Independence City Council votes to join property tax assessment lawsuit
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - Independence is trying to join the class action lawsuit filed against Jackson County regarding the recent property tax assessments.
“When I got the letter in the mail, I was surprised,” said Barbara Prime, an Independence resident. “It went up 83% and I was like, ‘Woah, that was quite an increase!’”
Prime was one of several people at the Independence City Council meeting Monday night who were surprised to see their Jackson County property tax assessment so high.
“Like they said, you are going to have to decide whether you are going to buy groceries, medication or put gas in your car,” Prime said, “because everything has gone up.”
The Independence City Council is hoping they can help ease their residents’ concerns through legal action.
The council added two agenda items. One is a resolution to direct the city manager to consult with the city counselor, to determine if they can join the class action lawsuit filed against Jackson County relating to the recent property tax assessments. The other resolution implores the Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. to maintain assessed valuations for real property in Jackson County at their 2022 levels for the calendar year 2023.
A Jackson County legislator and local state representative in the audience voiced their support for the two resolutions.
“I can speak without a doubt in my mind that people of Independence want us to exercise all possible remedies on their behalf to provide relief for these burdensome tax increases,” said Missouri State Representative Aaron McMullen.
“It represents a problem,” said Legislator Sean Smith of Jackson County’s 6th District. “It represents a solution, in a way, to decades of neglect on the part of the county, where our property assessed values required under state law were probably not correct.”
The council voted unanimously in favor of both resolutions but, despite Monday’s vote, it is still unknown whether the city has legal standing to sue the county.
“We’ll see what the attorney says when he comes back to say do we, in fact, have standing,” Independence Mayor Rory Rowland said. “But, in that regard, we wanted to show people that we heard them, we understand their pain and anxiety, and try to get something done in regards to protect them.”
Mayor Rowland says the city counselor and attorney are going to start working on exploring their options Tuesday and will try to come up with an answer as soon as possible.
Previous coverage:
Woman’s mobile home in Jackson County is valued at $202,000
Jackson County assessor speaks out against ‘misinformation’
Jackson County homeowners gather for protest on property tax assessments
Workshop for appealing property tax assessments draws more than 1,000 people
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