Understanding the payment structure & tax rates…

While this may be the most boring part of the Hazelwood-Robertson dispute, it is one of the most important. Many Hazelwood residents living in the Robertson FPD service area may not realize that they are IN FACT paying tax money to Robertson FPD.

Revenues such as residential, commercial, personal property taxes, sales taxes, etc. are what Hazelwood uses to pay Robertson FPD….so, yes technically Hazelwood is not paying for Robertson’s service, YOU are!

District Tax Payment Structure 101:

To understand how Robertson Fire Protection District is causing a deficit in the City of Hazelwood’s budget it is important to understand the contracted payment structure compared to a standard payment structure to a fire protection district, like the City of Bridgeton.

Bridgeton does not pay Robertson Fire Protection District for their services:

The residents and businesses pay the district’s full tax rate of $2.41 per $100 of assessed value for residential and $2.47 for commercial directly (St. Louis County 2021 Tax Rate Book).

This is an additional real estate and personal property tax on top of what residents and businesses pay the City of Bridgeton. Therefore, Robertson FPD does not impact the City’s budget.

The City of Hazelwood pays Robertson Fire Protection District directly:

The payment is a contracted rate equal to the amount residents and businesses in the service area would have paid the RFPD in taxes.

The Robertson FPD residents and businesses do not pay an additional tax rate for their fire protection district directly like they would if located in any other fire protection district.

Hazelwood pays a tax rate higher than what it takes in through its own tax rate. This is what is causing the City’s deficit.

You are paying Robertson FPD taxes through Hazelwood. In other words, YES, Robertson FPD uses YOUR tax dollars to run.

This situation is UNSUSTAINABLE!

The amount of money Hazelwood is losing to pay Robertson FPD’s contract will bankrupt the City. This is not an “IF”, this is a “WHEN.”

Robertson FPD has been told the City of Hazelwood will be insolvent as a result of increases payments to the District. They have been may aware of this fact through the Mediator in their breach of contract case who hired an independent auditor to review the City’s finances.

Robertson FPD’s tax rate does NOT match the area?

How high is Robertson FPD’s tax rate compared to everyone else?

Highest tax rate in the area: Despite similar socioeconomic status, commercial opportunity, median household income and property values compared to its five-surrounding districts, RFPD has had the highest tax rate 13 out of 16 years according to the St. Louis Tax Rate Book from 2006 to 2021.

One of the Highest tax rates in STL County: Of the 23 career fire protection districts in St. Louis County, Robertson FPD is also consistently the 3rd or 4th highest tax rate.

Could this be due to TIFs? I would read on…

Robertson FPD’s tax rate falls in line with the poorest areas in St. Louis County.

How out of Line is Robertson FPD’s tax rate?

Lower property values often result in higher taxes to acquire enough tax revenue for the district to function.

Each year the St. Louis County Assessor’s Office takes a grand total of the assessed values in each fire protection district, then the tax rate of the district is determined from that value. The table of 2021 assessed valuation of each district to the right demonstrates how the tax rate lines up with the assessed value of the area.

Could this be a result of Tax Increment Financing…the dreaded TIF?

Maybe…or maybe not. If you subtract the assessed valuation of the TIF districts from Robertson’s Grand total of $415M, it brings the total taxable value of the area to $372M, which still falls in between Valley Park FPD and Eureka FPD.

This suggests Robertson’s tax rate should really be between $1.28 and $1.75…NOT $2.41!

Check out our “Where is my money going?” page, to see how Robertson FPD is the most expensive District in St. Louis County (while being the 6th slowest).

SO, how is do your tax rates work?

Grand Total Assessed Valuation of all Property for Fire Protection Districts in St. Louis County (2021)

Missouri Tax Rates Basics 101:

  • Missouri Law allows for cities, districts and citizens to add measures to a ballot via a petition process.

  • Tax rates are driven in part by the assessed valuation—the higher property value of an area the more tax revenue; if property values are lower, a higher tax rate is used to get the same amount in revenue (see table above for example).

  • Robertson Fire Protection District has had five tax rate increases pass since 1996—These tax rate increases are the maximum amount the board of directors can approve to charge the City of Hazelwood for RFPD.

  • The Board of Directors set the tax rate—they have the ability to raise it to their cap as well as lower it.

  • This DOES NOT increase the amount residents pay in residential tax to Hazelwood—but it increases the amount of your tax money Hazelwood has to hand over to Robertson FPD. REMEMBER...your taxes are technically paying for Robertson FPD

  • Hazelwood argues this gap between payments to Robertson and what residents pay is the main reason for the budget deficit—as of 2020, for every 99¢ a Robertson FPD resident pays, Hazelwood loses $1.54!

Tax rates proposed by Robertson & voted in by RFPD residents

Five tax increases for Robertson FPD have passed since 1996 and you can see their impact on the District’s tax rate.

1996:
Proposition 1: Increase of ~40¢/$100 assessed value: “levy an additional tax of not more than forty cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation…”

Proposition 2: Annual increase of 20¢/$100 assessed valuation of revenues: “levy an annual tax rate of twenty cents per one hundred dollars valuation the revenues…”

Proposition 3: Increase of 3¢/$100 assessed value: “to increase the rate of levy from two cents to five cents…”

2008:
Proposition A: Increase of 15¢/$100 assessed value: “levy an additional tax of fifteen cents on the one hundred dollars assessed valuation…”

2014:
Proposition F: Increase of ~50¢/$100 assessed value: “levy an additional tax of not more than fifty cents on the one hundred dollars assessed valuation…”

Other Impacts on Tax Rates:

  • High Tax Rates can discourage business to an area.

  • Property values and tax rates feed off each other

    • as property values go down, tax rates go up to cover the lost revenue

    • as tax rates go up property values can down as it can make the area undesirable

Robertson Fire Protection District Tax Rates (1995-2020)

These tax increases do not include the 1999 bond issue of $3.5 million and the 2008 bond issue of $10 million that were also passed by voters. Bonds are interest free loans that can be used to increase revenue to purchase equipment, repair fire houses, complete project, etc. Bonds are not Grants and must be paid back. They can be renewed continuously depending on the legal language of the voter approved bond, like in the case of the RFPD.