ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Tuesday marked the first day for seniors in St. Louis County to apply for property tax freeze and at one of four government center locations where seniors can get help from county staff to fill their application, some are waiting in lines for hours.
At the Northwest Crossing location in St. Ann, Missouri, many seniors are waiting as hours for county staff to help them fill out their application.
A video board with a ticker showing how long the wait time was showed some people, especially at the back of the line, needing to wait over seven hours.
One man, who had to wait for five hours, tells KMOX how he was able to pass the time.
"I walked a thousands steps around here since I've been here to kill the time" said the man.
One resident tells KMOX the long lines at the location in St. Ann is due to the office in Clayton not being ready to go this morning.
The county office at St. Ann began turning people away at 2:30 p.m., because they were simply unable to help them before the office would close for the day at 4 p.m.
One resident, Allan, was told he had to come back another day.
"I've would've been glad to wait just in case they could have gotten through it," said Allan. "But if they are not going to let me go in for it, I just won't go in for it."
Residents who are planning to apply for a property tax freeze can apply online through an online portal.
In addition to the offices in St. Ann and in Clayton, St. Louis County residents can also go to offices in South County at 4546 Lemay Ferry Road, and in Chesterfield at 74 Clarkson Wilson Center.
County Revenue Director Tony Smee, who joined KMOX Tuesday morning, tells KMOX that there's no rush as the deadline to apply for the 2024 freeze is June 30, 2025.
"We got a full nine months for them to apply," said Smee. "We expect there is going to be a large number of folks that want to apply on the first day, but they really have nine months to do it."