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Frequently Asked Questions

The material in this question and answer series is for your information only. It is not legal advice and is not designed to be used in place of legal advice. You should consult your own attorney for legal advice. The St. Joseph Legal Department provides this series to provide a general summary of procedures concerning violations of city ordinances in the City of St. Joseph, Missouri. It is issued to inform generally, not to advise of specific rights. As with any general information, the answers given here may not specifically apply to you.
Why use General Obligation Bonds?
General Obligation (G.O.) Bonds are debt instruments much like a house mortgage, and generally run for a period of 20 years. The City identifies a major project (e.g. a fire station) or several similar projects (e.g. five road intersections) and determines that to complete the project(s) in a timely manner a debt issuance is needed. With all of the improvement needs in the community there are times the City might not want to wait until enough CIP Sales Tax funds had accumulated to be able to pay for the project. Or, projects might come up after all of the funds for the current CIP sales tax are “taken” for other projects as approved by the voters.

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1. What is St. Joseph's current ad valorem tax rate?
2. What is St. Joseph's total budget?
3. What is Ad Valorem?
4. What is St. Joseph's current Ad Valorem tax rate? Break down by funds.
5. How much does the average citizen pay based on the above tax rate?
6. What is the total Sales Tax rate in St. Joseph?
7. What is the Operating Budget?
8. What is CIP?
9. How is the CIP developed?
10. What revenue sources are used to finance CIP?
11. Why use General Obligation Bonds?
12. What are “funds” and why does the City have them?
13. What is the General Fund?
14. What is an Enterprise Fund?
15. What is Capital Outlay?
16. What is the City of St. Joseph's fiscal year?
17. Where can I get a copy of City of St. Joseph budget?