CLAYTON — The St. Louis County Council on Tuesday provided an additional $600,000 to help get the senior citizen property tax freeze program up and running.
The council also approved a bill to bring the county’s plan in line with changes made by the Legislature this year in the state law allowing the local freezes.
One change removes a $550,000 cap on the value of eligible homes. The revised plan, as directed by the state, sets the minimum age of eligibility at 62 years old, down from the 67 passed by the council last year.
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“It’s important for our seniors that we pass this legislation,†said the bill’s sponsor, Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-South County, who participated by teleconference. “Let’s get this process moving.â€
He said the allocation, along with $300,000 previously allocated by the council, will give seniors a chance to begin applying sometime this year once the county administration gets software installed.
County Executive Sam Page, in an interview after the meeting, said the amount will be enough for his administration to buy the needed software and hire the employees required to carry out the application process.
He said he doesn’t know yet when the application process will start. But he said people will be able to sign up so that their tax freeze would be in place by next year, the next time property will be reassessed under state law.
Under the measure, seniors will get an exemption from paying taxes on increases to their home’s value.
The Page administration had initially sought $1.8 million for the start-up costs. Page said Tuesday that the $900,000 now approved will be enough since it will cover just the second half of this year.
The measure allocating the additional $600,000 was passed, 5-2. Voting against it was the tax freeze’s sponsor, Councilman Dennis Hancock, R-Fenton.
Hancock complained that the administration had yet to spend the original $300,000 and it would be unwise to allocate additional dollars until that money is spent. He questioned whether any of it would be spent this year.
Also voting against the bill was Councilwoman Rita Heard Days, D-Bel-Nor. She said she wanted to see a report on what the original $300,000 is being spent on.
Councilwomen Lisa Clancy, D-Maplewood, and Kelli Dunaway, D-Chesterfield, both said they were upset that the Legislature had kept the county from putting a cap on the values of homes that could qualify. But they both voted in favor of the $600,000 allocation to carry out the application process.
Clancy, however, did vote against the separate bill bringing the county plan in line with the revised state law.