ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The St. Louis County Council lowered the age requirement for the senior property tax freeze passed last year and added funding to get the application process up and running.
The council said Bill 134 aligns the county's law with changes made by the state legislature this year. The new county ordinance sets the initial qualifying age to 62 instead of 67 and removes any cap on assessed property valuation to apply. The property value was previously capped at $550,000.
The changes were made to bring the county's law in line with changes signed into state law earlier this year by Governor Mike Parson.
In addition to the eligibility changes, the council also allocated $600,000 from the county's general revenue fund to get the application process up and running. The new allocation of funds is added to the $300,000 previously allocated to the project.
The senior tax freeze became law in St. Louis County last November after the deadline for County Executive Sam Page to sign or veto the bill expired.
Page at the time said he did not sign the bill because the new state legislation allowing the tax freeze was "fundamentally flawed" and that he hoped improvements would be implemented in the coming legislative session.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly connected the legislation to the Senior Property Tax Credit. The programs are not connected.
