Politics & Government

Creve Coeur Property Tax: Keep It, Lower It or Get Rid Of It?

City Council members heard public testimony Monday and have until the end of the month to set an official rate for 2012.

A Creve Coeur City Council meeting that began Monday with a Public Hearing for comment on setting the 2012 property tax rate at 2011 levels ended roughly three hours later amid talk of reducing them.

City staff proposed keeping the tax rate at last year's levels for residential and commercial taxpayers ($.084/residential and $.079/commercial).

City residents David Caldwell and Robert Kent have argued over the years for reducing or eliminating the property tax, a position Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz has also articulated over time. Each reiterated that thought Monday.

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Keeping the rates at 2011 levels would cost the city roughly $28,500 annually in 2012 and 2013, according to City Finance Director Dan Smith.

"I can't help but think that we have to start somewhere," Ward Four Councilwoman Jeanne Rhoades said in proposing that the the rates be further cut back to $.075 for residential and commercial taxpayers. 

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Ward 1 Councilwoman Beth Kistner warned against making a "hyper-reactive decision," while Ward 3 Councilman Bob Hoffman voiced a longer-term concern about funding city pension implications that could cast the current city surplus in a different light down the road.

City officials will review the impact of lowering the rate and are expected to make a final decision at the next City Council meeting September 24. 

Tell us what you think about property taxes in Creve Coeur. Keep them, cut them, or get rid of them?


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