Stoddard County decides to settle tax case with Ameren

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Stoddard County decided to withdraw from a lawsuit against Ameren Missouri at a special meeting Thursday night at the Stoddard County Justice Center.

The Stoddard County Commission called the meeting to discuss what to do next, as the case has been tied up in court since 2013.

Ameren gas distribution, Stoddard County and 15 other counties had been at odds over the assessed property valuations of Ameren's property for years. Three of those counties settled out of court with Ameren in 2018, according to Dexter, Missouri, city administrator Mark Stidham.

Ameren claims the valuations of its property for its natural gas distribution systems in those counties have been too high, so its tax bills have also been too high. The company believed its taxes should have been about 60% of what Stoddard County was charging.

Ameren first appealed the assessment in Stoddard County in 2013.

The case has been in the court system since.

Stoddard County Collector and Treasurer Carla Moore has been placing tax money into an escrow account since 2013. The money can't be withdrawn until the case is settled in or out of court.

County Assessor Daniel Creg and Ameren struck a deal recently for the 2019 taxes with Ameren paying roughly 60% of the taxes assessed.

Creg told a gathering of 28 people "the lawyer fees are going to eat us up. ... We need to decide to cut our losses or go forward with the lawsuit and continue to incur legal fees."

The county will receive about 60% of the $577,354.82 for personal and property taxes with the remainder going to Ameren. The numbers are approximate because tax rates vary from year to year.

Legal fees of $149,209.42 will come out of the $346,412.89 the county will receive from Ameren.

The money left over will be dispersed to the county's schools, townships, road and bridge district, ambulance district, health center and special road and Johnson grass funds.

These entities haven't received any tax money from Ameren since the lawsuit began.

Stoddard County Collector's Office will come up with exact figures in the settlement in the coming weeks.

Before Dexter School District superintendent C.A. Counts called for a vote and Pike Township president Robert Morris seconded it, Creg said, "I know it's my decision, but you guys need to be involved. It's the taxpayers' money."

Of the 28 people in attendance, only 10 were allowed to vote because each entity had only one vote. The motion passed 10-0.