St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman is reaching out to property owners whose property has been affected by Friday's devastating tornado. Zimmerman wants to be sure property owners are aware of their rights.
Under Missouri law, Assessors are permitted to remove property improvements rendered uninhabitable by a natural disaster from the tax rolls. Zimmerman has instructed his staff to locate all properties in St. Louis County that sustained severe damage from Friday's tornado so that their value may be adjusted or reduced to the value of the land in cases of irreparable damage for the 2011 tax year.
Said Zimmerman: "When someone has lost their home to a tornado, the last thing they need to worry about is an unfair tax bill. Our office is committed to doing everything within our power to make sure victims of this disaster are treated fairly and compassionately."
The Assessor's staff is currently working with other County departments and local authorities to determine all areas in which tornado damage occurred, and will be performing field inspections to assess the individual damages in as many cases as possible. However, property owners should not wait for the Assessor to come to them. Zimmerman encourages property owners to call his office and report severe tornado damage to their property:
Owners of residential real estate: 314/615-4230Owners of commercial real estate: 314/615-4968
Since 2011 is a state mandated reassessment year, all owners of real property in St. Louis County will receive a Change of Assessment Notice in the mail, which shows them the 2009 value and the new 2011 value of their property. Residential property owners can expect that notice by mid-May, and owners of commercial property by mid-June.
Every effort is being made to find and adjust properties before the notices are mailed, but some property owners may still receive a notice showing the 2011 appraised value of their property before any tornado damage occurred. Assessor Zimmerman asks that those property owners please contact his office at the numbers listed above and arrange for a field inspection by the Assessor's staff. |
