ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.—County Executive Sam Page on Wednesday renewed a call to ask for voter approval of a use tax for online purchases, as the county continues to grapple with a budget deficit that in 2023 hit $47 million.

Page made the pitch during his State of the County address at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he also unveiled a new logo and branding tagline that county officials hope adds consistency in messaging and marketing.

The St. Louis County Council rejected Page’s 2023 budget proposal that would have raised property tax rates to 2022 levels.  

What You Need To Know

  • St. Louis County Executive Sam Page repeated his call for a new attempt to ask voters for an online use tax on out of state purchases made online

  • Voters rejected the move in 2022

  • Page said the lack of a county use tax leaves $10 million on the table at a time when the county is fighting budget deficits 

  • Page also revealed a new county logo and brand identity that he says will lead to consistent messaging. County council members criticized the move at a time when the county is holding up American Rescue Act expenditures due to budget cuts passed by the council 

 

“We have over $2 billion in infrastructure projects that we do not have funding for. We need more revenue, not less to keep our streets safe. We work to be fiscally responsible while providing the services our residents have come to expect and we can’t let them down. But that’s what we’re going to do if we don’t make these difficult decisions to increase revenue streams,” Page said.

County voters rejected an April 2022 ballot question that would have allowed for sales taxes to be levied on out of state purchases online.

“We’re losing out on as much as $10 million a year by not taxing these purchases in St. Louis County alone so why leave money on the table and continue to make it more difficult for our small businesses to compete,” Page said, noting that the county’s tax rate has not been increased since 1984.

Page used the event to unveil a new St. Louis County logo to replace a hodgepodge of logos and fonts used over time.

The new red logo, a nod to the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis City SC, features a modern fleur-de-lis, placed inside interwoven circles, meant to represent the county’s borders of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and the relationship with dozens of county municipalities. 

The tag line is "Opportunity Central."

“Our region’s population has been stagnant for decades. We can’t compete against ourselves. We must work as one. We want the Austins, the Nashvilles, and the other metro regions that have done a fine job of branding themselves to know that we see you, but we are also competing with you,” Page said.

County officials did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about the cost of the rebranding. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the county paid the marketing firm Elasticity $90,000 for branding services in 2023.  

The decision and costs were met with skepticism by critics on the County Council.

“I don’t understand the reason for a “rebranding”, said Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton. “We can’t find money to distribute ARPA funds but we can find hundreds of thousands of dollars for this?”

Hancock said the council hasn’t been told how much it will cost to put the new logo on county buildings and equipment and other locations.