A good year for real estate development in two local cities is being reflected in growing property valuations.The cities of Wright City and Truesdale both saw a 6 percent increase in total assessed real estate valuations within their boundaries between 2016 and 2017, according to information collected by Warren County officials.These numbers are calculated by adding together the assessed value of each individual real estate property within a city’s boundaries. By comparison, total valuations in other Warren County municipalities grew by about 1 or 2 percent.Much of the 6 percent growth is due to booming new home construction in Wright City and Truesdale, according to County Assessor Wendy Nordwald. Over the last year there was more than $2.5 million worth of construction on new homes and other real estate in those two cities alone, local officials said.In Wright City, the total real estate valuation increase was about $2.6 million — from $42.8 million to $45.4 million. Of that, $2.2 million was new construction, said Treasurer and City Clerk Karen Girondo. The other $366,000 was the rising values of existing homes and businesses in Wright City, Girondo said.Truesdale’s total real estate valuations of $11.9 million in 2016 increased to $12.6 million in 2017, rising by about $742,000. Of that, $360,000 was new development and $382,000 was in rising property values, City Administrator MaryLou Rainwater said.Personal property: Not boomingWright City saw a slight drop of less than 1 percent in its personal property valuations, keeping the amount at just over $9 million.That could have been the result of normal fluctuation, property depreciation or taxpayers not turning in their assessments on time, Girondo said. She added that any vehicles brought into the city by new residents won’t be assessed until Jan. 1 of the next year.Truesdale, on the other hand, experienced a much steeper dip in valuations, more than $3 million less than 2016. Officials attributed that decline to correcting a previous error on one of the city’s largest property tax accounts, the Coca-Cola plant.Coca-Cola had acquired millions of dollars of new equipment with a tax exemption, but mistakenly mixed those assets with the rest of its 2016 assessment, according to the assessor’s office. Those assets were essentially counted twice in 2016, causing total personal property valuations in Truesdale to spike.The plant’s corrected 2017 assessment is about $4 million lower than the previous year, according to the assessor’s office. As a result, Truesdale’s total personal property valuations dropped from $13.9 million to $10.6 million, a 23 percent decline.New tax ratesAll told, with real estate and personal property valuations combined, Wright City’s total assessed valuations grew by 4.8 percent.On the other hand, Truesdale’s assessed valuations shrank by 9.7 percent this year, reflecting the mix up with Coca-Cola. Ignoring the erroneous valuation spike in 2016, Truesdale’s 2017 valuation is still higher than its 2015 valuation by about $1 million, Rainwater said.City leaders must now set the next year’s property tax rates based on those new numbers. Cities throughout the county will hold public hearings and approve tax rates by Sept. 1, officials said.Cities and other taxing authorities receive tax rate recommendations from the state auditor’s office based on a formula, officials said. The formula factors in new development, changing valuations and inflation, among other variables.In Wright City, the strong growth of new construction means the city won’t need to raise its property tax rate, Girondo said. In fact, because the city's debt service will be slightly lower, Girondo said the tax rate would probably go down by about 4 cents.That will put Wright City's tax rate at 95.34 cents per $100 of property valuation, down from 99.39 cents. A public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24 to officially approve next year's tax rate.In Truesdale, the large decrease in personal property valuations resulted in a tax rate recommendation that Rainwater said at first looked like a mistake.The state’s formula says Truesdale’s tax rate should increase from 81.31 cents to 91.50 cents per $100 of valuation, in order to maintain the city’s current funding.That translates to an additional $101.90 in tax on a $100,000 property.Rainwater said although the Truesdale Board of Aldermen does not have to increase the tax rate by that much, previous boards have always followed the state auditor’s calculation and that practice is likely to continue.“Whether there was a mistake or not on the (2016 assessment), the funds are still needed to provide services,” Rainwater said. “Most (city employees) live here in Truesdale, so we’ll be paying that rate also.”Truesdale’s public hearing on property tax rates is Aug. 23 at Truesdale City Hall.Valuations in other citiesWarrenton’s real estate valuations increased by 1.4 percent, while its personal property valuations fell a mere 0.35 percent. Total change: Increase of 1.1 percent.Marthasville had a small gain of 0.9 percent in its real estate valuations, but also stayed positive with a 2.4 percent gain in personal property valuations. Total change: Increase of 1.2 percent.Innsbrook had gains in both real estate and personal property valuations as well, with 2.3 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Total change: Increase of 2.4 percent.Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Wright City's property tax rate would not change next year.Housing Boom