Dismissal of racial discrimination lawsuit in Jackson County property assessments upheld
The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a decision to dismiss a lawsuit lodged against Jackson County Assessor Gail McCann Beatty and her office over a major hike in assessed property values that was challenged as racially discriminatory under the Fair Housing Act.
In an opinion issued Tuesday, the appeals court found that a Jackson County judge was correct to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that the complaint was brought in circuit court before being heard by a county or state tax board. Disputes about property taxes must first be heard by a board of equalization or commission instead of court, the judges determined.
The lawsuit concerned Jackson County’s 2019 reassessment process. Beatty decided to cap increased assessments at 14.9% for some neighborhoods where no physical inspection was being performed. State law requires any increase of 15% or more to be backed up with a physical inspection.
Four neighborhood associations, assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit saying the process had disproportionately affected Kansas City area communities of color. More inspections and higher assessments were centered in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, the lawsuit contended.
Roughly half of all Jackson County homeowners saw increased assessments of 15% or less that year. About one third saw an increase double or triple the amount calculated on the tax rolls the year before.
The increased assessments set off panic among many that their property tax bills would rise greatly. A county analysis conducted in October 2019 found that 25% of all homeowners would pay less in property taxes that year than the year prior.
The lawsuit, first filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, was brought by the leaders of four neighborhood associations representing majority-Black and Hispanic areas: Westside Neighborhood Association, Vineyard Neighborhood Association, Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council and Washington Wheatley Neighborhood Improvement Association. It was dismissed in November 2020.
The Star’s Mike Hendricks contributed to this report.
