15% increase in residential property assessed values, equating to $369,403,440, in combination with a 21.15% increase in commercial property assessed values, equating to $124,976,950.
The proposed rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
• Residential: $0.592 ($0.062 decrease from last year)
• Agricultural: $0.877 ($0.282 decrease from last year)
• Commercial: $0.778 ($0.134 decrease from last year)
• Personal Property: $1.068 (no change)
• Blended Rate: $0.685 ($0.071 decrease from last year)
“Even with that ($0.071) decrease, we still will see the tax revenue increase $874,000, with the majority of that increase, $835,000, in the general fund. The projected increase in the tax revenue is the result of the increase in assessed values in residential and commercial real estate,” MFPD Chief Financial Officer Brian Bond said.
Next discussed was the addition of a new transfer division from Mercy Hospital South, which passed unanimously by the board.
“Mercy South is within the boundaries of our fire district. Working with them as a community partner, we are going to begin transporting patients from the floor back to their homes and back to skilled nursing facilities,” MFPD Chief Brian Hendricks said. “We will have two trucks on the street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Sunday, to transfer patients out of Mercy South.”
The new division will be staffed by four full-time EMTs, four full-time paramedics, three PRN EMTs and three PRN paramedics. “PRN” stands for “pro re nata,” indicating a part-time or on-call position. Staff has not yet been announced, though the district’s goal is to have this new division operational by May 1.
Last, the board approved the purchase of the district’s second Safe Haven Baby Box for $15,000 plus a $500 annual fee. It should be noted that MFPD received a $1,000 donation from an unnamed resident to go toward the baby box purchase.
The new baby box will be installed at the district’s administrative headquarters, 11020 Mueller Road. Once installed, it will be the seventh or eighth baby box in the state, depending on construction time.