| Tax levies set for 2009-2010 school year |
| Monday, August 31, 2009 |
The Pattonville Board of Education set its residential tax rate at $3.6706 for the 2009-2010 school year during its Aug. 25 board meeting. Although the estimated rate represents an increase of 24 cents over the previous year, two-thirds of homeowners (approximately 10,000 homes) will see a reduction in their property taxes because of a decline in residential property values.
Another 2,500 will see an increase of less than $20 because of a low change in the value of their property. Even with the tax rate increase in the current school year, revenues will decrease slightly from the previous year. Pattonville’s 2009-2010 budget includes $2 million in reductions, including a reduction of 14 staff members through normal retirements and resignations. These reductions enable Pattonville to maintain a balanced budget and offset any increase in expenditures.
Pattonville’s tax rate is typically well below the St. Louis County average for school districts. Last school year’s tax rate of $3.4334 per $100 of assessed valuation was among the lowest in St. Louis County - nearly 57 cents below the county average school district levy.
St. Louis County school districts levy tax rates in four classes: residential, commercial, agricultural and personal property. The rates for the 2009-2010 school year, compared with the previous year’s rates, are shown below.
Voluntary rollbacks in the new rate
State law allows for the recovery of lost tax revenue due to a reduction in assessed valuation, and when assessed valuation decreases a district’s tax ceiling will increase. The tax ceiling is the maximum levy a school district may set in a given year. Due to the impact of the current economy on many district’s residents, the 2009 residential tax rate is nearly 24 cents lower than the tax ceiling or maximum levy that may be set due to two voluntary rollbacks and one Proposition C rollback. The new rate includes a 5-cent voluntary operating reduction in Pattonville’s tax rate from what it could legally levy, a 5-cent reduction in the debt service levy, and a 14-cent reduction due to revenue from Proposition C. The voluntary reductions mark the fourth time in the last five years Pattonville has
voluntarily reduced its residential tax rate. In addition, Pattonville has followed the state’s Hancock Amendment requirements for reducing its tax levy when property values increase. As a result, Pattonville has reduced its residential tax rate by 60 cents between 2004 and 2008.
Debt service levy unchanged-as promised
The new rate includes an unchanged debt service levy of 49 cents, as promised to voters when they approved a zero-tax-rate increase bond issue in 2006. Under the state’s formulas for calculating tax levies, the district could have legally levied an additional 5 cents in the debt service levy, but is foregoing that increase to keep its promise to tax payers not to increase this portion of the levy to pay for the 2006 bond issue.
The new rate also includes a reduction of nearly 14-cents due to Proposition C. In 1982 Missouri voters approved a special sales tax of one cent on the dollar to benefit public education. School districts were required to reduce their tax levy to represent half of their annual revenue from Proposition C. The majority of area districts have asked voters to repeal that requirement, and Pattonville is one of only a handful of area districts that continue to reduce their tax rate under this provision. Pattonville currently receives approximately $4 million in revenue from Proposition C, and the 14-cent rollback represents a revenue reduction of approximately $2 million for Pattonville. The combined effect of each of Pattonville’s rate reductions saves an average homeowner nearly $90 based on
the value of a $200,000 home and decreases potential revenue of the district nearly $3 million.
Calculating estimated rates last spring
State law requires school districts to project an estimated non-binding tax rate in April each year in order to provide taxpayers information on how changes in their assessed values affect their annual tax bill. For the first time ever, St. Louis County mailed residential changes of assessment, which included taxpayer’s current and prior-year assessments and estimated tax rates, in May 2009. Pattonville uses a form from the state auditor’s office to set its tax rates. The rates on the notices sent out by the county were estimates only, as the county assessor’s office did not have complete information on the assessments of commercial real estate and personal property needed to complete this form. For this reason, residential and commercial rates approved on Aug. 25 are slightly higher than originally
anticipated.
Initial estimates from the county showed commercial real estate values increasing more than 5 percent, however, commercial property values in Pattonville actually dropped by 9.5 percent once complete information was available. This change impacted both residential and commercial tax rates, increasing the residential rate by 5 cents and the commercial rate by 17 cents over the estimated rates from last spring.
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