The Board of Aldermen shall, from time to time, provide by ordinance for the levy and collection of all taxes, licenses, wharfage and other duties not herein enumerated and, for neglect or refusal to pay the same, shall fix such penalties as are now or may hereafter be authorized by law or ordinance.
The Board of Aldermen shall hold at least one (1) public hearing on the proposed rates of taxes at which citizens shall be heard prior to their approval. The Board of Aldermen shall determine the time and place for such hearing. A notice stating the hour, date and place of the hearing shall be published in at least one (1) newspaper qualified under the laws of the State of Missouri of general circulation in the County within which all or the largest portion of the City is situated, or such notice shall be posted in at least three (3) public places within the City; except that in any County of the First Class having a Charter form of government, such notice may be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City even though such newspaper is not qualified under the laws of Missouri for other legal notices. Such notice shall be published or posted at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the hearing. The notice shall include the assessed valuation by category of real, personal and other tangible property in the City for the fiscal year for which the tax is to be levied as provided by Subsection (3) of Section 137.245, RSMo., the assessed valuation by category of real, personal and other tangible property in the City for the preceding taxable year, for each rate to be levied the amount of revenue required to be provided from the property tax as set forth in the annual budget adopted as provided by Chapter 67, RSMo., and the tax rates proposed to be set for the various purposes of taxation. The tax rates shall be calculated to produce substantially the same revenues as required in the annual budget adopted as provided in this Chapter. Following the hearing the Board of Aldermen shall fix the rates of taxes, the same to be entered in the tax book. Failure of any taxpayer to appear at such hearing shall not prevent the taxpayer from pursuit of any other legal remedy otherwise available to the taxpayer. Nothing in this Section absolves the City of responsibilities under Section 137.073, RSMo., nor to adjust tax rates in event changes in assessed valuation occur that would alter the tax rate calculations.
The Board of Aldermen shall, within a reasonable time after the Assessor's books of each year are returned, ascertain the amount of money to be raised thereon for general and other purposes and fix the annual rate of levy therefor by ordinance.
In the absence of a City Assessor, and until such City Assessor is duly appointed and qualified, it shall be the duty of the Mayor of the City to procure from the County Clerk of St. Louis County, Missouri, on or before the first (1st) day of October of each year a certified abstract from his/her assessment books of all property within the corporate limits of the City made taxable by law for State purposes and the assessed valuation thereof as agreed upon by the Board of Equalization, which abstract shall be immediately transmitted to the Board of Aldermen, and it shall be the duty of the Board of Aldermen to establish by ordinance the rate of taxes for the year.
When the Board of Aldermen shall have fixed the rate of taxation for any given year, it shall be the duty of the City Clerk to cause to be prepared appropriate and accurate tax books and shall therein set out in suitable columns, opposite the name of each person and the item of taxable property, as returned by the Assessor and Board of Equalization, the amount of taxes, whether general or special, due thereon and shall charge the City Collector with the full amount of taxes levied and to be collected.
On the first (1st) day of January of each year, all unpaid City taxes shall become delinquent and the taxes on real estate are hereby made a lien thereon; and all such delinquent taxes shall bear interest thereon at the rate of two percent (2%) per month from the time they become delinquent, not to exceed eighteen percent (18%) per year, until paid and shall also be subject to the same fees, penalties, commissions and charges as provided by law of the State of Missouri for delinquent State and County taxes and shall be collected from the property owners, and the enforcement of all taxes, penalties, fees, commissions and charges authorized by law and provided for herein to be paid by property owners shall be made in the same manner and under the same rules and regulations as are or may be provided by law for the collection and enforcement of the payment of State and County taxes, including fees, penalties, commissions and other charges.