In property assessment lawsuit, judge says Jackson County has ‘disregard’ for residents

A Cass County judge ruled Monday that the court does not have the power to mandate Jackson County to resolve all pending appeals in a property assessment lawsuit filed by the cities of Independence and Blue Springs.

The lawsuit involved the two cities, which are within Jackson County, arguing that the county drastically increased the property value of many houses without properly notifying owners or addressing appeals in a timely manner.

Associate Circuit Judge Derek Spencer said that despite ‘gross incompetence’ when it came to Jackson County assessments in 2019 and 2023, the court does not have the power to mandate the county to resolve all pending appeals. He said frustrations should be addressed by the state legislature and State Tax Commission.

Here’s what to know about the case.

What happened in the property assessment lawsuit?

Independence and Blue Springs filed the suit on Sept. 22, 2023, after many Jackson County homeowners were outraged over significant assessment increases. Residential property values increased by roughly 40% overall since the last assessment in 2021, according to county data.

Court documents said that if a property’s value is increased by over 15% then an assessor is to conduct a physical inspection of the property and notify the owner of their rights to an interior one. Of those who met that threshold, 75% of property owners were not notified of their rights to request an interior inspection in April 2023 and 25% were provided an online link to request an interior inspection. The rest were told in June via mail, some letters likely arriving days before the initial July 10 deadline to file an appeal with the Board of Equalization.

Spencer said in the final judgment that county officials produced inaccurate property assessments, failed to adequately notify property owners of certain rights and failed to process appeals in a reasonable timeline. The court said that the delay in processing the appeals is the consequence of such a high property value increase and the failure to, “prepare for tens of thousands of appeals.”

According to court documents, the County Administrator informed the City Manager of Independence in 2020 that it faced property value increases of 50% to 100%, showing officials knew years in advance and didn’t take steps to prepare.

Tens of thousands of appeals were filed but Jackson County did not finalize them by the fourth Saturday of August 2023. Many appeals were still labeled as pending and unresolved by trial in January 2024, according to court documents.

This is not the first time Jackson County has faced this problem. In 2019, some appeals were labeled pending well into the following year. Those appeals should have been completed by Aug. 24, 2019, according to court documents.

“What occurred in 2023, and to an extent in 2019, should not be an acceptable practice for future biennial reassessments,” Spencer said.

He said the county showed a “clear disregard of the rights of Jackson Countians, a disregard for the budget process that taxing jurisdictions must undertake each fiscal year, and gross incompetence.”

The City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and various property owners also filed suits against the county in 2023, alleging they illegally increased homeowner’s property assessments without properly notifying homeowners.

How to challenge a property assessment

Homeowners can make an appointment for a property value review through the Jackson County Assessment Office’s website. You can log in to make an appointment here. However, appointments are not required. You also can walk in to the Historic Truman Courthouse at 112 W Lexington Avenue in Independence. The courthouse is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Armed with certain key information, you may be able to reach an agreement on your home’s assessment without launching a formal appeal. Here’s what experts say to bring to your appointment.

• The prices of comparable homes in your neighborhood

• Photos of any damage or unfinished areas of your home

• Recent bills of sale or documentation of home’s value

More information on what to bring and what to do if an agreement can’t be reached can be found here.

Previous reporting by Kacen Bayless, Natalie Wallington, Luke Nozicka and Mike Hendricks were used in this article.