Letters to the editor – MU PTO proposal unlikely to keep staff

I love working at Mizzou, but benefits have gradually eroded since I started 23 years ago. Examples include implementation of required contributions to the pension fund, consolidation of job titles resulting in fewer opportunities for promotion, reduction (or elimination) of retiree health insurance, parking fee increases ranging from 20% to 185%, and elimination of cost-of-living adjustments to pension payments.

Now HR has proposed a paid-time-off structure that will reduce annual vacation, personal and sick days by 10. HR says that it only seems like fewer days since short-term disability (at 60% of salary), parental leave and caregiver leave will be added, but these will have restrictions that our current leave doesn't have.

Ten days annually is not a fair exchange for supplemental leave that many employees will use only once or twice during their careers, and some may never use at all. Rollover of unused days has not been guaranteed, whereas we're currently allowed to accrue vacation balances of twice our annual allotment and unlimited sick time. At retirement, unused sick days are added to years of service and figure into pension calculations, a valuable perk for employees planning to retire from Mizzou.

I realize our current leave may be generous relative to the private sector; however, our salaries and raises are generally smaller. Without good benefits, we're left with low salaries and paltry raises. On the surface, the PTO proposal may look good, but it's unlikely to retain staff.

Megan Merrill, Columbia

Roll back personal property tax rate

Used car values have risen dramatically in Missouri. Prices for used cars increased 25% in 2021 alone. Because Missouri is one of the only states with a personal property tax on cars, that increase is going to hit taxpayers hard come December.

The personal property tax is not covered by our Hancock Amendment rules on reducing property tax rates as values increase. As car values have typically declined over time, this has not been a problem in the past. But with used car values increasing and no tax rollback required, local governments around Missouri will see an unexpected windfall in property tax payments this year. That is not how the tax system is supposed to operate.

There is a solution here. Local elected officials, including county, city and school district representatives, should voluntarily roll tax rates back once property valuations are finalized. St. Charles County government has taken the lead on this, and other local governments around the state should do the same. The personal property tax rate is unconnected to the real property tax rate. Rolling it back to a revenue-neutral level is simple, allowable, and — most importantly — good public policy.

Local governments in Missouri are awash in federal stimulus funds and other revenues, while ordinary citizens are getting hammered by inflation. Cities, counties and school districts don't need another bonanza on the backs of Missouri taxpayers. Rolling back personal property tax rates is the right thing to do.

David Stokes, director of municipal policy at the Show-Me Institute