Jackson County, Missouri, Assessor Gail McCann Beatty announced more resources for county property owners with questions or concerns about their property value assessments.
Key announcements included:
• Assessment offices will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 29th, at 1300 Washington Street in Kansas City, MO. Staffers will be on hand to help property owners file their appeal, and brokers will also be available to help with comparable sales information. There will be no appeals meetings on this date – assessment staff will only be assisting people with filing their appeals online.
• The Assessment office Call Center has been updated, adding more capacity. As a reminder, the purpose of the Call Center is ONLY to assist people who need assistance to file their appeal. The Call Center does not schedule appointments.
• Property owners who provided the Assessor’s Office with an email address will receive their BOE appointment information via email. If a property owner did not provide an email address, the BOE information will come through the regular mail. Notices about BOE appointments will be mailed out 7-10 days prior to the property owner’s hearing. McCann Beatty also reminded property owners to watch their email and/or mailbox for information on their appeal appointments, so they don’t miss those. If a property owner does miss the appointment, they will be automatically rescheduled – there is no need for the property owner to call to reschedule.
• Board of Equalization (BOE) reminder: Appeals to the BOE must be filed by July 31st. Note that this is the deadline by which appeals must be filed – appeals do not have to be resolved by this date.
McCann Beatty noted that many property owners are attending events not sanctioned by the Assessor’s office, and often getting incorrect information, causing unnecessary confusion and anxiety. To help combat this misinformation, the Assessor’s Office has launched JaCoassessmentfacts.com, a fact-checking website that provides accurate information on the property value assessment process and directs property owners to appeal resources.
McCann Beatty also reported that out of the more than 39,000 appeals that have been filed, approximately 7,000 (or 18%) have been resolved. “We have resolved twice as many cases this year as we did in 2021,” said McCann Beatty. “The process is working.”
In Missouri, assessments are completed every other year, on the odd-numbered years. Taxing authorities in the county, not the Assessor, are responsible for setting and adjusting tax rates. Taxing authorities include school boards, fire districts, water districts, libraries, cities, counties, junior colleges, and various funds – including the mental health fund, disabled services fund and blind pension. Jackson County receives only about 7 cents of every tax dollar, while the remaining 93 cents of every tax dollar goes to the taxing authorities. For more information, visit jacksongov.org/Government/Departments/Assessment.
Jackson County has made a mess due to incompetent leadership. More resources won’t fix the intentional and unlawful attempt to make up for financial failures.
This can be fixed when voters acknowledge the waste this county wallows in. There is not one single elected official at this level which has any skillset to deal with this.
The more $ given to Jackson County will result in more problems. Look at crime and homeless and you can watch the money create more of each.
Communities need to start taking notice and voting for those with an aptitude for governance, not personal agendas.