West Plains city council members met in special session Monday to hold a public hearing and vote on the first reading of an ordinance setting the city’s annual property tax rate. The state-mandated procedure takes place each year prior to September.
The meeting occurred days after voters rejected a proposed 1% city sales tax increase on the Aug. 4 ballot, leading to some confusion among residents on social media. However, the annual property tax levy and the sales tax proposition are entirely separate matters.
The meeting was brief, with just one item on the agenda, but focused on an explanation of some of the methods and details of tax assessment, collection and redistribution.
City Finance Director Earlene Rich outlined the assessment and collection process for the council and public: Howell County submits assessed property valuation numbers to the state, and the Missouri State Auditor’s Office applies a statutory formula based on that assessment to determine the maximum tax rate the city may levy.
Taxes collected by the county are distributed to cities and public service entities based on those approved rates.
Total assessed valuations in West Plains rose by less than 1% compared to last year, Rich reported. The small increase brings the total amount of the city’s share for the year to about $632,000, up about $2,500.
Rich noted that the tax rate remains lower than every year in the past decade except for last year, when the rate dropped by 1.8%.
“So this is going back up .9%,” Rich said. “So we’re not even recovering all of what last year came down by.”
Mayor Mike Topliff clarified that the .9% increase applies to the assessed valuation rate rather than dollar-for-dollar totals. The actual revenue collected could also be affected by senior tax credits, which are not tied to assessed valuations.
“So even though the rate is going up we might not see an increase in revenue depending on what that senior tax credit looks like,” she cautioned.
One member of the public was present, but offered no comment during the proceedings. The council will consider second reading and final approval of the tax levy ordinance during its regular monthly meeting Monday.
