Council Holds Public Hearing To Certify City Tax Rate;

City Council Keeps Promise To Only Levy What Is Needed From Prop. C

Kirkwood, Missouri -- Thursday, August 2, 2007 – At tonight’s City Council meeting, the first reading will take place regarding the certification of the property tax rates for the City of Kirkwood. These are property taxes that already have been authorized by voters in past elections. The public hearing process is an annual occurrence each August, as the city must submit the tax rates by September 1 of each year to St. Louis County. St. Louis County collects the taxes for all personal and real estate property in Kirkwood.

There are 4 categories that the City of Kirkwood can legally collect with voter approval:
 

Ø      General Government. Just approved on June 5 of this year, Proposition C authorized 34 cents to go to the General Fund to restore and maintain core services, including restoring seven public safety positions; fairly compensating city employees, including our police, fire and paramedics; and shoring up street repairs. While voters authorized 34 cents, the City Council committed to levying in 2007 only what was necessary to generate the $2 million that was needed. Based on County data, the 2007 levy that is proposed for the Proposition C tax is 27.6 cents. The other tax rates will be set at or lower than their 2006 tax rates. 

Ø      Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Funds. Used to pay for the citizen-approved funding of a major benefit for the city’s commissioned police officers and firefighters.

Ø      Kirkwood Parks. Used for maintenance and operation of more than 300 acres of park land throughout the city. Voters actually approved a park tax of 20 cents; however, the City Council authorized a reduction in this tax from 20 cents to the current 13 cents when voters authorized the ½ cent park sales tax in 1998.

Ø      Debt Service. Used to pay on the principal and interest on the citizen-approved general bonded indebtedness of the city, including the improvements to the fire department that voters authorized during a November 2000 bond issue.
 

Calculating Residential Property Tax

1)      Take property’s assessed valuation and multiply it by 19%. (The assessed valuation of a property is determined by St. Louis County, but for an approximation, an amount that reflects what the property could realistically be sold for in today’s market will work)

2)      Divide by 100 to get the figure that you use to multiply by the various tax rates.

What Does A Homeowner Pay In Property Taxes To The City of Kirkwood?

Back To News Releases