Gasconade County residents and property owners should have received their 2019 tax statements this past week.

Residents of Owensville and those Gasconade County residents with property in  the Osage R-1 School District (Chamois) will see reductions in their tax while residents of Bland will see a hefty increase.

Owensville residents inside the city limits will see their local tax rate decrease 58.92 cents per $100 of assessed valuation overall due to a combination of the voter-approved elimination of the park tax assessment and a decrease in the debt service levy.

Owensville voters in April chose to eliminate their personal property and real estate levy for parks operations by increasing the quarter-cent sales tax for parks by one-quarter cent. That will translate into a decrease in their overall tax levy by 33.58 cents per $100 assessed since that portion specific to parks operations has been eliminated.

The city’s debt service levy is also reduced this year by 25.09 cents, from 71.78 cents per $100 assessed to 46.69 cents since street bonds from 2011 will be paid off as of next June.

Owensville residents will pay an overall operating levy of 80.02 cents per $100 assessed for 2019, down from $1.38.94 in 2018.

The city’s assessed valuation increased from $38,283,501 in 2018 to $39,886,810 this year.

Bland adds debt service levy

for water system improvements

The city of Bland nearly doubled their overall operating tax levy with the addition of a $1.0936 debt service levy designated to fund capital improvements in the water system.

The city’s operating tax levy in 2018 was $1.2567 which included 99.14 cents for general revenue and 26.53 for park operations.

The city’s new overall rate tax increases from $1.2567 to $2.2891. This rate reflects the slight decrease in general revenue funding (down to 94.31 cents per $100 assessed) and parks (down to 25.24 cents). The assessed valuation for Bland increased slightly for the 2019 tax cycle from $3,387,901 in 2018 to $3,634,990 this year. This year was a reassessment year, according to staff in the assessor’s office.

Alderman Diana Mayfield said the increase was to help fund the city’s water project.

“It is for the water program and was initiated for $1.0936 (per $100 in assessed valuation),” Mayfield said. “We did this in August when the tax rate was set and had a lengthy discussion about it.”

The water program tax levy will be deposited into the debt service fund to allow the city to make an annual payment of $39,754.

“We based it on the personal real estate and tax evaluations — which came out to the $1.0936 per $100 assessed valuation per household,” she said. “Terris (Cates, from Integrity Engineering) gave us a list of how homes were valued and how much taxes would go up.”

The base rate of water for city residents went up in September also, from $17.05 to $17.35 to help with the payments. The Water use charge after the base rate remains the same. The sewer base rate remains at $13.62.

“The tax levy increase is for 20 years, and then the water rate increase for the base is for 30 years,” Mayfield said.

Gasconade County residents and property owners included in the Osage County R-1 (Chamois) School District will see a reduction in their levy of 20.93 cents per $100 assessed, from $5.0800 to $4.8708.

Shawn Schlottach, the county’s collector of revenue, said the 2019 current tax charge will generate approximately $14,787,920.

Real estate and personal property taxes will produce $13,024,892. Rail Road and utility taxes will bring in $1,728,622. Business licenses, a private rail car tax and drainage levee district levies makes up the remaining charges.

The tax charge will be shared among 40 separate political taxing entities with certified property tax levies.

Delinquency notices, not included in the above totals will also be mailed.

In June, the County Assessor’s Office mailed out 5,800 real estate impact notices with increased values, which are reflected on this year’s tax bills.

The county collects ad valorem personal property and real estate taxes for all six cities which have a certified tax rate within Gasconade County.

City taxes for Hermann, Owensville, Bland, Rosebud, Gasconade and Morrison will be included on the County Tax Statements.

Payment of taxes can be remitted by mail, in-person, drop box (located top of ramp outside the courthouse), phone 1-800-652-0405 or on-line by visiting our secure web site 24/7: www.gasconadecountycollector.com a convenience fee of 2.4 percent (with a minimum fee of $1.50) of the total transaction will be added or $3.95 flat fee for Visa Debit when paying by credit card.

This fee is not retained by the collector or the county. Paid receipt(s) are mailed from the collector’s office within one business day. The Web site also contains other helpful county tax information.

Eligible taxpayer’s can file for tax credits under the “Missouri Property Tax Credit Program” by contacting the Missouri Department of Revenue 1-800-877-6881 or the county’s web site for a printable form to file.

To avoid late fees all taxes are due by Dec. 31, 2019. If paying by mail, the “post mark’ determines current status. If one owns property — personal or real estate — and does not receive a tax bill by Nov. 20 you are asked to contact the County Collector’s Office at 573-486-2711. Tax statements are mailed as a convenience to the taxpayer.

Failure to receive a tax statement does not relieve the taxpayer of his or her obligation to pay taxes when due.

The county’s 2020 Personal Property Assessment forms will be mailed out the first week of January and must be returned to Assessor’s office by March 1, 2020.

Office hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and county offices are closed on holidays

(With reporting by Roxie Murphy)