Jackson County broke law by improperly raising home valuations, Missouri auditor claims

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick on Monday alleged Jackson County used a “flawed and inadequate” property assessment process that violated state law, affecting up to 200,000 homeowners.

Fitzpatrick, a Republican, said the problems should invalidate any increase in assessed valuation greater than 15%. He urged homeowners whose valuation rose by more to only pay their property taxes under protest – a process that allows owners to file a lawsuit if they don’t receive the refund they believe they’re owed.

The state auditor’s comments came as his office released the preliminary findings of an ongoing audit into the Jackson County Assessment Department, led by Director Gail McCann Beatty, a former Democratic leader of the Missouri House. Republican lawmakers are also seeking to make the county assessor an elected office.

Many homeowners have been in an uproar for months after assessments jumped significantly this year. Residential property values increased by roughly 40% overall since the last assessment in 2021, according to county data.

The Missouri State Auditor’s Office found that the Jackson County Assessment Department failed to provide property owners with adequate notice of their rights regarding physical inspections.

If a home valuation rises by more than 15%, the county has to perform an exterior “physical inspection” and owners can also schedule an interior inspection as part of an appeal. But auditors found letters sent to owners didn’t explain the owner’s rights on physical inspections beyond a statement regarding the right to an interior inspection.

“State law makes it abundantly clear the burden is on the assessment department to make sure taxpayers fully understand their rights. But from what we have discovered thus far, in many cases that burden was instead placed on the homeowners who are left to navigate this process on their own,” Fitzpatrick said at a news conference in Kansas City.

A Jackson County spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Property assessments, which take place every two years, have long been a source of controversy in Jackson County. Many houses were chronically undervalued, McCann Beatty and other officials have said, until she began raising valuations in 2019.

The lingering anger over the valuation growth has prompted new interest in the Republican-dominated Missouri General Assembly in making the assessor in Democratic-leaning Jackson County an elected position. The assessor is appointed by the county executive – currently Democrat Frank White, Jr. – and Jackson County is the only charter county in Missouri that doesn’t elect the position.

Ahead of the start of the legislative session in January, at least four constitutional amendments have been pre-filed in the General Assembly, all by Republicans who represent portions of Jackson County, to require elections for assessor. Supporters say elections would allow voters to hold the assessor accountable.

“If our assessor has to do more than make Frank White happy, I think that would be a good thing,” said state Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican.

Cierpiot and other lawmakers have introduced similar amendments in the past. Still, this year’s assessment controversy is fueling new calls to make the assessor position elected. Preston Smith, a former Republican candidate for county executive frequently critical of the assessment process, said that without elections, the assessor is “unaccountable to the people.”

State Sen. Barbara Washington, a Kansas City Democrat, said the Jackson County assessor shouldn’t be an elected position because of the possibility unqualified individuals will be elected. However, some proposals address that possibility by allowing the General Assembly to set minimum requirements for candidates.

Washington said Republican-led attacks on Beatty, previously a Democratic lawmaker from Kansas City, appear to sit at the heart of the matter.

“It does appear to be personal to her as opposed to recognizing that there have been exorbitant increases throughout the state,” she said. “It is not a Jackson County issue. It is the entire state but we just highlight Jackson County.”

Cierpiot said he has “no illusion” that a Republican would win a race for assessor in heavily Democratic Jackson County. He added that McCann Beatty, who had past experience as a real estate appraiser, has the background required for the job.

“So it’s not a stab at her at all,” he said.