Missouri AG suing Jackson County over property assessments
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s Attorney General announced Tuesday he is suing Jackson County for what he alleges are illegal property assessments.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey said he filed the suit, along with the State Tax Commission, against the county “for its failure to follow the law in assessing and levying taxes.”
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The news comes one day after the Missouri state auditor released initial findings from an audit on the county’s property assessment process. Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said the county was not compliant with state law.
“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 Monday.
Three cities — Lee’s Summit, Independence and Blue Springs — have also filed lawsuits against Jackson County, accusing the county of breaking state law in its property assessments.
Meanwhile, also Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court dismissed a class action lawsuit filed in June by taxpayers. The state’s high court said “taxpayers failed to exhaust all available administrative remedies before filing suit,” including going through the appeal process.
Bailey’s new lawsuit alleges Jackson County “dramatically and illegally increased” property assessments, resulting in increased property taxes.
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The attorney general argued Jackson County delivered assessments past the June 15 deadline, didn’t perform physical inspections of certain properties, and handled appeals illegally.
Bailey said the assessed value increased 30% on average in Jackson County, but some owners said their assessments skyrocketed by more than 100%.
“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,” Bailey said.
But Assessment Director Gail McCann Beatty has previously said her department’s role is to place market value on properties, according to state statute, and any property owner that disagreed with that value could have appealed. Over 50,000 property owners did just that.
She stood by her department’s assessment process after Tuesday’s lawsuit.
“From day one of my tenure, my focus has always been on accuracy and fairness in property assessments. Since then, my department has worked diligently to correct inaccuracies in property valuations that have unfairly burdened thousands of Jackson County residents,” she said.
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“Any claims of wrongdoing are not only baseless but are a disservice to the taxpayers of Jackson County who we serve with integrity.”
Jackson County Executive Frank White said the new lawsuit is politically motivated.
“Today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision reaffirms our steadfast commitment to lawful and fair property assessments,” White said.
“While we respect the role of oversight, it’s clear that this recent lawsuit is an improper and politically motivated attack on our process. These efforts have been about rectifying injustices and ensuring fair taxation for our residents.”
The county declined to comment any further on the pending litigation.
On Monday, McCann Beatty also argued there were “mistakes in these preliminary findings” from Fitzpatrick’s audit.
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“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,” McCann Beatty said Monday.
So what should you do if you’re a Jackson County resident who has seen your property taxes soar?
Both Bailey and Fitzpatrick have advised residents should pay their taxes under protest by the Dec. 31 deadline, “and then plan to pursue the remedies that are available to me by law,” the state auditor said.
Fitzpatrick also recommended Jackson County’s Board of Equalization take action to set a cap of a 15% increase.
Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith said he also believes the county should refund property owners.
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“I think we have to,” Smith said Monday. “I think by law, we’re going to be required to.”
County leaders haven’t proposed any official legislation on that matter yet, so there are no details on what that could look like.
The deadline to pay your Jackson County property taxes is Dec. 31, 2023.
