Creve Coeur Residents Could See A Break On Utility Taxes

Creve Coeur residents who have already seen a cut on property tax rates may soon be able to add their utility taxes to the chopping block.

Monday night, Creve Coeur City Councilwoman Jeanne Rhoades pushed forward with her desire to move to permanently reduce the city's utility rate by 1.5 percent. Rhoades cited the tough economic times for residents seen in recent years, along with what she called an inherent lack of fairness in the tax code which allows commercial utility taxpayers the ability to write off those costs while residents cannot do the same.

City officials estimate a 1.5 percent cut would translate to a loss of roughly $186,000 for city coffers. A precise "what would this mean for the average resident" figure was not immediately available but there was some speculation that it could amount to roughly $24 annually. 

At the behest of Ward 1 Councilwoman Cynthia Kramer, more specific figures would be available in time for Ward 1 Town Hall meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. Fellow Ward 1 Councilman David Kreuter said if the savings would only amount to that much per resident, it would be more worth it to invest that $186,000 in funding city pensions.

Rhoades countered that to someone on a fixed income, $24 was not an insignificant amount.

City Attorney Carl Lumley told the council that if there was a reduction, a vote of the public would not be required to increase it later because the city was in compliance with state statutes laid out by the Hancock Amendment regarding state and local taxation. 

Were there ever a need to recoup that lost revenue, Rhoades said she would favor increasing the commercial utility tax rate by .5 percent instead of asking residents for it.

A first reading on a vote for a 1.5 percent cut in utility taxes could come at the next council meeting July 22.