ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.—Supporters of proposed legislation that would make St. Louis County the first in the state to freeze property tax assessments will have to wait until next week at the earliest for a final vote, as lawmakers weigh the bill’s impact and potential unintended consequences.

Senate Bill 190, signed last week by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, authorizes counties to freeze property taxes for seniors who are eligible for social security benefits, own a home or pay property taxes on a home. The state law, which goes into effect August 28, lets counties pass their own ordinance or put it to a public vote.

County Revenue Department officials have said St. Louis County would have lost more than $30 million over the past five years if the measure had been in place, and that if it does, there would be personnel and other costs involved.

During a pair of St. Louis County Council meetings Tuesday, members heard from skeptics who questioned the Revenue Department estimates and from a pair of state lawmakers on opposite sides of the aisle.

State Rep. Ben Keathley, R-Chesterfield, a supporter of the state bill said people who don’t qualify for the assessment cap will pay more only because assessments go up, not because someone else’s gets frozen.

“I don't get the credit as a non-senior for the assessments that continue to go up on my home so I will pay more but only because my assessment going up not because my neighbor who happens to be 62 or 63 years old is paying less on their assessment,” he said.

State Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, said the state law is the wrong solution for seniors who are struggling and because Missouri doesn’t fund education primarily at the state level, the end result is that school districts are forced to rely on property taxes and real estate taxes. Burton said that means a freeze could effectively defund public education in addition to local fire departments. 

County Councilman Ernie Trakas, a Republican from south St. Louis County, said he’s likely to support the bill, but described misgivings over a concept that lets someone with a $10 million home take advantage of an assessment cap.

“This thing is problematic,” he said. “I do want everybody to understand that there are issues that remain unanswered that may well create some problems going forward.”

County Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton, questioned how many $10 million homes there were in the county and pointed to the low-income seniors who would benefit.

“Basic social security for somebody who made 35-40 thousand dollars a year, is not a lot of money, and if that's all your getting on a monthly basis you're choosing, you know, between food that may or may not be the highest quality just to stay alive.”

County Council Chairwoman Shalonda Webb, a Democrat from Florissant, said the board needed more information from County Revenue officials about how the bill would be implemented. The bill’s sponsor, County Councilman Mark Harder, a Ballwin Republican running for a State Senate seat in 2024, pulled it from consideration Tuesday night. The Council could hold another meeting on the bill next Tuesday afternoon.