02/07/2017
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has announced her office will review finances and operations for two Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) in the greater St. Louis area. Audits are underway for the BaratHaven CID in Dardenne Prairie, located in St. Charles County and the North Oaks Plaza Shopping Center CID in Northwoods, located in St. Louis County.
Community Improvement Districts offer financial incentives through property and sales tax collections with the intent of encouraging new growth and development in a specific area. CIDs have multiplied in Missouri, from 19 on record with the State Auditor's Office in 2007 to an estimated 300 today. Of those, more than 100 are located within the counties of St. Charles and St. Louis and St. Louis City.
"Government at all levels must be accountable for every dollar collected and spent, and I have serious concerns with the lack of transparency of some special taxing districts across Missouri," Auditor Galloway said. "I look forward to completing these audits to determine whether the districts are serving their intended purposes and benefitting the people whose communities they promised to improve."
The North Oaks Plaza Shopping Center Community Improvement District was created in 2007 in the city of Northwoods to fund building improvements to the shopping center and parking lot. The district is located near the intersection of Natural Bridge Road and Lucas and Hunt Road. It includes about 30 businesses and collected approximately $110,000 in sales taxes 2015.
The BaratHaven Community Improvement District was created in the city of Dardenne Prairie in 2006 to help fund a proposed commercial and residential mixed-use development, although only the residential portion was completed. It is funded through property taxes on the 245 homes in the subdivision. This district is located near the intersection of Interstate I-64 and Winghaven Boulevard and collected approximately $150,000 in property taxes in 2015.
In August of 2016 a new law authorized the State Auditor's Office to audit CIDs without requiring citizens to initiate the audit through the petition process. Prior to this law, citizens could only request an audit by petition, and only if they lived in the district. Due to the commercial nature of many CIDs, some do not have any residents, which meant there was no way for citizens to request an audit, even if they were paying sales taxes in that district.
CID audits are already underway for two Community Improvement Districts in Jackson County.
The audits will include reviews of finances and operations for the districts, including compliance with the established district rules and adherence to financial and operating best practices for public government bodies. Individuals who would like to provide information for consideration during these audits may contact the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline anonymously at 800-347-8597, by email at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov, or online at auditor.mo.gov/hotline.
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These audits are part of an ongoing focus on increasing transparency and accountability for special taxing districts in Missouri. In 2016 Auditor Galloway launched the online Show-Me Local Government Map to promote transparency in government finances and operations. In addition to the CID audits, a statewide report on Transportation Development Districts (TDDs) and an audit on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district practices are underway.
