DUTCHTOWN FOLKS SHOULD GET 1999 REFUND

One of the great things about our society is that our laws apply equally to the great and small.

But so far that doesn't seem to be the case of a tax imposed last year by Dutchtown officials.

The tax in this tiny incorporated area with a total of 50 registered voters apparently violates state statutes. So far, no official action has been taken against the board or county officials who allowed the tax to be collected and sent the money to Dutchtown.

It's no devious plot, to be sure.

The village was incorporated in 1998 so residents could raise money for their share of the cost of a levee to protect them from the nearby Diversion Channel that funnels runoff from a vast drainage area into the Mississippi River.

Last August, 12 of the village's registered voters went to the polls and voted unanimously to impose a village sales tax, also earmarked for the levee project.

In 1999, the Dutchtown board circulated a petition to all its residents. As expected, they said they were willing to pay 32 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation on their real estate and personal property.

The board presented the petition to the county clerk, who told the board the petition wasn't legal. But the tax was added to last year's tax bills anyway. The tax raised $1,300 for Dutchtown.

Everything went smoothly until State Auditor Claire McCaskill looked into the Dutchtown tax. She knew Dutchtown officials couldn't just pass around a petition and start taxing people. New taxes must be approved by voters.

The state auditor, who plainly says the Dutchtown tax is illegal, contacted Attorney General Jay Nixon, who already has sued a couple of fire districts elsewhere in the state for taxing without a vote. The attorney general's office is poised to sue Dutchtown too.

Except for one thing.

The Dutchtown trustees are doing things the right way this year. The village board passed a resolution to put the tax issue to a vote. All 50 village voters were notified by mail -- in accordance with state law -- of the election and will have an opportunity to vote on the issue Tuesday.

There is little doubt Dutchtown voters will approve the tax. But that doesn't erase the problem of last year's tax that was collected without a vote.

A spokesman said the attorney general's office is watching the Dutchtown election with interest, indicating that the outcome may affect whether there is a lawsuit filed against the Dutchtown trustees.

There's only one way to fix the tax collected last year: Refund the money to Dutchtown residents who paid it. If they want their village to have it, they'll give it right back.