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   A retirement community that charges a six figure entry fee isn't a charitable institution and must pay property taxes.  That's according to the St. Louis County Board of Equalization which Tuesday rejected a request for tax-exempt status by the Aberdeen Heights Senior Living Center in Kirkwood.  

   Aberdeen officials had asked the board to waive their $1.2 million annual tax bill, a move that would have cost Kirkwood schools around 700-thousand dollars a year. 

   Aberdeen's attorneys had argued that the luxury complex qualifies as non-profit because it waves living expenses for residents who can no pay.  

   St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman say that doesn't matter because residents must first pay the steep entry fee in order to get the "free" lifetime care.  

   Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Aberdeen's parent company, is expected to appeal the ruling.

 

 

   ST. LIBORY, Ill. (AP) - The small, metro-east village of St. Libory is returning a quarter of the property taxes collected from new homeowners.

   The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the village is giving back the tax money in an effort to draw young families into its school district. The refund is good for homes built in a certain tax increment finance district and is good for up to eight years. Homeowners apply to receive the refund.

   The village has hired an Edwardsville firm called Moran Economic Development to help it boost growth. About 615 people live in St. Libory, which is about 35 miles southeast of St. Louis.

   Thomas Henderson is with the Illinois Tax Increment Association in Springfield. He says the village's incentives aren't common.

Although the housing market may be picking up, assessed home values in St. Louis are expected to decline for the third time in a row.

St. Louis County's first elected assessor, Jake Zimmerman says preliminary computer models show values dipping slightly. Zimmerman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that human assessors may tweak the figures after examining individual homes.

He says anyone whose assessed property value increases will be notified by mail right away so that there's plenty of time for an appeal before the bills go out in the fall.