Officials weigh in on cuts in appraised value of River City Casino
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 22, 2011
By Paul Hampel
CLAYTON - The St. Louis County Economic Council and the county's Port Authority have both weighed in on the recent deep cut in the appraised value of River City Casino in Lemay.
The county's Board of Equalization slashed the market value of the casino from $284 million - the preliminary value the county had set on it in May - to $164 million. (The county originally reported that the value was cut to $139 million, but has since adjusted that figure to include both the real estate and personal property values of the casino.)
The county estimated that the cuts will cost taxing districts in the area about $3.5 million in property taxes from the casino taxes. And the Hancock Place and Lemay Fire Protection districts both said they plan to raise their tax rates to force taxpayers to cover the loss.
(The board also cut the value of Harrah's casino by almost half, to $215 million; that figure is also an update from the county's original estimate. But even with the reduction, Harrah's will still pay more in taxes this year than last to the Pattonville School and Fire Protection districts.)
"The loss of revenue will be immediately felt in the community of Lemay and throughout St. Louis County," Sheila Sweeney, chairperson of the port authority, said Thursday in a statement to the media.
The port authority owns the River City Casino site and leases it to Pinnacle Entertainment.
Denny Coleman, president of the economic council, added, "It's baffling. It doesn't make sense that a piece of property that was under construction in 2010 was worth $284 million, and now, since opening, the assessed value suddenly drops to $164 million. How is that possible? Pinnacle Entertainment stated to us that it spent $375 million improving the property."
The casinos have declined to comment.
The members of the Board of Equalization have defended their rulings, saying they weighed "voluminous" evidence before rendering decisions.
County Assessor Jake Zimmerman has called on the board to reverse its decisions, but board chairperson Leslie Broadnax said her group has no plans to do so.
