State of Cass County: Officials talk canceled annex, other updates

All three Cass County Commissioners were speakers at a “State of the County” address held by the Belton Chamber of Commerce at Foxwood Springs Senior Living in Raymore on Aug. 18. County updates included year-to-date numbers, details on the now canceled plan for a northern annex to the Cass County Sheriff’s Department and new voter-approved measures.

The Cass County Commission is made up of three elected seats. The Presiding Commissioner, Bob Huston, is voted on by the entire county and presides over the commission. District 2 Commissioner Jeff Fletcher represents the northern strip of Cass County including Belton. District 1 Commissioner Mike Moreland represents Raymore and the majority of southern Cass County, including Peculiar, Harrisonville, and Archie. 

Huston reported Cass County currently has a population of 115,211 people. The median income is $87,400, and the county provides 36,196 of those jobs, he said.

Cass County also collected $40.3 million in sales tax revenue in 2025 through its voter-approved levies for general revenue, law enforcement and infrastructure, according to the commission. 

Huston also noted that when the county’s one-half-cent general revenue sales tax was implemented in 1983, it only generated about $1 million. In 2025, the tax generated more than $10 million, or about 25% of the county’s total sales tax revenue. 

The program also included a report from the Building Codes Department, which reported 503 building permits issued in 2025. That amounted to $78 million in construction value in the county for the year, which was $19 million more in construction value than 2024.

The county’s Health Department reported administering 3,852 vaccinations in 2025. Among those, 657 patients were seen at back-to-school clinics, according to Huston. The department also completed 1,106 health inspections in the county. 

Among the larger announcements during the address was an update on the now-canceled plan to build a northern annex for the Cass County Sheriff’s Department at 107 County Line Rd. The county purchased the land in 2021 with money approved through the American Rescue Plan Act during the pandemic. ARPA money also funded the demolition of the former Belton Inn at the site, the commission said.

Huston went on to explain the cost to build an annex came in higher than original estimates. Instead, the money will be used to improve current facilities at the Cass County Justice Center  and historic courthouse in Harrisonville. Improvements include a new roof and an expansion of the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.

Project updates also included the announcement of two recently completed bridge replacements in the county. Work by the Cass County Road and Bridge Department encompassed more than 25 miles of road rehabilitation and more than 1,000 miles of center lines mowed in 2025, District 2 Commissioner Fletcher said.

Finally, the commission reminded attendees of the program that Cass County approved tax credits to freeze property tax liability on eligible homesteads as authorized by Missouri Senate Bill 3, which the state passed last year. Cass County voters passed the measure in the April election with 78.17% support.

The commission also reported the county was required to refund $1 million to the Missouri Department of Revenue for taxes levied on marijuana sales. The repayment was required as a result of recent court rulings, which clarified that local marijuana sales tax cannot be applied by both a city and a county in the same location.