Missouri could enshrine Jackson County’s elected assessor. Inside Amendment 2
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- August vote is statewide to enshrine Jackson County’s elected assessor.
- Jackson County voters approved an elected assessor in November with over 88% support.
- The amendment would bar charter counties from having an unelected assessor in the future.
Voters across the state of Missouri will decide in August whether Jackson County should have an elected assessor, a vote that will come more than a year after county voters already made that decision.
Jackson County was the only charter county in the state with an appointed assessor, but the issue flared up after the county dramatically increased tax assessments in 2023. In November, over 88% of Jackson County voters voted in favor of implementing an elected assessor.
The county is scheduled to hold elections for an assessor in the 2028 general election.
Lawmakers approved the proposed constitutional amendment last year, before Jackson County voters approved the change at the county level. The reversal comes a decade after a lawmaker-led constitutional amendment exempted Jackson County from having to elect an assessor.
Assessments, which take place every two years, have upended Jackson County politics over the past several years. Fury from homeowners fueled the recall election and ouster of former County Executive Frank White Jr. and seeped into a slew of other issues, such as the Kansas-Missouri fight over the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.
The constitutional amendment in August would prevent any charter county, which includes Jackson, Jefferson, St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Clay counties, from having an unelected assessor.
While aimed at Jackson County, the measure would have no immediate impact on the county assessor after last year’s vote, said House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican and supporter of the measure.
However, Patterson said the proposal would bar the Jackson County Legislature from deciding to make the position appointed in the future. Patterson, who has long pushed for changes to the county’s assessment process, said he would be voting yes on the proposal.
“It protects Jackson County from the county legislature going back to an appointed assessor,” he said.
