It’s been a little over a month since the creation of the Missouri Property Tax Task Force to analyze property tax rates. The panel – made up 18 legislators, assessors, senior citizens’ representatives, and ordinary citizens – has held one meeting in Jefferson City, and is looking forward to meetings in October in Springfield and Kansas City, and a final gathering in November in St. Louis to get input on how to deal with various concerns.
Task Force Chairman Dick Roehl says on one hand there are concerns from senior citizens who are on fixed incomes and are unable to keep up with property tax rate hikes … and on the other there are school officials who depend on property taxes to pay for public education.
One of the proposals being discussed would implement caps on property tax rate increases. Roehl says that’s the kind of thing that would benefit property owners, but might be harmful to schools, emergency services, and other public entities that depend on property taxes to operate.
The information collected will become part of a report the Task Force plans to submit to House Speaker Rod Jetton sometime in December so that it can form the basis for legislation during the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)
