The Special School District (SSD) of St. Louis County provides public education for children with special needs throughout St. Louis County and portions of Jefferson County. It is one of two special school districts in Missouri, with the other one being Pemiscot County. (Why Pemiscot County has its own countywide special school district is a topic for another blog post.) Some St. Louis and Jefferson County residents who may not have been that familiar with the district are about to become more familiar, as it just raised its tax rates substantially without a vote of the people.
In September, SSD approved a new property tax rate of $1.1996 per $100 of assessed valuation, compared with $0.8993 last year. That is an increase of 30 cents in the stated tax rate—a one-third tax increase. The district justified the increase through a tax recoupment calculation intended to recover revenue lost because of previous property assessment adjustments, such as being required to roll back rates when assessments increase. It’s getting a lot of attention over the past few days, due to a software glitch at the county collector’s office that created numerous errors in tax bills, including doubling SSD’s tax increase on some bills (the county claims those errors are now being corrected). But the correct tax increases are still bad.
Missouri law generally places important restrictions on the ability of local governments to increase property taxes without voter approval. These protections are intended to prevent government revenues from automatically expanding simply because property values rise. Taxpayers should have a meaningful voice when government seeks additional revenue.
Missouri Revised Statutes §§ 162.920 and 137.073.5(4) specifically provide for voter approval of increases in special school district tax rates, but also make allowances for local governments to raise property taxes in some instances without a vote of the people. Whether SSD’s recent recoupment adjustment falls within its previously authorized taxing authority is a separate legal question. But something can be legally permissible and still represent terrible public policy.
Consider the impact on homeowners. The average home in St. Louis County is valued at $285,000. A thirty-cent property tax rate increase results in a $162 tax increase. These increases come on top of the numerous other property taxes imposed by school districts, municipalities, counties, and special taxing districts.
The district will undoubtedly point to its financial needs. SSD currently faces an $83 million budget deficit and is under state audit. Those figures warrant serious attention. But financial challenges do not eliminate the need for fiscal discipline or taxpayer accountability.
Before increasing taxes, government agencies should thoroughly examine spending priorities, administrative costs, staffing, and opportunities for greater efficiency. More importantly, they should make their case directly to voters.
There is also a broader problem. Missouri has hundreds of overlapping local taxing jurisdictions. When each government entity can increase its levy through complicated calculations that ordinary taxpayers struggle to understand, meaningful accountability becomes increasingly difficult.
The Missouri Legislature should examine the recoupment provisions that permit substantial tax-rate adjustments without a new public vote. House Bill 660 in 2025 attempted to do this exact thing. The city of Town and Country recently did something similar to what SSD is doing when it instituted a city property tax, which had been at zero for twenty years, without a vote of the people under the same legal justification.
The SSD should be held to the same fundamental principle that ought to govern every taxing authority: If government needs substantially more money, it should explain why and ask the voters. Taxing districts are figuring out ways around the Hancock Amendment, and this allowance for tax increases without public votes needs to be addressed.
