§ 140.260 RSMo — Purchase by county or city, when — procedure

1. It shall be lawful for the county commission of any county, and the comptroller, mayor and president of the board of assessors of the city of St. Louis, to designate and appoint a suitable person or persons with discretionary authority to bid at all sales to which section 140.250 is applicable, and to purchase at such sales all lands or lots necessary to protect all taxes due and owing and prevent their loss to the taxing authorities involved from inadequate bids.

2. Such person or persons so designated are hereby declared as to such purchases and as titleholders pursuant to collector's deeds issued on such purchases, to be trustees for the benefit of all funds entitled to participate in the taxes against all such lands or lots so sold.

3. Such person or persons so designated shall not be required to pay the amount bid on any such purchase but the collector's deed issuing on such purchase shall recite the delinquent taxes for which said lands or lots were sold, the amount due each respective taxing authority involved, and that the grantee in such deed or deeds holds title as trustee for the use and benefit of the fund or funds entitled to the payment of the taxes for which said lands or lots were sold.

4. The costs of all collectors' deeds, the recording of same and the advertisement of such lands or lots shall be paid out of the county treasury in the respective counties and such fund as may be designated therefor by the authorities of the city of St. Louis.

5. All lands or lots so purchased shall be sold and deeds ordered executed and delivered by such trustees upon order of the county commission of the respective counties and the comptroller, mayor and president of the board of assessors of the city of St. Louis, and the proceeds of such sales shall be applied first to the payment of the costs incurred and advanced, and the balance shall be distributed pro rata to the funds entitled to receive the taxes on the lands or lots so disposed of, as provided in section 140.230 .

6. Upon appointment of any such person or persons to act as trustee as herein designated a certified copy of the order making such appointment shall be delivered to the collector, and if such authority be revoked a certified copy of the revoking order shall also be delivered to the collector.

7. Compensation to trustees as herein designated shall be payable solely from proceeds derived from the sale of lands purchased by them as such trustees and shall be fixed by the authorities herein designated, but not in excess of ten percent of the price for which any such lands and lots are sold by the trustees; provided further, that if at any such sale any person bid a sufficient amount to pay in full all delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs, then the trustees herein designated shall be without authority to further bid on any such land or lots. If a third party is a successful bidder and there are excess proceeds, such proceeds shall be distributed as provided in section 140.230 .

8. If the county commission of any county does not designate and appoint a suitable person or persons as trustee or trustees, so appointed, or the trustee or trustees do not accept property after the third offering where no sale occurred then it shall be at the discretion of the collector to sell such land subsequent to the third offering of such land and lots at any time and for any amount.