Monday, Jun. 29, 2009

Kern: No federal money likely for metro-east levee repairs

BELLEVILLE -- After bailing out banks, car makers and the world's biggest insurance company, the federal government probably won't have money left over for its nearly two-thirds share of a $180-million metro-east flood levee repair program.

As a result, development in the metro-east Mississippi River basin could freeze, while "people will be forced to pay for flood insurance for property that has never flooded before," St. Clair County Board Mark Kern said Monday.

In July, 2008, the boards of St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties approved a quarter-cent sales tax to pay for the federally mandated upgrades and repairs. The new taxes took effect Jan. 1.

Problem is, the economic recession has hurt collection of the new sales tax revenues, while "we will be forced to do without a federal share," Kern said.

About 35 percent of the funding for the levee repairs is expected to come from the new quarter-cent sales tax in the three counties. The rest -- about 65 percent -- was expected to come from the federal government.

"I would think that there is nothing going to be done on that levee until a funding source is identified," County Board Member Frank Heligenstein, D-Freeburg, said. "I don't think the people of St. Clair County are going to pay more sales taxes to fund it."

Madison and St. Clair counties had projected they would raise about $5 million apiece in new revenue through the sales tax. Monroe County had expected to generate slightly less than $500,000. It was unclear by press time how much revenue the new sales taxes had generated in each of the three counties.

For more on this story, read the News-Democrat on Tuesday or return Tuesday to bnd.com