01-05-2025
After outcry over property tax hike, MO to vote on big change in Jackson County
Missouri voters will decide next year whether Jackson County's appointed assessor should instead be elected after months of fury from residents over increased property assessments.
The Missouri House on Thursday voted unanimously to place a question on the ballot asking voters across the state whether Jackson County should elect its assessor. The question will either appear on the November 2026 ballot or at an earlier election called by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe.
If voters approve the state constitutional amendment, the decision would put Jackson County in line with every other major county in Missouri. Jackson County remains the only charter county in the state with an appointed assessor, who values and assesses all real and personal property in the county.
The measure comes amid an intense outcry from local homeowners after a dramatic increase in property assessments in 2023. Kansas City-area lawmakers of both parties prioritized changing the assessment process this year, arguing that an elected assessor would make the position more accountable to voters.
'Jackson County families and homeowners have waited long enough,' said House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee's Summit Republican. 'Now, they'll finally have the chance to make their voices heard at the ballot box.'
State lawmakers believe the legislation could also play a key factor in the ongoing fight over the future of the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. For months, state and county leaders have signaled that if residents are more confident in the tax assessment process, they'll be more likely to vote in favor of a future stadium funding package.
'I think that voters have lost a lot of trust in, you know, our regional government,' Rep. Aaron Crossley, an Independence Democrat, told The Star at the Capitol. 'It's going to be important that that trust continue to be rebuilt.'
Gail McCann Beatty, a former Democratic leader of the Missouri House, currently leads the Jackson County Assessment Department. Jackson County Executive Frank White, Jr., a Democrat, appointed her to the position.
A spokesperson for Jackson County did not immediately respond to a question from The Star on Thursday. But county officials, including Beatty, have previously said they've worked to correct errors in the assessment process amid a series of legal fights with state officials.
While receiving bipartisan support, some lawmakers have acknowledged that the push for an elected assessor is only a piece of solving concerns about property assessments. Some critics have also drawn parallels to similar efforts by Republicans in Jefferson City to enact changes that impact the Democratic-leaning cities of Kansas City and St. Louis.
Missouri voters across the state, for example, last year passed a measure to require Kansas City to spend more money on its police department.
The unanimous vote from the Missouri House on Thursday was exceptionally rare for a General Assembly that is often mired in fighting between Democrats and Republicans. While there were no votes against the legislation, 18 lawmakers voted 'present' and 15 were absent.
The vote came quickly and just two days after the Senate also passed it unanimously.
A bipartisan group of legislators from Jackson County on Wednesday held a press conference in support of the legislation. The group, led by Sen. Joe Nicola, a Grain Valley Republican, said they were pushing for a slew of changes to the tax assessment process.
'We are pushing every day to move these bills forward because the people of Jackson County cannot wait any longer,' Nicola said.
Nicola also pushed back on a question from The Star asking whether he was concerned that making the assessor elected would insert politics into the tax assessment process.
'I have no concerns at all,' he said. 'As a matter of fact, our county assessor right now does have the license and has all kinds — and our assessments are a disaster. So that doesn't guarantee anything.'
The proposed amendment comes more than a decade after Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state constitution that allowed Jackson County to keep an appointed assessor. The exemption was specifically aimed at Jackson County and was worded to apply only to charter counties with populations of more than 600,000 people but less than 700,000 people.
Before the legislative session, The Star spoke with Jackson County homeowners about the increased property assessments. For Danielle Dent-Breen and her mom, Phyllis Dent, dealing with the assessments had been a nightmare.
Dent's Blue Springs home increased roughly 41%, causing her monthly house payment to jump by about $400, she said. And Dent-Breen's payment for her home in Independence increased by about $150 a month.
Dent-Breen previously said she thinks making the position elected would be a step in the right direction.
'At least it would allow some form of accountability for that office,' she said.
