Smoking ban would cost city, St. Charles officials say

St. Charles officials say a countywide ban on smoking in all indoor public places would cost their city millions and make a hefty tax hike necessary to offset the loss of revenue. When it comes to imposing smoking regulations, Mayor Sally Faith said she'd rather see the city driving the bus instead of following behind. Faith said she would like the city to have a chance to evaluate whether a smoking ban would work in St. Charles.

Faith and several other St. Charles officials attended the County Council's Sept. 24 meeting to voice their disapproval of the county's proposed charter amendment to regulate smoking in enclosed public places. "The bill reflects two options and is confusing," Faith said. "The second thing is the city needs time to evaluate all of the possibilities and how we would handle it." There may be more time. St. Charles County Circuit Judge Ted House on Sept. 25 upheld county Elections Director Rich Chrismer's decision to remove the county's smoking ban proposal from the Nov. 6 ballot because of confusing language.

The County Council voted 4-2 on Aug. 27 to place two smoking-related questions on the ballot, one to ban smoking in all enclosed public places and the other to exempt businesses that require patrons or employees to be at least 21 years old, private clubs and 20 percent of hotel rooms. "When the council doesn't follow procedures, I have the authority to remove a bill from the ballot," Chrismer said Wednesday. Faith said the city stood to lose $2.6 million to $3 million a year in revenue if voters would have approved an outright smoking ban. Some of that money helps to pay for police and fire services and street improvements.

 "There would be no way we could pick up that income to help city residents, and they would feel the ramifications of it," Faith said. To counter lost gaming revenue if smoking were banned from Ameristar Casino, St. Charles officials said the city would need a property tax increase that would cost the average property owner an additional $230 per year.

 The gaming dollars St. Charles receives helps to maintain an aging infrastructure, helps to meet day-to-day expenses and helps keep taxes lower, said Michael Spurgeon, the city's director of administration. In the last six years, the city has received an average of $14 million in gaming taxes and admissions fees, he said. "It's an integral part of the revenue for the city,." Spurgeon said. "There would be 300 private jobs lost at the casino, not including other jobs lost around the county. St. Charles would have to let employees go, including police and fire."