St. Charles County Chairperson, Nancy Matheny, rattled off revenue projections then lit up when she got to the part about having enough money to give employees a raise.
“For once we’re not fighting over pennies because there aren’t enough to go around," Matheny said. "It’s still a conservative budget, but thank goodness there’s enough to make it through and not cut services any further.”
The fiscal year 2013 budget was adopted by the St. Charles County Council Monday night, and Matheny said raises could average around 3.5 percent. Most of the extra cash will come from increased projections for sales tax revenue and the expiring TIF for the St. Peters City Center, Matheny said.
Council members will have a couple of weeks to thumb through the budget before it’s up for final passage on Dec. 17.
Council To Consider New Rules For Business Licenses
Four bills introduced before the St. Charles County Council last night would require business owners have their personal and real estate taxes paid in order to keep their business licenses.
Councilman, Jerry Daugherty, introduced the bills and said they’re needed to close a tax loophole.
“You can’t get license plates on your car if you don’t pay your personal property tax,” Daugherty said. “We were having people fall through the cracks, pulling permits and everything else and not paying their property tax.”
But not everyone on the council thinks the new rules are a good idea.
Councilman, Joe Brazil, said after the meeting that he is not in favor of the new bills because they would not provide enough protection for business owners if they dispute what they owe.
“We’ve been running this county for years without this law, and are we having problems, are we defunct, are we going bankrupt?” Brazil asked after the meeting. “No.”
“It’s not that big of an issue, so why even do it?” Brazil added.
Follow Tim Lloyd on Twitter: @TimSLloyd
