Boone County Commission puts senior property tax break on ballot

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Commission on Tuesday added a question to the April ballot about whether seniors' property taxes should be frozen.

The three-member commission approved a resolution in November saying the idea was good but the law allowing the tax freeze needed to be addressed. That law is now being addressed with new legislation moving through the General Assembly, the commission said in a news release.

The legislation seeks to allay concerns raised by the Missouri Association of Counties, the release says.

Parson signed the bill, which holds some seniors' property taxes steady to protect them against rising property values, last July. The law allows local governments to put a question to freeze the taxes on the ballot.

Some local governments have already placed the question on their ballots while others have had questions about the law, including concerns about a loss of revenue. Schools would see the biggest impact.

U.S. Census data indicates that 10% to 14% of taxpayers in Boone County are home-owning seniors.

State Rep. Cheri Reisch (R-Hallsville), who sponsored the legislation that led to the law, in a news release called the county's ballot question "vague and ambiguous" because it exempts certain property tax increases, but not all of them.

The commission could take action and pass the tax freeze without putting it to a public vote, Reisch said.

“I plan to continue to gather signatures of Boone County Registered Voters to put the current Initiative Petition language on the August or November ballot, as it will freeze ALL taxing entities," Reisch wrote. "I will not take the chance of the Commission doing a partial freeze.”