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Board Chairman Joe Buchheit said town leaders were “blindsided” by the suit from a rural St. Charles County resident over the fee, saying they have no record of plaintiff Laura Bissonnette operating or applying to operate a short-term rental — or even owning property in Augusta.

“I mean, we can fight this. We could spend $5,000 or $10,000, but the overall picture is all we would be fighting over is $200,” said Board Chairman Joe Buchheit. “We’ve all struggled to really make any sense of this lawsuit and to really understand what the real purpose of why they did this.”

The application fee was part of restrictions the board approved two years ago after Washington, Missouri natives David and Jerri Hoffmann announced a $100 million investment aimed at turning Augusta into a wine tourism hub, akin to Napa Valley. The town worried too many properties would be turned into short-term vacation rentals, booked through apps like AirBnb or VRBO.

“The town was just trying to generate some income that would help us improve our community,” he said. “That’s what we were really shooting for and all that we were trying to accomplish.”

Eliminating the $200 annual fee will cost the town about $2,600 in revenue this year — $200 from each of the 13 short-term rentals in Augusta — something that Buchheit said will “hurt the city’s bottom line.”

Augusta does not collect a hotel occupancy tax, and only sees revenue from personal property, real estate, sales taxes and business licenses and permits. The southwest St. Charles County town relies heavily on its close proximity to the Katy Trail and multiple wineries and tourist-friendly events sponsored by the Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce to finance its day-to-day operations.

Buchheit said revenue from the short-term rental fee went into the town’s general fund and was used to pay for street repair, snow removal, general maintenance in the town’s park and other projects.

“I don’t think anyone thought we were doing anything harmful when we were putting this ordinance together,” Buchheit said. “We were trying to make it the most reasonable it could be for everybody that wanted to run a business in town.”

In 2023 Augusta leaders enacted a series of regulations regarding short-term rentals, including the $200 fee, capping at 15 the number of short-term rentals operating in the town, yearly inspection requirements and more.

Neither Bissonnette nor her attorney, Zachary McMichael, attended Monday night’s meeting. McMichael previously declined to make his client available for an interview, saying that state law is “clear that any taxpayer has authority to challenge unconstitutional taxing ordinances like this one.”

Bissonette’s lawsuit argued the short-term rental fee was really a tax, which could only be levied if approved by voters.

McMichael was triumphant on Tuesday, saying that Augusta “completely capitulated.”

“(It) sounds like Augusta has agreed that the suit has merit,” McMichael said.

After the board rescinded the fee, members agreed to begin drafting ballot language for an April 2026 election proposition that would ask voters to approve a new short-term rental application fee.

Monday’s decision came too late for the measure to be included on the ballot for next month’s municipal election.

JoAnn Milster, president of the local chamber of commerce, said she believes the community will respect the board’s reasons, but they won’t be happy about it.

“People in this town are tired of being pushed around by people coming into our community, who don’t take the time to do their research,” Milster said in an interview after the meeting. “They know that we don’t have much money, so they’re just going to make us roll over and not enforce our own laws.”

Randal Oaks was the lone dissenting vote on rescinding the ordinance. He said the board ultimately “made a tough decision for the betterment of the town.”

“A lot of people put a lot of effort into getting this ordinance to go forward,” he said.