ST. LOUIS — Voters in Jefferson and Franklin counties approved measures Tuesday to cap future increases on their property tax bills. But it's not clear when, or even if, those tax freezes will go into effect.

The tax caps will be difficult and expensive to implement, county leaders say. They also point to the state law that allowed the public votes, saying it was vague and confusing, with key details not explained.

Meanwhile, legal challenges have surfaced to block the tax caps from going into effect.

"They wrote a terrible piece of legislation," said Franklin County Collector Doug Trentmann. "There’s numerous things this does not answer."

School leaders also are sounding warnings, as they did before Election Day, saying they stand to lose millions of dollars.

A state bill signed by the governor in June required the property tax vote. It led to ballot issues in several counties across Missouri, including St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin. St. Louis County and the city were not involved.

In counties where the tax credit failed, critics say they dodged a bullet. The measure was soundly defeated in St. Charles County, with 59% of voters going against it.

“Schools don’t have to start planning budget cuts that would increase class sizes and reduce how we compensate staff,” said Steven Blair, board president for the Francis Howell School District.

The tax credit would freeze property tax bills to what they were in 2024, though voters could later approve tax levy increases. Taxes would also go up if a home's value increased because of additions or improvements. State legislators who backed the bill said it was in response to rising property values and tax bills. Critics warned that it would flatten the main source of revenue for public services and schools.

The measure passed by healthy margins in Jefferson (61% voted yes) and Franklin (69%).

But officials there couldn’t say when residents would see the tax relief. Some were not even clear on whether residents needed to formally apply for it.

In Jefferson County, the council in January voted not to implement the tax credit until 2028 because of a legal challenge. Across Missouri, 43 counties have joined a lawsuit to block the law.

Cherlynn Boyer, executive assistant to the Jefferson County Council, referred questions about the tax credit to state legislators — as it was “their bill,” she said.

Jefferson County Counselor Jalesia Kuenzel said the county was “in the preliminary stages” of studying the credit and lacked “specifics.”

In Franklin County, Trentmann said the credit would be difficult to roll out. The county, for example, may need to pay programmers for new systems to process applications. As it is, the county could hardly handle the influx of in-person applications for a previously approved property tax freeze for seniors, he said.

Trentmann estimated that the county wouldn't be ready for the new tax credit until 2027, at the earliest.

“The citizens obviously want it, so it needs to be done,” Trentmann said. “But for 2026, there’s no plan to implement it this year.”

Some counties, including Stone in southwestern Missouri, ignored the state's legal requirement to put the measure before voters, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Officials there said they wanted to wait out the legal challenges.

In Warren County, a neighbor to St. Charles, voters approved the tax credit, with about 53% of the vote. But officials also are keeping an eye on legal developments.

“A lot of counties think it was unconstitutional the way it was set up,” Presiding Commissioner Joe Gildehaus said. “We decided as a commission to put it on there and see what happens after the fact."

In Gasconade County, about 90 miles from St. Louis, Assessor Julia Baker said officials would begin accepting applications for the tax freeze in January 2027 — if the courts uphold it.

'Inequitable application'

State legislators created the tax credit during a special session in June of last year. Senate Bill 3 initially grabbed headlines because it contained a $1.5 billion stadium subsidy plan to keep Kansas City sports teams in Missouri.

The property tax provision was a last-minute sweetener to get members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus to vote for stadium subsidies; $100 million for St. Louis tornado relief was a way to get Democrats on board.

“The language had never been vetted in a committee hearing and never had any opportunity for public input,” said Steve Hobbes, executive director of the Missouri Association of Counties. “Where’s the transparency in that?”

Senators decided whether to opt in or out their home counties; 97 opted in, resulting in the votes in last week's elections.

Critics have sounded alarms about the tax credit hurting a main source of revenue for fire and ambulance services, libraries and school districts.

Jefferson County Library Director Cindy Hayes said property taxes comprise about 90% of the library's budget.

"We’re just hanging tight," Hayes said. "Any plans we had for growth or big projects are being put on hold."

Carrie Schwierjohn, superintendent of Meramec Valley R-III School District in Franklin County, said about 60% of her district's budget comes from local property and real estate taxes.

"To have all the taxes frozen for our district in perpetuity would limit our ability to attract and retain quality teachers," Schwierjohn said.

Meramec Valley was part of a group of taxing districts and residents that legally challenged the law last year.

In September, six school districts, a fire protection district and two residents sued to stop the proposed tax freeze, claiming the law arbitrarily and "on the whim of legislators" treated counties differently. A Cole County judge in February allowed the issue to still appear on April ballots, despite the pending suit.

A separate lawsuit filed by 43 counties, including Gasconade, has a trial scheduled for late June.

Of the counties covered under the bill, 22, including St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson, were labeled “zero-percent counties” — meaning property taxes would be frozen. The other 75 counties were limited to a maximum property tax revenue increase of 5% per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is greater.

About 90% of Meramec Valley school district lies in Franklin County, with the rest in St. Louis and Jefferson counties.

“Our district supports overall tax relief for our hard-working community but is concerned with the inequitable application of Senate Bill 3 to taxing jurisdictions,” Schwierjohn said.

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