CLAYTON 鈥 50度灰视频 County officials, facing questions from angry homeowners, on Tuesday debated how to get a senior property tax freeze off the ground.
The freeze became law last fall. But a debate between the council and County Executive Sam Page has put the measure on ice.
The Department of Revenue needs the council to approve $1.8 million annually before the county can hire staff, buy equipment and enact the freeze, revenue Director Tony Smee said Tuesday at a council hearing.
鈥淚t seems like it should be a simple process and have minimal impact on current staffing. It really isn鈥檛,鈥 said Smee, whom Page hired last year. 鈥淲e really have no mechanism for undertaking the application, acceptance, verification, data storage and accounting function for this process.鈥
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But some council members say the number seems too high.
鈥淲e want to be reasonable in how much we spend to do this,鈥 Republican Councilman Dennis Hancock of Fenton said.
The council has not allocated additional money to help the revenue department start the program. The department says it needs $1.7 million to hire 28 people, plus $65,000 for new software and $42,000 for computers, scanners and other equipment, according to the revenue department.
The new staff would provide customer service, verify eligibility and manage data. The software would allow residents to apply online and store their information securely, Smee said.
The revenue department also wants the council to reverse $904,000 in budget cuts it made last fall. The department doesn鈥檛 have enough money to mail tax bills this year because of the cuts, and customer service was already a problem 鈥 revenue staffers are only able to answer about half the phone calls they receive, Smee said.
But even if the council agrees to fully fund the revenue department, the county might not have time to enact the freeze this year. It would take at least a month to launch and test an application website, not to mention weeks for hiring staff.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see how it鈥檚 possible to put the freeze in for this year,鈥 Smee said. 鈥淏ut regardless, we have to have the employees to start.鈥
This year is not a tax reassessment year, but reassessments in 2025 could result in tax increases.
St. Charles County Collector of Revenue Michelle McBride spoke at the hearing. Her county has already rolled out the application.
But, she said, St. Charles County estimates it will process no more than 36,000 applications 鈥 about a third of the 117,000 50度灰视频 County estimates.
And St. Charles County didn鈥檛 put a value cap on its freeze, one less factor for staffers to check.
McBride said she was only able to hire one additional employee 鈥 and it鈥檚 not enough.
She thinks 15 or 20 staffers might be able to handle 50度灰视频 County鈥檚 workload. But she thinks Smee鈥檚 request still seems reasonable.
鈥淎 bad rollout is worse than not rolling it out at all,鈥 McBride said.
In 50度灰视频 County, residents older than 67 will have to apply for the tax break by submitting a form annually to the county Collector of Revenue. The law includes a $550,000 cap on the value of eligible homes.
The Missouri Legislature is working on tweaks to the bill that could force 50度灰视频 County to drop its property value cap. Changes would also clarify that eligible homeowners must be 62 or older to receive the benefit.
In the meantime, residents have been emailing the council demanding a solution:
A homeowner from unincorporated South County worries an application won鈥檛 be ready in time for next year鈥檚 property tax cycle.
A Ballwin resident urged the county to make the 鈥渕uch-needed relief鈥 available.
And a St. Ann resident suggested County Council members cut their pay until they can enact the freeze.