Citing mismanagement, Maryland Heights wants control of levee district to ease way for development Property owners blame lawyer who has run Howard Bend Levee District for financial woes, while the city plans a tax increment financing district for the area.

It also accuses the 8,500-acre levee district of “improper/nonexistent” notice of the levy and says the district lacks a “reasonable and effective means by which property owners within the district may be heard on District business, including construction projects, administrative costs, and the use of public funds.”

In addition, Maryland Heights says the levee district charges taxes that aren’t “uniform” among different property owners and the charges are an “abuse of the district’s taxing power.”

“The assessment of benefits and the levy of taxes by the District is not rationally related to the costs of District improvements needed to protect the properties located within the District, but instead such assessment and levy include unnecessary and excessive administrative costs,” the city said in its petition.

Levee districts are able to charge taxes to any property owner within their boundaries, including tax-exempt entities such as local governments.