Bill Removes Emergency Radio Communications System Tax From TIFs Imposed After August

Status
Not open for further replies.

sjhapke

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2004
Messages
3
Location
St Charles, MO
St Charles County News Release

July 3, 2014
Contact: Colene McEntee, Public Affairs Coordinator, 636.949.1864, cmcentee@sccmo.org

St. Charles County, Missouri – Today, Gov. Jay Nixon signed House Bill 1504, which protects funds used for public safety. For St. Charles County, the bill removes the emergency radio communications system tax from TIFs imposed after August 28, 2013. Rep. Anne Zerr sponsored this bill at the request of St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann.

“This legislation is common-sense reform to tax increment financing that ensures voter-approved taxes for emergency communications and other vital public services are not diverted from their intended purpose,” Gov. Nixon said. “I thank leaders in St. Charles County for helping to get this measure to my desk.”

The bill makes the same provision for St. Charles County voters, who approved a sales tax increase in 2009 to fund a new emergency radio communications system, that was made by the Missouri General Assembly last year for St. Louis County.

The bill passed with an added provision that revenues from new voter approved increases to an existing tax cannot be diverted to pay for developments that are financed using TIF.

“I was happy to sponsor this bill for County Executive Ehlmann and for the county because it is such an important public safety issue,” said Zerr. “By removing the tax from TIFs, the bill helps ensure that funding will be there for the county’s new emergency radio communications system and to help emergency responders better serve the public.”

For a summary of the bill, visit Missouri House of Representatives.

Build out of St. Charles County’s new emergency radio communications system is almost complete and the county anticipates moving users onto the system in September of 2014. The new system is part of a larger system being implemented concurrently in both St. Louis and Jefferson counties, increasing the capability of the entire metropolitan St. Louis area in responding to major disasters. For the first time ever, first responders across different departments and municipalities will be able to communicate with each other and the system will provide better coverage, improving the level of service to residents. Today, each municipality in the county operates its own system. These systems have coverage gaps, are becoming obsolete, and cannot be modified to meet Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that went into effect at the beginning of 2013.

###
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top