Reforming Real Estate Taxation:
Capitol Report from State Representative Bob Onder, District 13
Over the last couple of months many of you have contacted me about rising real estate
taxes, triggered by increases in the assessed value of your property. Seniors are often
especially hard-hit by these reassessments, because often their income is fixed while
taxes go up and up. Younger families, however, are often affected as well, because many
of them see their taxes increasing just at the same time as an adjustable rate mortgage
increases their monthly payments.
Many have asked me how property taxes can keep going up without a vote of the people.
Doesn’t the Hancock Amendment prevent tax increases without the taxpayers first voting to approve the increase? And therefore aren’t “roll backs” of the tax rate required when assessments increase? The answer is yes and no. The Hancock Amendment does indeed require that tax increases be approved by voters. It does not require “roll back” of the tax rate, however, as long as the current rate is less than the “maximum approved rate.” This “maximum rate” serves as a big loophole that results in many taxing districts not being required to roll back their rates. This may all be confusing but the end result we all
understand: our taxes go up.
A number of pieces of legislation have been filed to require roll backs and fix this loophole in our real estate tax system. One of these bills has been filed by Senator Michael Gibbons, who also serves as President Pro Tem of the Missouri Senate. Last week the House Ways and Means Committee, a committee on which I serve, heard a similar bill filed by Representative Charles Portwood.
Other ideas have been proposed to reform our real estate tax system. These include:
• Put a freeze on property tax levels once a homeowner resides in a home for a
certain number of years, essentially capping property tax for that home.
• Shift the amount of local revenue that is generated from property tax to a sales
tax, eliminating property tax.
• Capping the amount property tax levels can increase each year, say to 1 or 2 %.
I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues this year to address this
issue. What do you think is the best approach? Feel free to contact me either
electronically at the e-mail address above, or in writing or by phone to my Capitol office.
Bridge Study Ongoing
We all remember the tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse last year. A federal report
released on January 15, 2008 cited gusset plates (steel plates that connect the beams of a bridge’s frame) as the probable cause of the Minneapolis bridge collapse. Missouri has 232 truss bridges – the design that collapsed in Minneapolis. With the release of the
federal report, Missouri Department of Transportation Pete Rahn issued the following
statement:
Knowing what likely caused the Minneapolis bridge collapse is a big help to us …
We’re using their recommendations in the study we’ve begun of all 232 truss
bridges on the state highway system…We don’t expect to find anything that is
compromising the safety of these bridges. All our bridges are inspected regularly,
and are designed to safely handle traffic, or else we’d close them right away. But
we need to double-check and make sure all our truss bridges are safe, because we
cannot let what happened in Minnesota happen here in Missouri.
In our area two bridges - the westbound Blanchette Bridge on I-70 and the westbound Daniel Boone Bridge on Route 40- will be evaluated further. To date inspections have not revealed any unsafe conditions on these Missouri bridges. But we look forward to seeing the final results of MoDOT’s inspections in light of the federal findings.
“Blue Books” Available
Each legislator is given an allotment of Official Manuals of the State of Missouri, also
known as “Blue Books.” If you would like one, please contact my office. These manuals
contain a wealth of information about Missouri history and government and may be
especially useful resources for history, civics, or social science classrooms.
Again, it is an honor to serve as your representative in Jefferson City. If you will be in
the Capitol, either individually or as part of a school or group tour, feel free to call my
office. Likewise, do not hesitate to call on any matter for which I may be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Robert F. “Dr. Bob” Onder
State Representative, District 13
Copyright 2008 Neighbors About Town