By Rebecca Wu(KSDK) - St. Louis City homeowners are getting their property tax assessment in the mail this week. The average increase is 22.7 percent.Leta Valendy, 82, of St. Louis, and her son planted four bushes in the front yard of her Fox Park neighborhood home. That's about all the recent major improvements she's made to her home."We haven't had any major repairs. It can stand some," said Valendy.But in just two years, her property assessment increased by more than 29 percent."I don't know if they're doing this because of renovations going on, because I haven't done much to ours," said Valendy.Valendy thinks it's wonderful there is new home construction and renovations going on in her neighborhood, but at the same time, she's worried about what her property tax bill will be because of the increase."I'm just getting my husband's Social Security and that's it," said Valendy.St. Louis City assessor Ed Bushmeyer said the state is putting pressure on the city and other jurisdictions to bring assessments closer in line with property values."What had happened is during the latter part of the 1990s and the early part of this decade, property values were going up rapidly and assessments weren't keeping pace," said Bushmeyer.The State Tax Commission of Missouri sent a letter to the city in 2004 stating the assessments need to increase by at least 50 percent. Bushmeyer softened the blow by spreading out the increase over two cycles."With this round of reassessment, I feel we are at market value. So this should be the last painful reassessment we'll go through for a while," said Bushmeyer.When the last property assessment was made two years ago, the average increase was even greater than the most recent one.If you live in the City of St. Louis and feel your reassessment is incorrect, the deadline to file an appeal is May 14.Missouri has two programs to help seniors and people with disabilities get financial help with property taxes.They are the Homestead Preservation Credit program.That information is also included in the mail with the reassessment notices.
St. Louis City Homeowners See Property Tax Increase
St. Louis City homeowners are getting their property tax assessment in the mail this week. The average increase is 22.7 percent. St. Louis City assessor Ed Bushmeyer said the state is putting pressure on the city and other jurisdictions to bring assessments closer in line with property values.
