Sadly Prop P Passed

“Every penny taken from you in taxes is a penny someone else decides how to spend. It’s a penny you earned but forfeited to someone else’s arbitrary discretion,” said Bill Hennessy co-founder of the St Louis Tea Pary Coallition. Today is a sad day for the residents of St Louis…

‘Saint Louis Has High Taxes!’ Say International Accountants

KPMG, one of the world’s Big Eight, Six, Five, Four accounting firms, released a study last week that ranked Saint Louis as having the second highest tax burden of major American cities. I admit that I was surprised Saint Louis ranked that poorly. (Perhaps our “progressive” citizens are proud of this, and now have a goal [...]

Good News For Hadley Township And Property Rights

Pace Properties has pulled out of the Hadley Township redevelopment plan because it could not reach agreement with all of the homeowners. That is not what I am happy about. I would be very happy to see a redevelopment in the area if it is a result of voluntary property sales and done without tax [...]

Columbia’s Historic Preservation Study Should Be Understood As PR, Not Policy

Last week, a study presented to the Columbia City Council explored the impact of Missouri’s historic preservation tax credit on the city. The report, funded by the Historic Preservation Commission, found that “historic preservation” had accounted for almost 5,000 Columbia jobs and more than $1 billion of “economic activity” over the last decade, with almost $100 [...]

We Need A Moratorium On Municipal Development Moratoriums

The city of Frontenac, in Saint Louis County, has enacted a moratorium on new developments within a commercial area of the city. Officials in Ellisville, also in Saint Louis County, are considering enacting a similar moratorium for a prime area of land near the controversial (to say the least) proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF). Is [...]

Kansas City Makes Streetcar Tax Proposal Another Mail-In Affair

While Clay Chastain’s light rail proposal likely will not be on the ballot in November, voters in Kansas City will have a rail plan to consider before winter officially arrives. Early last week, the city’s newly created streetcar development district board decided to hold a vote by mail in the next few months to determine whether [...]

Kansas City Adds Single Measure To November Ballot

It has been a busy week for public officials in Kansas City. Yesterday, the Kansas City Council added one new item to this November’s ballot —a proposal that would raise the mandatory retirement age for municipal judges — but nixed three proposals that were of a more ambitious nature. The proposals that were axed?

A proposed [...]

Shenanigans In Ellisville!!!

At tonight’s Ellisville City Council meeting, a charter amendment is being introduced to amend the rules for recalling elected officials in Ellisville. Then, because of the looming deadline to get things on the November ballot, they have scheduled a special meeting for the next night (Thursday) to pass the charter amendment because they likely will [...]

Stadium Subsidy Surprise

There is a controversy brewing in Kansas City over the Royals, and for once it does not have anything to do with yet another disappointing season on the field. According to one report, the Royals collected close to $13 million in taxpayer money and spent close to $5 million of that money on employee salaries [...]

Kansas City Should Expand, Not Remove, Land Taxes

The Missouri Record just carried an op-ed on land taxes by Prof. Joe Haslag and me regarding the choice next Tuesday in Kansas City. It is not our place to tell people how to vote — that is your decision, not ours. But it is important for people to know that this is not a [...]