Tax relief for us old folk?
This sounds like a very good idea to me, what do you all think? Please click on the header for a story By Phil Sutin of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Tom Ford
NO.440
Tom Ford
NO.440
posted by Crestwood Independent at 11:01
36 Comments:
Not for anything that pits old against young. This appears, at least on the surface, to be worth looking into. However, I'm against anything that "caps" a certain group of taxpayers taxes, while allowing the everyone else to pay more. Just becuase you are "old" doesn't mean you shouldn't pay.
I fully agree with you my friend, however this does pay the taxes via a "reverse mortgage."
That way they pay the taxes, stay in their home, and it seems to be a win, win situation for everyone.
Tom Ford
Tom
I am all for helping our schools but it seems that those taxing districts getting the biggest percentage of our taxes also get the biggest share of the reassessment increases. I agree we have a great education system but feel our taxes should be going to those educational tools that improve the students test scores and graduation rates.
In the past we have seen Lindbergh expend dollars on amenities that have no bearing on the 3 R's.
Does it make sense to spend so much money on facilities for a select few individuals who can run fast on a football field, Swim fast in a pool, or hit a lot of home runs? How many of those students will graduate and make a career out of their sports accomplishments vs those that would benefit from personal computers,better books and more advanced teaching techniques.
Just a thought.
11:54 AM blogger: No argument here, I agree 100%! Now what do we do to convince parents that while sports are great, they won't pay the bills for 99% of their kids?
The problem is that things have gotten out of hand with the schools believing they must have teams or they are abject failures.
The High School I attended had no playing fields, no practice fields, and a darn slim athletic department, yet we all seemed to manage to make it in life.
True, none of my class mates went on to big scholarships at Ohio State, but several of them made the grade in other ways, as did I.
Problem? Good luck trying to sell that in 2008!
Tom Ford
Tom,
Whats the deal with Crestwood Plaza? I am thinking of moving into the Crestwood area from Webster Groves, but it seems like if I do I will be raped by taxes and suffer from the lack of business revenue. Any thoughts?
There is a "possible" sale of the mall either this week or next week.
A request for redevelopment proposals was extended to early March.
So at the moment, we are in a holding pattern.
So a company has been bidding?
Do you have any idea what is supposed to come into the new out door development across from the Mall?
Do you think Crestwood can support a high end fashion mall? Or do you think the people of St. Louis are still too conservative?
3:39 PM blogger: The way I see it if you remain in Webster Groves you Will pay higher taxes!
I have friends who live there, and I wouldn't want their tax bill for one second!
I have been here for 39 years, and I won't leave unless I am carried out! Why, well Crestwood is a great place to live, we have everything we need right here in the way of retailers, service business's, and City services.
At this point we, as many communities are looking at lower tax revenue from our retailers, but that's common in today's mobile society.
Please do not be concerned by those who post negative comments here, or elsewhere, this is political rhetoric from the naysayers who are still disappointed their guy lost!
If I were you, I would put up the for sale sign tomorrow and get "moving!'
Tom Ford
Tom,
How much was the pom pom room for Lindbergh High School?
Is it true that a Kindegartner Teacher makes $75,000 at Lindbergh?
How much does the Superintendent make at Lindbergh?
What is Pat Lanane salary?
Is it true that Crestwood has 450 rental units?
How many foreclosures are in Crestwood?
How many merit scholarships are graduating from Lindbergh?
Is it true that we are spending between $5,000 and $7,000 per child?
How can we top all of the crazy spending at Lindbergh?
Ever since Medicaid and Medicare was created, the costs have increased 119 times since 1965?
Is it true that the State of Missouri has exceeded how much they can borrow for TIFs, TDDs, and CIDs?
Missouri only has 300 TIFs and
98 TDDs reaching at $1 billion in Special Allocation Bonds!
Can we borrow from Armstrong Teasdale to rebuild the Crestwood Mall?
1. This does not solve a problem. It defers it.
2. The better solution for seniors would be to get out of the district and move somewhere with a more favorable tax rate.
3. Many top private schools are older and do not have swimming pools, yet have no trouble educating children.
4. We need a better watchdog over the Lindbergh district. Need to watch over the construction companies and contractors funding the passage of these capital improvements.
It really floors me that they can build a huge new pool and school additions and concession stands yet you go in some the restrooms and fixtures are broken and rusty. Where are the priorites?
5. Shorten the school year instead of extending it with so many days off. Saving on utlity costs.
Interesting stats from Money magazine on taxes. Money
AVG HOME PRICE - AVG TAXES
Kirkwood, $255,535 - $3,621
Columbia, IL $203,445 - $3,374
Sunset Hills, MO $326,664 - $2,607
Webster Groves $255,033 - $2,394
Crestwood, MO $209,648 - $2,507
Washington, MO $114,176 - $1,424
So was Sappington school expanded because of speculation that there MIGHT be homes built on the Busch property? Did we really need to spend over $8 million on this school?
8/11/2006
South County Times
"Sappington needed to be prepared for an increase in students"
Two current residents of Peach Tree Court questioned the district's plans at the meeting Tuesday, noting that enrollment numbers are down at Sappington and citing concerns over what the proposed expansion might do to their neighborhood. Lanane said that Sappington needed to be prepared for an increase in students.
"Short term, our numbers at Sappington are up," Lanane said. "The new development at Gravois Creek may bring many more students to the school."
The conversation on this site leads me to believe it is time for people in the Lindbergh School Dist. to make these thoughts known. We have politicians who would have a new city hall we cannot afford and now we have Lanane and school board whose priorities do not seem to match ours. Next election, I propose a debate or Q&A sesson for school board candidates and then I propose we watch the winners and how they vote on expenditures. The 3 R's are priority. Period! Sorry, but the times they are a changin ... and there are just too many hands in our pockets. The homes in our city which got hit so hard have not suddenly raised in value. This year, if a sign of things to come, presents a dismal picture. Let's keep our eyes and ears open and let the Lindberg group know we are out here. This is exactly how we avoided that 14 M. dollar city hall we didn't need. Taxpayer sensitivity.
Busch property is to be senior living centers, isn't it?
Yes, at least 1500 senior living units are approved for the Busch property. I don't think their kids will be attending the Lindbergh school district.
If you look at the 5 year projections for K-5 it looks like enrollment average across K-5 years stays about the same. So I'm not sure how enrollment had any bearing on the decision to go forward with this project.
Enrollment Projections
"I am thinking of moving into the Crestwood area from Webster Groves, but it seems like if I do I will be raped by taxes and suffer from the lack of business revenue. Any thoughts?"
Crestwood could double its property tax rate and maybe tripple it and you would still be paying less than what you pay in Webster..... Lindbergh School District has the lowest tax rate in the County and Crestwood has one of the lowest property tax rates when you take into consideration fire and EMS costs.
"Interesting stats from Money magazine on taxes. Money"
Take the Money magazine article with a HUGE grain of salt. Just Comparing Crestwood and Sunset Hills... they are way off because they don't include Fire/EMS. The City of Crestwood provides it and the City of Sunset Hills does not. Apples to Oranges!
Blogger from Webster:
If you are looking for significant tax relief you would do better to look outside of St. Louis County.
Webster has stricter code enforcement and "horticultural" services. Services you won't be getting from Crestwood. Not sure if street maintenance is an issue in Webster. In Crestwood they are behind on street and stormwater maintenance.
Just curious. How much a year do you pay in utility taxes? Many people overlook the fact that Crestwood collects about $250-300 average per home a year from just utility taxes. A tax rate that has yet to be rolled back to compensate for much higher rates.
Not sure where Money pulls its stats. Wish it was easy to find those (an average) from St. Louis County. I would think Money just took an average of tax bills (which would include fire services,school, etc.).
Does Lindbergh High School have more money than the City of Crestwood?
Is it true that the Mayor and the Alderman only make $3,000?
Maybe Lindbergh High School can buy out the City of Crestwood and pay for the Crestwood Mall?
How many swimming scholarships are received by the Lindbergh Students with their brand new pool?
What is Pat Lanane's plan when the children stop enrolling in Lindbergh?
Is Mayor Roy Robinson's wife on any Lindbergh High School committees?
Is Mrs. Robinson on the finance committee?
Is it true that the same people who were behind the Crestwood Swim Club also got the pool built at the high school? Are these people lifeguards? Have they received money from Kohl's? Can Roy Robinson swim? Does Catherine Barrett have anything in her big, thick, hard, binders pertaining to the pool at Lindbergh High School? I smell a conspiracy!
What did the mermaid do last Saturday evening?
She went out with the tide.
Did you hear about the loud tree?
It had a lot of bark. It gave another tree a splitting headache. So it took some aspen.
Who has eight pistols and terrorizes the seas?
Billy the Squid.
What did the carpet say to the floor?
Don't move - I've got you covered.
What does an attorney wear to work?
A law suit.
Roby for Mayor in 2008
My wife wanted to go somewhere expensive for our anniversary, so I took her down the street to the gas station.
Well my wife was looking for a new car, she wanted something that went from 0-300 in less than 10 seconds, so I bought her a scale!
(Actually she is about 85#, it's my scale!)
Tom Ford
Just what is up with taxes anyway? This is long but well worth the read!
The next time you hear a politician use the
word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about
whether you want the 'politicians' spending
YOUR tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,
but one advertising agency did a good job of
putting that figure into some perspective in
one of its releases.
A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were
living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and
20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.
While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division
Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number, what does it mean?
A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of
New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you
each get $516,528.
B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in
New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.
C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family
gets $2,066,012.
Washington, D.C . HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??
Tax his land,
Tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirts,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze,
Tax his beers,
If he cries,
Tax his tears.
Tax his bills,
Tax his gas,
Tax his notes,
Tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.
If he hollers,
Tax him more,
Tax hi m until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me to my doom!'
And when he's gone,
We won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!!
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Perm it Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax),
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax),
Liquor Tax,
Luxury Tax,
Marriage License Tax,
Medicare Tax,
Property Tax,
Real Estate Tax,
Service charge taxes,
Social Security Tax,
Road Usage Tax (Truckers),
Sales Taxes,
Recreational Vehicle Tax,
School Tax,
State Income Tax,
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA),
Telephone Federal Excise Tax,
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fe e Tax,
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax,
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax,
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax,
Telephone State and Local Tax,
Telephone Usage Charge Tax,
Utility Tax,
Vehicle License Registration Tax,
Vehicle Sales Tax,
Watercraft Registration Tax,
Well Permit Tax,
Workers Compensation Tax.
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago,
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What happened? Can you spell 'politicians!'
And I still have to 'press
1' for English.
What the heck happened?????
Tom Ford
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