St. Charles County became the first county in the St. Louis-area to adopt the property tax freeze for seniors Monday night.
St. Charles County Council unanimously approved a measure to give a tax freeze to all residents 62 and older.
The tax freeze will begin in 2024 .
St. Charles County is the third county in Missouri to enact a similar property tax freeze for seniors after a bill signed into law in May by Gov. Mike Parson each Missouri county to decide if they want to implement the tax freeze bill.
The tax freeze for seniors applies to all taxing jurisdictions located within St. Charles County (school districts, fire districts, etc.) and not just to the portion of a property tax bill that goes to the county itself. About two percent of the total property tax goes to the county for the dedicated Road and Bridge Fund and the Dispatch and Alarm Fund.
However, the tax freeze would NOT apply to ad valorem taxes levied for the payment of bonded indebtedness (school bonds, etc.), or the State Blind Pension Fund.
There was some pushback from the school districts, according to St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann. Some schools districts were concerned about a drop in future revenue due to the freeze.
St. Charles officials say they expect some districts to take the bill to court to try to block the freeze.
