Missouri attorney general, State Tax Commission sue Jackson County over property tax debacle
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Missouri Attorney General joined the State Tax Commission in a lawsuit against Jackson County over the 2023 property assessment.
It asked a judge to stop tax collection and declare almost all property increases as void. The lawsuit also demanded monetary damages on behalf of some homeowners.
The lawsuit named Jackson County Executive Frank White and Assessment Director Gail McCann Beatty among others in the county, along with third-party vendor Tyler Technologies.
The lawsuit contends the 2023 assessments were unlawful and the failures were systemic. It points to state laws that require physical inspections and proper notice of assessments.
“The Missouri Constitution expressly prohibits a county from illegally taxing its residents. We will stand in the gap to protect Jackson County residents and right this egregious wrong,” said Attorney General Andrew Bailey.
ALSO READ: What one neighborhood reveals about Jackson County assessment inspections
Bailey’s lawsuit contended that illegal assessments resulted in at least a 30 percent average increase in real property values, and that many Jackson County real property owners received increases greater than 100 percent.
The newly filed lawsuit comes one day after the Missouri State Auditor’s initial finding that the way Jackson County conducted the assessment failed to comply with state law. Both the state auditor and attorney general are encouraging people to pay taxes as required under state law but to consider “paying under protest.”
The court document detailed the following ways in which Jackson County did not comply with the law in how the 2023 assessments were conducted:
- Defendants either did not notify all applicable real property owners of increases in the valuations of their properties or only provided notifications after the June 15 deadline. Defendants did not consistently postmark notices that were received late.
- When a physical inspection was required, Defendants either did not provide notice or did not provide legally compliant and/or timely notice to all applicable property owners of their rights relating to physical inspection as required.
- Defendants did not perform all necessary physical inspections of real property before increasing the value of such property by more than 15 percent since the last assessment.
The lawsuit also indicated that of the 55,000-plus assessment appeals filed in Jackson County, more than 15,000 remain unresolved. KCTV5 Investigates learned in October that 11 Board of Equalization Appeals officers were let go because funding ran out.
ALSO READ: As Jackson County property are taxes due, one retiree questions how she’ll be able to pay
KCTV5 has reached out to Jackson County for a response.
On Monday, the county issued a statement denying any wrongdoing and pushed back against allegations that state laws were broken when it comes to physical inspections and proper notification regarding the audit.
“As the Jackson County Assessor, I acknowledge the preliminary findings presented by the Missouri State Auditor’s Office regarding our assessment process. These preliminary findings are being carefully reviewed and thoroughly analyzed by our internal team. While we believe there are mistakes in these preliminary findings, we remain actively engaged with the auditors to ensure a comprehensive understanding of their observations and correct any inaccuracies. Specifically, it is our position that Section 137.115 was fully complied with.”
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