Neighbors, realtors join forces to help seniors avoid steep Jackson County tax increases

About 500 people spilled out of the auditorium at the Robert J. Mohart Center in Kansas City on Tuesday evening, bobbing their heads in search of any empty seats. Even the standing room was in short supply at the Jackson County Tax Workshop.

“This is chaos,” said Charles Weldon, who was there as the power of attorney for a 90-year-old woman whose South Kansas City home’s market value went from $151,000 in 2021 to $308,820 in 2023. Weldon was one of the hundreds of people waiting to speak with a real estate agent.

“I was hoping to get some instruction on how to fight this situation,” Weldon said. “The person I’m helping out south, she’s been there for over 30 years. With her fixed income and no husband, it’s fixing to be too much. It’s like they’re forcing them out of their property.”

Tuesday’s session was the third community workshop teaching residents how to file an appeal for their tax assessment before the county Board of Equalization’s July 10 deadline. The first two workshops had more than 1,500 attendees combined, and the third lasted more than four hours.

Local real estate agent Stacey Johnson-Cosby spearheaded the series — independently of county officials — with the help of 30 other volunteering real estate professionals, appraisers and lawyers.

They’re among an informal cohort of volunteers across the city — ranging from realtors to family members to neighborhood leaders — working to help homeowners navigate the process of trying to lower their valuations.

These good Samaritans are offering tips and taking steps on behalf of those who are overwhelmed by the appeals process, especially seniors and those on fixed incomes who worry they could be at risk of losing their homes if their tax bill skyrockets.

The dramatic increases to assessment values across the county and changes to the appeals process — including a transition to an online filing system and hours-long wait times at the assessment office — are making it harder for seniors to contest their valuation before the deadline, these volunteers say, which could have major effects on their next property tax bills.

“As a real estate agent, I spend my life and my career helping people buy homes, I’m not going to just sit by and let them lose them,” said Johnson-Cosby, who works for ReeceNichols Real Estate in Kansas City.

Reliving a nightmare

This isn’t Johnson-Cosby’s first time helping residents appeal assessments. Following the sticker shock of the 2019 appraisal cycle, she organized 13 workshops across the county.

“It’s the same nightmare,” Johnson-Cosby said. “My hope was that after four years that they would have gotten it right, that they would have learned the lessons and corrected it and it looks like they did not.”

Jackson County officials previously admitted to undervaluing residential properties for decades — to the point that the State Tax Commission said Jackson County was violating state law. During the 2019 appraisal year, the county tried to bring those properties back to market value, which resulted in higher valuations and uproar from community members.

Neighborhood associations worked with the ACLU and Legal Aid of Western Missouri to sue the county for its valuations, alleging that lower-income Black and brown homeowners were hit the hardest by the increases. But even then, the county said it was assessing properties at only 85% of market value.

“Why is it my fault that Jackson County didn’t take care of business over the last two decades and increase the property taxes,” said Nancy Hammel, who attended the workshop on Tuesday.

Hammel owns a 20-acre fixer-upper in Grandview. When she bought the property in 2021, the taxes were $3,700 per year. This is the first reassessment since she took over ownership and her notice said that her tax levy could increase by 329%.

“I don’t have that kind of money,” Hammel said while holding back tears. “I could lose my house. I have no options.”

Many residents who spoke to the Star this week said that their 2023 increases are so severe they fear they might lose their homes through tax foreclosure.

While assessment values don’t directly determine the amount someone owes in taxes, they are the number that property taxes are based on. Different jurisdictions including cities, school districts and libraries will then decide on the rate that people will be taxed.

‘What do they want people to do?’

After the chaos of 2019, Jackson County made some changes to how it calculates property values, how it notifies residents and how property owners can contest their assessments.

The county contracted with Overland Park-based Tyler Technologies to improve its process by adding a “parcel by parcel” review, which was supposed to enhance the accuracy of each valuation.

But even with these changes, Johnson-Cosby and neighborhood leaders like Alana Henry, the executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council, fear the high valuations could price neighbors out of their homes.

“The county is exacerbating the housing crisis that we’re already in,” said Johnson-Cosby. “They had choices. They could have done something differently to look at the taxpayers as real-life human beings and they haven’t.”

Henry said that the median household income in Ivanhoe is just under $31,000, so if residents don’t figure out how to apply for an appeal by July 10, they could be putting their housing at serious risk.

“You’re talking about a major significant increase in their cost to keep and maintain their home,” Henry said. “That means they either will have to move or they need help appealing that cost increase.”

Stella Kimber, a senior living near Wayne and Linwood Avenues told The Star that she thought senior citizens’ assessments would freeze this year until Tuesday’s workshop explained that seniors are not exempt from the consequences of rising property values.

“I just think it’s ridiculous,” Kimber said. “What do they want people to do?”

In Missouri, there is no law on the books that caps how much a property’s value can increase. The Missouri state legislature recently passed a bill that would freeze the home values of low-income property owners who are on social security, but Gov. Parson has yet to sign the bill into law, and it will not have any effect on this year’s valuations.

‘You can’t get a hold of them’

Jackson County added a new service this assessment season to help homeowners who wanted to try to lower their valuations called an informal review.

These informal review meetings allow homeowners to meet with a county assessor to discuss why they think the valuation is off and to try to come to an agreement on a new number. As of Friday, county assessors have met with more than 2,500 people for informal review meetings.

But demand for this service may be beyond the county’s capacity.

While originally billed as a walk-in service, residents walking in are facing four-hour wait times, and some are even being turned away from the assessment office at 1300 Washington St. downtown.

Johnson-Cosby said that she’s happy that more than 3,000 people attended her workshops that were separate from the county service, but she’s concerned about all the residents who haven’t received help.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people in the county,” she said. “Where are they? How are they getting help?”

Homeowners can schedule appointments for an in-person or Zoom informal review meeting with a county assessor, but those are booked out until at least July 19, after the July 10 appeals deadline.

Getting in touch with the county at all has been difficult for homeowners as well as those trying to assist neighbors, according to dozens of homeowners and volunteers who talked with The Star.

“I mean, you can’t get a hold of them because they’re being flooded with e-mails and calls and it is just a nightmare,” Henry said.

Best thing to do is file an appeal ASAP

Johnson-Cosby said that the best thing residents can do right now is to file a formal appeal to make sure they meet the July 10 deadline.

You can start the official appeal process online here.

After filing a formal appeal, residents can still opt to have an informal review after the fact, which may lower your valuation without needing to go through with the whole formal hearing process.

As of Friday afternoon, the county’s Board of Equalization has received more than 18,000 appeals, according to the assessment department. Earlier this spring, the department estimated receiving 20,000-30,000 appeals this year.

Henry said the online filing system has been a challenge for her neighbors who aren’t internet savvy.

“This is a bad situation, particularly for our seniors who may have difficulty navigating the portal and also let’s think about all the people who don’t have access to a computer,” she said.

Where to look for help

Homeowners can call the county’s assessment office for assistance at 877-895-9675, but be prepared to wait on hold for a bit.

The county is also recommending that people without access to a computer go to their local library to use a computer there.

And keep in mind that you need to use Google Chrome to file your appeal.

The Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council will host workshops until July 10 in partnership with UMKC’s Center for Neighborhoods, and the Legal Aid Society of Western Missouri.

The first workshop is on July 1 and will include a presentation from Legal Aid. These workshops will target Ivanhoe residents but others are welcome, Henry said.

Residents should bring their property assessment paperwork from the county, their ID and any other information they have on hand about their property, including information on comparable properties or even their deed of sale.

“What’s important to me is keeping people in their homes and providing folks with the resources and tools to maintain home ownership. That’s how you create and foster a stable community.”

Here’s more information and tips on how to challenge a property assessment.