Missouri orders Platte County to increase property valuations. Officials refuse
The Missouri State Tax Commission on Wednesday ordered Platte County to increase all home assessments by 15%, finding that the county had undervalued residential properties in violation of state law.
But Platte County officials are refusing to comply with the order. The GOP-leaning county commission, clerk and board of equalization issued a statement on Wednesday calling the order “heavy-handed and unjust.”
The dueling actions set up a potentially volatile fight between Missouri and Platte County over residential property taxes and values, which are reassessed every odd-numbered year. Officials on both sides say the dispute has been brewing for months.
The stand-off also marks another example of state officials stepping in to force a Kansas City-area county to fix its assessments. The State Tax Commission, which oversees property tax laws across the state, has ordered Jackson County to lower its assessments after property taxes jumped dramatically in recent years.
In Platte County, however, the lowered assessments have sparked concern among local school districts that rely on property tax funding. The superintendents of the county’s five school districts have penned two letters to the tax commission over the past two months, urging the state to step in.
In one letter sent this month, the school districts suggest that Platte County underassessed properties by 8 to 10% in 2023. The county, the letter said, was considering increasing assessments between 0.5% to 4%, which the school districts argue fell well short of fixing the discrepancy.
Kelly Wachel, a spokesperson for the Park Hill School District, said in a statement that proper tax assessments were essential to how the district builds its annual budget for its schools. The district expects Platte County to follow the order and assess properties at market value, she said.
“The downstream effect of the County not complying with the law is that our kids, our families, our staff and our communities lose out on funds rightfully promised through local tax processes,” Wachel said.
However, Platte County officials argue they’ll fight the assessment increase and have scheduled a press conference for Friday. In the joint statement on Wednesday, the officials called on Gov. Mike Kehoe to overturn the order and call a special session to weaken the tax commission’s power.
“The Platte County Commission, the County Clerk, and the Board of Equalization are united in pursuing all legal and administrative remedies to overturn this decision and to advocate for a fair and transparent reassessment process,” the joint statement said.
Platte County is also not the only county at odds with the state. More than a dozen county assessors across the state are resisting directives to fix their assessments from the tax commission.
