CORRECTION: Brentwood Property Tax Rate Lower Than Expected

*Correction (1:59 p.m.) — An earlier version of this article listed incorrect math to calculate a homeowner's expected tax bill. We are sorry for the error.

The residential property tax rate in Brentwood will be lower than originally expected.

On Monday, the Brentwood Board of Aldermen approved a rate increase of $.001 per $100 in assessed value — a much lower number than the $.06 increase previously .

For a $123,600 home—Brentwood's median housing value according to the 2000 U.S. Census—homeowners would pay an extra $0.23 on their tax bill if their home values remained the same.

The city had originally sought a larger increase because of sliding property values. As home values decline, so does the revenue that the city collects from a homeowner's tax bill.

But updated numbers from St. Louis County show that Brentwood's residential property value actually has climbed by $691,000 since last year. Residential valuation was originally expected to drop by $1.8 million.

The property tax rate for commercial properties has also been adjusted.

The board approved a rate of $.848 per $100 of assessed valuation, down from the original estimate of $.903 that was approved by the Ways and Means Committee. The increase follows a $6 million drop in commerical property value since last year.