40 Mayors Send Letter To St. Louis County Asking For More COVID-19 Tax Relief.

CBS St. Louis

December 23, 2020

40 mayors across St. Louis County have sent a letter to County Executive Sam Page. The letter is requesting data, backing up his decision to close indoor dining mid-November and is ALSO a petition for property tax relief for businesses impacted by the county health orders. "Every day coming in here and having no one to talk to and you know, just praying that the phone rings, so someone can come, it's been heartbreaking," said Jeanne Blanton, owner of BJs Bar and Restaurant in Florissant. "We're very slow" she states and reports that her sales are down over 50%.
"I'm supposed to pay my taxes on time, but I don't have any money coming in," said Blanton.

With property taxes due December 31, the mayors hope their request will offer some relief.
They worked with the Municipal League to send the letter to Page's office. It asks Page if there is a way to waive, reimburse, or delay county property taxes for businesses impacted by the health orders.

"Is there any CARES money left? Any relief we could give bars and restaurants would be a help to them" said Florissant mayor Tim Lowery, who is among the mayors who signed the letter.

The letter also asks Page's office for data that backs up his decision to close indoor dining.
"We need to back that up with some more information as to why that is causing the problem," said Lowery. News 4 has repeatedly asked his office for that information and has not yet received it."I wish they would be more transparent and I wish they would show that to us. But I can also understand that nobody wants to be wrong. When you're gonna provide data everyone is gonna inspect, you want to make sure that it's right," said Blanton.
A spokesperson for Page's office said he understands their concerns. He said Page's office is working with restaurant groups to get indoor dining reopened as quickly as possible.