Cities cost A LOT of money to operate . . . your
money.
A thorough
estimate has determined the average annual household increase in taxes to be at
least
$1,125
to live in the City
of High Ridge in order to maintain the current level of services that Jefferson
County provides.
Businesses located within the city of High Ridge will be required to impose High Ridge sales
tax, which is paid by you, the customer. Due to the level of tax that will
be required, businesses will be burdened that are trying to compete with
businesses outside of the proposed city limits.
Businesses located within the city of Sugar Creek Hills will be required to impose
Sugar Creek Hills sales
tax, which is paid by you, the customer. Due to the level of tax that will
be required, businesses will be burdened that are trying to compete with
businesses outside of the proposed city limits. In the case of the
businesses located within the Sugar Creek Hills boundary, they will be competing
at a disadvantage with businesses just down the road should Sugar Creek Hills
incorporate. Customers will be inclined to shop elsewhere to purchase
goods with a lower tax rate.
Utility bills (telephone, gas, electric, cable) for both
residents and businesses will be subjected to High
Ridge’s utility tax rate, in addition to taxes already applied. To see
sample tax rates for an existing city, a portion of the
Desoto City Services Guide has been provided on
this site (it is the fourth image).
Real estate and personal property tax would be imposed by the city due to lack
of alternative sources. This would be in addition to real estate and
personal property tax collected by the county.
Upon incorporation, your current property tax liability WILL NOT BE REDUCED
for county services that the county will no longer provide.
Residential property within cities is usually given higher
assessed property values, which means higher taxes. This reflects the increased
cost of building, doing business and day-to-day living in the city – not any
added value that a city would provide.
In addition to
federal and state income taxes, cities can impose an income or earnings tax on
residents and workers. Due to the lack of business-tax revenue for High Ridge,
this would be more likely to be imposed. For example, since July 31, 1959, St.
Louis residents and workers pay an earnings tax of one percent of their income
to the city. This is done in other cities throughout the midwest, not
just in St. Louis, so be careful what you vote for.
City councils continually come up with new ways to generate tax revenue – don’t
be fooled.
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Cities impose
restrictions on activities:
o
Personal
Fireworks Displays would require permits be obtained at a fee.
o
Burn
ordinances restricting bonfires
or the burning of yard debris/brush piles.
Cities
create legislation, zoning ordinances and all manner of bureaucracy, which is a
full-time job if trying to keep up with it.
Compliance
with city zoning ordinances may require personal lifestyle changes, such as,
cutting grass more frequently, parking restrictions, noise levels, etc.
Local zoning
monitoring could result in fines for violation of ordinances.
To see sample
bureaucratic ordinances, city permits, licenses, fees, etc, for an existing
city, a portion of the Desoto City Services Guide
has been provided on this site.
In addition to
existing levels of government, cities use Eminent Domain, although they
usually call it condemning property or else they impose fines until you comply.
High Ridge
police force would be required to issue petty fines/violations to fund the city
without addressing real issues.
New licensing
procedures (and fees) may become required annually for pet licensing and
vehicle stickers.
Restrictions
placed on the number of pets.
Bureaucracy is
ongoing and never ending. City councils never stop creating new restrictions,
ordinances or levying taxes.
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Brian Haskins
(president of the group “Citizens for the Future of High Ridge”) and his group
have been using the term 'predatory incorporation' and this language has been
regarded by many as scare
tactics to get signatures on the petitions that will bring the “High Ridge
incorporation initiative” to the ballot.
In addition, one of the petitions actually gives Byrnes Mill the option to
annex the 63049 zip code.
In an effort to fend off the “Sugar Creek Hills” city proposal, Mr. Haskins and
his group are offering a competing proposal of a larger area of incorporation –
the majority of the 63049 zip code – which would seem to be nothing more than a
“city for its own sake”. Either of these proposals would have to be approved by
the voters.
Mr. Haskins, a local businessman, has stated publicly that he wants to be MAYOR and, as
the President of the "Citizens for the Future of High Ridge", would likely be
appointed by the County as the first interim mayor until an election can be held.
However, if voters reject incorporation, then, of course, no city government
will be needed.
Always
question anyone who would ask you to vote for a larger city to prevent another
city from possibly incorporating your property . . . it just doesn’t make
sense!
Citizens for the Future of High Ridge is trying to raise at least $30,000 to
support their plan for a city. It’s quite possible that the businesses and
busybodies that donate would expect a “return on their investment,” such as
preferential city jobs and contracts to provide city services.
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You
have the power to vote a city down -- go to the polls &
VOTE NO.
Get the facts!
Don't
believe uninformed claims that incorporation is inevitable. Don't give up, get
involved.
If you are against one city, then why vote for a larger one? Instead unite to
fight any
attempt to incorporate! Let’s join together and understand the facts. Become
involved and informed so that you can help educate other residents. Share this
information and call
to volunteer.
If you moved
to High Ridge and/or Jefferson County to get away from the city, then join us in
fighting this city and all city proposals.
Before signing
your name to any piece of paper, read it first. It's much more difficult
to remove your name from a document than it is to sign it.
Petitions are
legal documents. Always read any documents before you sign them. Do
not trust what someone says regarding the contents. It is much harder to
remove your name from a petition than it is to sign it.
Analyze the
financial COST of being a High Ridge citizen and determine whether there are any
benefits that High Ridge can provide that the county is currently not
providing. Please see Mr. Weber’s thorough
study on the costs and benefits of living in a
city. As you will find, there are no benefits, only costs.
Before voting for any city, browse the web sites of other cities. Look at their
ordinances and all the councils that need to be supported with tax dollars and
ask yourself . . . do I want this?
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Incorporation
is absolutely NOT inevitable. Much of St.
Louis County is NOT incorporated. Sappington & Afton are
NOT incorporated. Only 10%
of the Fenton zip code is incorporated, 90% of Fenton is NOT incorporated.
The exhaustive
2-year study presented by
Nelson Weber has proven that a city encompassing the
entire 63049 zip code will not be financially feasible. There is not enough
business revenue to support it. Where will the money come from?
City
incorporation is not free. Money (and lots of it) is required to keep a city
functioning and providing services. If a city becomes defunct, the county does
not come to the rescue. This means you continue to pay county taxes without
receiving services.
Cities can be
sued. Liability insurance must be purchased immediately upon incorporation.
Legal counsel must be retained. This represents a tremendous cost to the city.
(Arnold recently lost a $1 million lawsuit.)
The St. Louis
area is crammed full of cities and municipalities already. We all pay for the
redundancy, inefficiency and lack of economies of scale in the provisioning of
services.
The local TV news is filled with the squabbling and mismanagement of
cities like
Wildwood, Sunset Hills, Overland, Pagedale, et al.
City councils
often legislate and vote for their own agendas without considering the best
interest of the citizens.
You already
have Federal, State, and County governments. Do you seriously need a fourth
layer?
Extra time and
dollars will be required of you to comply with all of the annual bureaucratic
licenses, stickers, etc.
Regardless of the incorporation proposal, all cities require increased taxation
to exist.
All cities
have the potential for waste, corruption, abuse of
powers, cronyism, etc. Who’s going to monitor what goes on?
Many have argued that a city is needed for improvements to schools and the
creation and maintenance of parks. Counties are responsible for
improvements to schools, and parks can be just as beautiful whether they are
state or county maintained. Cities do not offer anything more than what
the county can offer.
Need further
convincing? Look at the city of Byrnes Mill, just southwest of High Ridge.
o
Their police
force is regarded as a notorious ticketing machine that uses questionable tactics to extract large amounts of annually
budgeted revenue from traffic fines.
State Representative Mike
Frame held a Town Hall Meeting on June 28, 2007, to address the public on
“Byrnes Mill Police Issues”. This meeting was precipitated due to the large
number of complaints Representative Frame has received from the public about the
Byrnes Mill police and its alleged abuse of authority.
o
They have forced sewers on its citizens – even those with properly
working septic systems. There is no testing . . . only compliance!
For those who objected, they were told in a public meeting that they would be
taken to court if they did not hook
up. And, guess
who pays for the sewers . . . not the city. The homeowner is financially
responsible for the hookup to the main line while their tax dollars pay for the
rest! NOTHING IS FREE!
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