2019/03/25 - Mayor's Column: Positive Updates on Property Tax and Exit 21
“An Open Door to O’Fallon”
A Weekly Note from Mayor Herb Roach
I have a lot to share this week! All of it is positive and welcome news.
First, I want to remind everyone that the local elections are coming up on April 2nd. Local elections have a large impact on your daily life, so it is important that you take the time to learn about the candidates. Making an informed vote goes a long way in helping create a successful community. Please vote!
Second, I am delighted to share with everyone that we were able to lower or property tax rate. In the fall, the City sets its property tax rate based on an estimate provided from St. Clair County. When the County provided us with our final EAV last week, it was higher than their earlier estimate. This meant that we were able to decrease our property tax rate by over 3% from 0.9837 to 0.9480 – the lowest it has been in over eight years!
Finally, I wanted to provide everyone with an update on the potential developments near Exit 21. As you know, over the past few months the City has been working with land owners, other taxing bodies and a developer to prepare the area near Exit 21 for development.
The founder of the Gateway Commerce Center, TriStar, is proposing a development on 200+ acres north Interstate 64, on the northwest corner of Exit 21. Early conceptual plans have included over 1.5 million square feet of construction in phase one. In addition, it has the possibility of creating additional development in the area’s remaining 1,300 acres.
This type of development can positively alter the future of the O’Fallon community, like other major projects like St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Scott Air Force Base, and construction of the Interstate.
In addition to the large amount of jobs and economic impact that this development could create, it has the potential to generate a large amount property tax for our school districts. It would also diversify O’Fallon’s economy, which will help make the community stable even through the toughest of economic times.
Property taxes are not popular, but they are necessary. Preliminary scenarios calculate that TriStar’s phase one development could generate over $5 million in property tax for O’Fallon’s school districts over a twenty-year period.
This type of property tax generation could help the O’Fallon taxing bodies be less reliant on residential property tax. Which theoretically would help reduce the property tax you pay on your home. How is this possible you ask?
Every year, the various taxing bodies in O’Fallon, which includes the City of O’Fallon, Schools Districts, St. Clair County, etc. request an amount of dollars that they need to provide their services. This request is sent to St. Clair County, where they distribute that request amongst the taxable property in the taxing bodies’ jurisdiction. This is a very simple explanation of how property tax works, but the point is that if there is industrial or commercial development that is generating millions of dollars per year in property tax, that’s millions of dollars that the residential taxpayers of O’Fallon don’t have to pay.
This development took a great step forward last week. The O’Fallon School Districts, City of O’Fallon, St. Clair County and O’Fallon Township have all formed a partnership to help make this area competitive on a national scale. This partnership helped create a property tax incentive program that will help attract long-term investment and job creation to the area. I sincerely thank each and every member of these respective boards that voted to help create this partnership and sharing the vision for a strong and successful O’Fallon!
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open!