A public hearing will be conducted today — Sept. 26 — by the Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors on a proposed 2013 “blended” tax rate of 70.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The hearing will take place at 5 p.m. at the district’s headquarters, 11020 Mueller Road, Green Park.

The blended tax rate is not levied, but used for state calculations. The proposed 2013 rate is one-tenth of a cent more than the current blended rate of 70.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The proposed 2013 tax rates for the general, alarm and pension funds are: 62.5 cents, 4.5 cents and 3.8 cents, respectively.

The 2012 tax rates for the general, alarm and pension funds are: 62.5 cents, 4.4 cents and 3.8 cents, respectively.

In April 2011, district voters approved Proposition S, which consolidated the district’s general fund and ambulance fund into one fund and eliminated the ambulance fund.

The proposed blended tax rate of 70.8 cents is a combination of four tax rates — residential property, commercial property, agricultural property and personal property.

Mehlville’s total assessed valuation decreased by nearly $70.5 million compared to last year, primarily due to a drop in residential property values, according to Chief Financial Officer Brian Bond.

The district’s 2013 total assessed valuation dropped to $2,227,618,170 from 2012’s total assessed valuation of $2,298,114,885.

As a result, Bond projects tax revenue will decrease by $462,330 from 2012.