NEW STATE LAW REQUIRES ST. CHARLES COUNTY PUT QUESTION TO VOTERS.
Proposition RT will appear on the April 7 ballot across St. Charles County.
Required by the passage of Senate Bill 3 last summer.
Senate Bill 3 included a measure to cap real property (real estate) tax depending on the county you live in. The map illustrates:
Residents in 17 counties, including the city and St. Louis County, are unaffected.
Residents in 75 counties will vote on whether to cap at no more than a 5-percent increase over 2024 levels.
Residents in 22 counties, including St. Charles, will vote on whether to cap at 2024 levels.
TWO POSSIBLE OUTCOMES.
Residential property taxes for eligible homeowners frozen at 2024 levels with no program end date
OR no change to current system.
Commercial and rental properties are excluded.
PROPERTY TAXES ARE USED TO FUND SERVICES.
In St. Charles County, property tax revenue funds:
Schools, community college, library
Fire and ambulance districts
Resource boards that provide services for children and the disabled
NO REPLACEMENT REVENUE STREAM HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED.
There is no provision to replace the lost funding
The projections below are based on the average Fort Zumwalt home value of $328,179, as provided by the county. It factors in growth during re-assessment years (*) at 5 percent and growth in non-assessment years at .5 percent.
In the first year, the average FZ homeowner is projected to save $152. Fort Zumwalt School District is projected to lose $5 million. The chart below shows annual savings to a homeowner increasing to $253 by 2030. That year the projected annual loss for the district increase to $7.9 million.
In four years, FZSD funding would be reduced by a projected $25.7 million.
In four years, the average FZ homeowner would save $810.
FORT ZUMWALT WILL HAVE TO FIND OFFSETS OR SPEND RESERVES.
Possible cost saving measures could include:
Fewer bus routes
Fewer extra-curricular activities
Staff cuts through attrition that could increase class sizes
While deficit spending might cover Year 1 losses, depleting reserves is not a long-term solution.
Get a printable PDF of this information
See the Chief Financial Officer's March update to the Board of Education
Learn more about FZSD finances
Paid for by Fort Zumwalt School District, Dr. Henry St. Pierre Superintendent.