Ready, Fire, Aim
A group has released a new plan to consolidate the fire departments of St. Louis County and create more independent...
Tax Subsidy Spurious—St. Louis Grift
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones is giving me hope with her more disciplined approach to tax subsidies in the City...
Synchronicity in Warson Woods and Glendale
The city of Warson Woods in St. Louis County is considering contracting with the neighboring city of Glendale for police...
Highlights of the Legislative Session
On May 18, David Stokes joined The McGraw Show on KTRS to break down the end of Missouri’s legislative session....
Jackson County Assessment Facts, Part 3
This is the third in a series of posts on assessment practices in Jackson County, Missouri. It comes a mere...
Is it Time to Merge Two St. Louis County Police Departments?
[avatar user=”david-stokes” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” link=”file” target=”_blank” /] On Tuesday, April 27, David Stokes, Director of Municipal Policy for the Show-Me...
St. Louis County Needs to Get the Auditor’s Office in Order
I was an aide at the St. Louis County Council in 2003 when the council appointed Mark Burchyett as the...
The New York Times Talks Property Assessments in St. Louis County
The New York Times had an excellent article on property taxation issues a week ago. The article had a nationwide...
Earnings Taxes and St. Louis’s Catch 1%.
A version of this commentary was published in the St. Louis Business Journal. As voters in the City of St. Louis...
Should You Pay the Earnings Tax in Wildwood?
At a mayoral candidate forum last week hosted by the St. Louis Business-Journal, the topic of the St. Louis earnings...
St. Louis City’s Earnings Tax Is Not the Lowest in the Country
The earnings tax was one topic of conversation during a recent forum for St. Louis mayoral candidates. During the forum,...
Taxpayer Funded Lobbying Continues
One of the practices I have long been opposed to is governments using tax dollars to hire lobbyists to lobby...
A Big Win for Taxpayers in Maryland Heights
As far as I know, the biggest defeat of a tax increment financing (TIF) package or similar tax subsidy (and,...
Signs of Progress on Local Tax Subsidies in Missouri?
I am an optimist at heart. In my world, the glass is half-full, usually—more than ever during the pandemic—with tonic...
Taxable Sales Down in Many St. Louis Areas
Most of us know that when you shop, the price on the tag is not the price you pay at...
New Report on Federal Relief Funds in Missouri
Are Missouri politicians the rare breed that don’t spend money when it’s handed to them . . . or are...
Multnomah County, Oregon Should’ve Called St. Louis Before Making This Mistake
Multnomah County, Oregon, which contains the city of Portland, recently approved a local income tax increase to fund tuition-free preschool....
Belt-tightening Time in Public Education
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Make no mistake—people across Missouri are losing their jobs, and state...
St. Louis County Should Find Budget Cuts Before Hiking Taxes
The economic damage caused by COVID-19 has been catastrophic, and families everywhere are scrambling to tighten their belts and make...
Federal Relief Funds: A Tale of Two Counties
Neighboring St. Louis and St. Charles Counties are taking different approaches in handling federal coronavirus relief funds, with potential consequences...
