Jackson County assessment process violated state law: Missouri auditor
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Auditor was blunt Monday as he laid out his audit of Jackson County assessments: The county’s process violated state law.
Republican State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released his initial findings of his investigation into the Jackson County Assessment Department on Monday. Fitzpatrick said the county was not compliant with state law, and it was deficient with how the department handled this process.
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“As many as 200,000 Jackson County taxpayers have been victims of an assessment process that violated state statute and trampled on their rights,” Fitzpatrick said during a news conference Monday.
Fitzpatrick said the county failed to tell homeowners that a physical inspection was required by state law. Most of the letters sent to homeowners as well were not dated, and they didn’t include the percentage increase in a person’s 2023 assessed valuation compared to 2022.
The state auditor said the letters also didn’t explain the homeowner’s rights relating to physical inspections beyond a statement regarding their right to an interior inspection as well.
He offered advice Monday as to what he would do if he owned property in Jackson County.
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“If I were in your shoes, and I felt that my assessment was unfair, I would pay my taxes under protest and then plan to pursue the remedies that are available to me by law,” Fitzpatrick said.
Republican Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith saw Fitzpatrick’s initial findings before his news conference Monday.
“I’ll have to ask the chairman to schedule an emergency meeting,” Smith said in an interview with FOX4 Monday. “In that legislative action, I’ll be asking for the State Tax Commission and the Board of Equalization to take action to set a cap of 15% increase.”
That was also one of the remedies Fitzpatrick recommended during his news conference. But what about people who’ve already paid their property taxes for the year?
“I think we have to,” Smith said when asked if the county would refund them. “I think by law, we’re going to be required to.
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“My hope is that we figure that out sooner as opposed to later because once somebody is overpaid, the longer we hold onto that money, the more likely it is that they’re going to make economic choices that they might not have made if we hadn’t raised their bills so much in an unlawful manner.”
Democratic County Executive Frank White isn’t commenting. Democratic Legislator Jalen Anderson said he does not expect any pushback from White though.
“For one, it’s the state coming, who’s an independent body from us, coming in and doing their job,” Anderson told FOX4 before Fitzpatrick’s news conference. “If they found things that were done incorrectly, we should fix them.”
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Jackson County Assessor Gail McCann Beatty released the following statement Monday afternoon:
“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.
“For two years, Jackson County completed an extensive review of each residential parcel. The review included having an associate document each property by photographing, measuring, and collecting up-to-date information. Property owners were provided with an opportunity to provide additional information by using a postage paid or online questionnaire. Only after all inspections were completed did the Assessment Department determine a market value and notifications were sent to each owner.
“There appears to be a mistaken belief that physical, exterior inspections are conducted after a valuation is determined. However, the case relied upon the Auditor in the preliminary report shows that it is standard for inspections to be conducted before valuations are estimated. The case cited in the preliminary report states:
‘The inspection was within a relevant time period of the valuation date of January 1, 2007. Further, St. Louis County is the largest assessment jurisdiction in the state. Over a quarter of a million residential parcels required inspection before the 2007 assessment could be completed. The purpose of Section 137.115 RSMo is to insure that the taxpayer’s property is inspected before an increase of over 15% may be finalized. An inspection occurring in October 2006, fulfills the inspection purpose of the statute.‘
Geiger Real Estate, Inc v Muehlheausler, 2009 WL 1266297 (2009).
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“Further, the State Auditor’s current interpretation regarding physical inspections should cause concern among assessor’s statewide as such a theory would have significant impacts on their assessment process.
“Nonetheless, we will provide further updates and detailed actions following the release of the final audit report. Until then, we remain dedicated to upholding fair and equitable property assessments, ensuring that our assessment process aligns with industry best practices.”
The deadline to pay your Jackson County property taxes is Dec. 31, 2023.
