The districts have proliferated in Missouri, jumping from about 20 on record with the state auditor a decade ago to an estimated 300 today. About a third of them are in the St. Louis area.

A state law took effect last summer that gave the auditor’s office the power to initiate CID audits. Prior to that, only residents who lived within the district could petition for a state audit.

Because some CIDs did not include any residents, people couldn’t request audits there even if they paid taxes to the district.

The BaratHaven district has been funded through $1.6 million in notes with the developers to be repaid by property taxes on those living and owning businesses within the district.

But in the audit that was launched in February, Galloway found that the district and St. Charles County failed to certify the tax rate with the state auditor’s office, as required by state law.