The short answer is the county’s resolution in support of the Senior Tax Freeze initiative is currently dead. Texas County dissolved its resolution in support of Senate Bill 190, leaving seniors with no tax relief.
In October 2023, Texas County announced a resolution in support of SB190, creating a Senior Tax Freeze. Upon clarification, the county would only be freezing their part of the tax and not the townships.
In response to the county’s limited support of SB190, Tim Tippit led a successful ballot signature campaign throughout Texas County starting in November of 2023. Tippit gathered over 1,000 signatures to place the Senior Tax Freeze SB190 on the April 2024 municipal ballot.
Upon validating all collected signatures, the Texas County Election Authority Peggy Seyler sent Tippit a letter in January 2024 stating:
“Texas County has adopted a resolution pursuant to the provisions of SB190, and therefore your question is legally ineligible to be placed on the ballot.”
This blocked the taxpayer’s right to allow the electorate to vote on the full Senior Tax Freeze for 2024.
The county then did nothing to advance the Senior Tax Freeze, except to clarify their position of only allowing the county’s portion of the tax to be frozen.
Shortly after SB190 was enacted into law, some serious questions and issues needed to be addressed. Issues were developing within Missouri counties, as to taxing authorities, townships and the forestalling by a county, to block the efforts of the taxpayers, who could force a ballot initiative. SB756 was introduced in January of 2024, to correct these issues.
The Texas County resolution to SB190 contained a “suicide clause” crafted by Commissioner Robert Ross. The suicide clause was contingent on any change to SB190 allowing the county to delay any meaningful progress for senior tax relief.
On Aug. 28, 2024, Gov. Mike Parson signed SB756 into law, changing SB190. The commissioners took this opportunity of the wording change from SB756, to invoke the “suicide clause” in their resolution, even though SB756 created a better bill by clarifying several discrepancies.
The commissioners have expressed support for a Senior Tax Freeze, but currently have no plans to float another resolution, or commit to any initiative for the Senior Tax Freeze. A meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at the commissioners’ office on a “wait and see” approach, before discussing any possibility of placing the Senior Tax Freeze on the April 2025 municipal ballot.
How sad that this didn’t pass. Has anyone looked into where our property tax money goes. I did, and was very surprised that the schools here in Texas county didn’t not benefit from it. Most of it goes to larger schools in the large cities. We will never completely own our property as long as we have to pay property taxes. There are better ways to support our schools. Right now people in the county ask why should they have to pay school tax when they do not have any children in the school. I don’t mind supporting the school but I don’t think property taxes should be that way. If so keep the taxes here in the county that pays the taxes without sending them to Jefferson City.