2022/03/21 - Mayor’s Column: Financial Update
AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
We have recently seen the cost-of-living increase by over7%. In addition, with property tax bills coming up, I have been asked several questions concerning our city budget and the city portion of everyone’s property tax bills. Since we are moving into the final stages of finalizing our 2022-23 fiscal year budget, I wanted to give you a rundown on how our budget and tax rate stands for the city.
We have taken into consideration expected higher fuel and vehicle costs for our budgets. In some cases, we will downsize new vehicles to keep us within budget. We have also anticipated increases in material costs for needed infrastructure work.
Yes, St. Clair County is doing reassessments of all properties in O’Fallon Township this year. Those results will probably be reflected on next year’s tax bills. For this year, I believe the county is applying about a 2% multiplier on your tax bills.
The County sets the property values. The only real-estate tax that is controlled by the city is the rate you see for the City of O’Fallon and the O’Fallon library. Other tax rates are established by the County, Townships and School Districts.
We have also had our schools request assistance due to impact from inflation and the impact that the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption is having on their budgets. We are meeting with them to see if there are items that we can assist them with or projects we can partner on.
With the higher fuel costs and utility costs, some of our local families are having problems with basic needs, so we are meeting with several local churches and organizations to see if there is something we can do to help our local families through this challenging time.
We recognize our responsibility to our taxpayers to use tax dollars wisely. We also recognize that some of our residents might need a helping hand on some basic needs. So, it is our plan to work to the best of our ability to be fiscally responsible and to work with others to lend some assistance without impacting the services rendered by the city.
Despite these things, the city will not raise the city’s portion of the real-estate tax rate. All our property owners will see the lowest property tax rate in 35 years from the city. The City’s portion of your tax bill will be about 11%, the County is about 15%, the Township about 4%, and the schools are about 70%.
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.