Olivette Increases Property Tax Rate

By decree of the Olivette City Council, the real estate tax rates have increased to make up for the overall drop in assessments. Personal property tax rates will remain the same.

Residential property tax rates will go from the 2010 rate of $0.614 per $100 dollars of assessed valuation to $0.636, meaning an increase of 3.8 percent.

The commercial property tax rate will rise from the 2010 rate of $0.664 per $100 of assessed valuation to $0.699, an increase of 5.3 percent.

"This not a tax hike," said Mike McDowell, city manager. "When assessed valuations of properties go down, then there's a roll back of the rates under the Hancock Amendment. This way, the city gets the same amount of money that it received the previous year."

Basically, this is simply a 'leveling effect' for the tax rates. "Whether a homeowners taxes go up or down or stay the same depends upon the assessment of each piece of property," said McDowell. "This has all been predetermined by the Missouri State Auditor," he said.