We, the undersigned, do not support the establishment of a Special Business District in the Shaw neighborhood. We are residents of the intended district and are 18 years old or over.
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I refuse to support a tax that pays for others’ false sense of security while I proactively work to create an actual secure environment for my family. Vigilance and knowledge will outweigh third-party outsourcing every time.
Wonderful, I was unaware of this site. Thanks to all who created it.
As you can note from my posting on Shaw Talk I am against this too. Glad I’m not alone.
As a co-captain for 40xx Flad and Flora, I’ve got a member who owns property on Flad, and would like to vote IF THAT IS POSSIBLE.
They did receive the notice of the Aldermanic hearing in their tax bill, but it didn’t give any information about voting.
Any thoughts?
Why should we pay an additional tax when the economy is tanking, neighbors are losing their jobs, and the price of gas is increasing? This sounds incredibly wasteful and shortsighted.
Where can I find out the specifics on how this SBD will be implemented? Are there any plans? Who will be administering and running this program? I am not able to attend neighborhood meetings and have limited access to a computer but would like to get more involved.
It would seem that we are being forced to pay for other people’s laziness. Why work on a truly addressing a problem when we can throw money at it.
Enough is too much. So there is no mistake about subject matter, this additional tax proposal for Shaw is the most stupid idea I’ve ever seen in my life. The very idea of an additional tax to pay for some service we already pay excessive taxes for is absolutely insane. The taxes we homeowners pay now do not give us police protection and if you don’t believe it, just call them when you need them.
Vernon Creasy
My primary objection to this district is not a matter of finances but of fairness. The Shaw neighborhood still has problems, and would probably benefit from additional patrols, but there are many parts of this city in far greater need of police protection than we are. Taxing ourselves for special patrols while leaving other, poorer neighborhoods to fend for themselves is wrong. Chasing the bad guys across some magic line into a neighborhood where they can’t afford rent-a-cops is wrong. And watching 56 (and counting) special taxing districts hire security patrols to chase the bad guys into areas that don’t (yet) have their own security patrols is playing whack-a-mole with real people’s real lives. The point of living in the City is we’re all in this together; if I wanted to live in a fortress community I’d move to a micro-municipality in the County.
Wait a minute – isn’t the whole reason for the special tax because crime is out of control and we need to “protect” ourselves? The FBI, Mayor Slay, and the police say crime is down? What is the real issue here?
Crime in Shaw is up (according to last SNIA newsletter) and in areas where the private patrol is utilized, crime is down. To me, that is enough to give it a try for the $10 a month it seems I would be charged.
Does anyone know where I can order the yard sign that has the words “Special Business District in Shaw” with a red circle and line through it? It looks just like the *.pdf file posted on this site. I’ve seen them popping up around the neighborhood and I want one for my yard, and a few for my neighbors, too. (None of us wants this tax.) If you have this info, please post a phone number or link. Thanks!
If you’d like a yard sign, you can email Stephanie Noecker and they will contact you when more come in or just plant one in your yard if you give her the address: stephanienoecker@decir.net
I spoke with someone who led the charge to get one of these special tax districts passed in the Southwest Gardens neighborhood. He informed me that the new patrols over there were responsible for writing several hundred parking tickets last year.
Ironic, isn’t it? On top of the fact that this proposal won’t work, for all the reasons enumerated elsewhere on this site, the city would use the money from a new tax we approve to then collect even more money out of us by way of parking tickets.
This proposal won’t make the neighborhood any safer, but it sure will make the city government a whole lot richer!
Why don’t we pay protection money to the criminals and cut out the middle man?
Better yet, lets form our own “community patrol” and “tax” all of the visitors to the Botanical Gardens and Tower Grove Park to insure their saftey while visiting.
Call me crazy, but I believe the members of the police department are best qualified to enforce the laws and protect the community.
Furthermore, I don’t understand why some of my neighbors would rob me via legislation to protect me from “street crime”. I treat people with respect, meet my neighbors, and don’t participate in illegal activity. Guess what, trouble rarely seeks me out.
To those who claim that the tax is small, I say, “If it is so little to you, then feel free to pay my share.”
What guarantee is there that these private patrols will prevent or respond to crime? Is the tax refunded to anyone who subsequently becomes a crime victim? I doubt that.
What are the qualifications of the private patrol? What relationship exists (if any) between them and the original advocates of this tax? Who gets to pick which company is hired? What authority would they have?
I think it would be foolish to proceed with this until, at least, these questions are answered.
Personally, I really don’t find the idea of rent-a-cops prowling around the neighborhood attractive.
Robert, my sentiments exactly.
Me again. I live on the 3900 block of Russell. I linked to the city Assesor’s site, provided here, because in my ignorance I did not know my home’s assesed value. Talk about inflated value! It is a single family dwelling; I pay the mortgage payments myself. My only income is Social Security Disability. When I originally began making payments I held my dream job with a more-than-adequate salary. But then I became disabled and poor, trying to survive on only 1/6th my former income to remain in the home I love and worked so hard to keep. By my calculations my share of the special tax will amount to $42.00 a MONTH. I don’t have $42.00 a MONTH. I urge others to calculate their special tax amount and vote NO on the Shaw Special Tax District March 3, 2009. Instead, let’s please renew our interest in block meetings and neighborhood watches. Most of us have phones and email, and even if we can’t attend a night meeting, can communicate in some other form. If the St. Louis City Police thinks it’s wise, those of us who are night-owls could sit on our porches, cell phone in hand, and call 911 if necessary. I can attest that in an emergency they respond within minutes.
Jennifer,
If you are disabled you are eligible for an $1,100 tax credit for any property taxes you pay. It’s called the Missouri Circuit Breaker. The Department of Revenue can help you. Their St. Louis contact info is below.
Also, I don’t think you calculated the proposed SBD tax right. The biggest 4 family on your block will only pay $12.59 a month.
St. Louis
3256 Laclede Station Rd., Ste 101
St. Louis, MO 63143-3753
Phone: (314) 877-0177
Fax: (314) 877-0198
Email: stltax@dor.mo.gov
Jennifer again. I was informed that my calculation of $42.00 a month was in error. I was using APPRAISED value instead of ASSESSED value. My monthly figure dropped to $8.00, but it’s still almost the cost of one of my monthly medications. And to add a little humor here, I guess everyone can now tell I need to stay on my medications. I want to stress my continued interest in focusing on block meetings, neighborhood watches, and better utilization of our current City resources.