Latest news with #SeanSmith
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Confused by latest order? How to calculate if your Jackson County assessment is within limits
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County assessments are showing up in homeowner's mailboxes. Some people may be surprised at the increase after a May order from the State Tax Commission. Some taxpayers may receive tax refunds in June: When payments could arrive That order capped increases in each assessment period at 15% and set 2022 as a starting point for this year's assessments after 2023 assessments were heavily contested. But determining your maximum 2025 assessment is a little bit more complicated than a single multiplication or division. Legislator Sean Smith and Preston Smith (no relation) have been helping homeowners with appeals since assessments skyrocketed in 2023. This week as they went out again they've been getting questions about what the latest State Tax Commission Order and 15% cap really means. 'People look at it and the first thing they see is, I thought it was only going to be a 15% increase and that was the perception. I've probably answered it online 100 times,' Preston Smith said. 'A lot of people are contacting me thinking they only do the 15 percent once, but you have to do it twice,' Legislator Sean Smith explained. To illustrate how it works with the latest rules using 2022 assessments as the starting point, consider a home with a $100,000 assessed value in 2022. To calculate the maximum assessed value in 2023 multiply $100,000 by 1.15 which is $115,000. But then you have to multiply by 115% again to determine the maximum value a home could be assessed at this year. In this example it would be $132,250. The two 15% increases end up yielding a maximum increase of 32.25% during the two assessment periods. 'I would really urge people to do the math themselves to check it, check and really verify,' Preston Smith said. To do that, however, you have to know your home's 2022 assessed value, which according to those who have received this year's assessments, isn't on this year's notices. You can find that historical information online at the Jackson County Parcel Viewer or Ascend Web. If your increase ends up beyond the allowances under the State order or if you simply don't agree with your value, you still can appeal. Appeals have to be filed by July 14. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV As for seniors, 40,000 are already enrolled in a new tax credit program freezing tax bills. The county says estimated savings are included on notices, but are subject to change. Both Sean and Preston Smith say they are pressing the Assessor's Office for complete assessment data in 2022, 2023 and 2025 to see how much home values increased, and how many of those increases equated to the maximum allowed if no new construction was done under the State Tax Commission Order without a physical inspection. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jackson County likely to comply with latest order on assessments
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The latest Missouri State Tax Commission Order could spell relief for some Jackson County homeowners. It appears the county is prepared to follow limits on how much taxes go up, using 2022 as a baseline instead of 2023. FOX4 asked the County Executive's Office Tuesday and got no response, legislators say they haven't gotten a response either. So they'll be asking the county executive's plans at Wednesday's meeting. But there are signs indicating the two sides are finally coming together. Kansas City mayor says Royals stadium plan could be done soon In April, and not raise taxes in 2025 any more than 15% from that corrected amount. But after those 2023 assessments went up in some cases by as much as 100% and saw widespread appeals, County Executive Frank White responded rolling back the taxes now would jeopardize funding for schools public safety and vital services. Last week the State Tax Commission issued a new order. 'It doesn't fully correct '23 or '24 but it at least makes it so we don't screw up 2025 worse,' Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith said. The May 22 order says limits on 2025 assessments should be based on 2022. So short of additions to your house since then, no assessed values should go up more than 15%. That means if you saw an increase of more than 15% in 2023, your taxes would go down. Legislator Sean Smith says he's seen email correspondence between the STC and county attorneys negotiating agreeable terms. 'It certainly seems like the County plans to follow this STC order and presuming that's the case, it's a great win,' Smith said. You can check your 2022 assessments here to see if your 2025 valuation falls within that limit of no more than a 15% increase. The Jackson County Executive's Office previously told FOX4 the Jackson County Assessor will have assessments mailed out by the June 15 deadline. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV 'The assessor I assume has some work to do. How much, I don't know? The truth is they should have been ready for this. This always needed to be the answer and why they needed to negotiate back and forth to get to this answer is frankly kind of ridiculous,' Smith said. The State Tax Commission Chief Counsel made it clear Tuesday the only reason this order doesn't require the county to fix 2023 now is to concentrate on 2025 assessments coming out and avoid confusion. But they say they still expect and require the county to fix 2023 and 2024 assessments, a matter that remains in court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jackson County legislators to discuss penalties for off-road vehicles
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Serious crimes have been committed recently, when ATV drivers downtown aren't following the law. Several Jackson County legislators are hoping to keep both residents and first responders safe while addressing the issue. 'ChiefsAholic' sentenced for 2022 Oklahoma bank robbery An ordinance pertaining to this was on the agenda Monday for them to discuss, but not much was shared on it then. At least two Jackson County legislators are hoping to enhance public safety and reduce traffic hazards by prohibiting off-road vehicles on specific streets. Legislator Sean Smith says there are opportunities for stiffer consequences if they come from Jackson County. 'That affords us an opportunity to maybe pass something at the county level, but we also have to balance that with the idea that we have rural areas in the county, and we don't want to impede someone's normal use of something that's appropriate in rural areas, but we do have to figure that out legislatively,' Smith shared. This comes off the heels of incidents, where people, including an officer, have been hurt. Sean Smith is the sponsor of Ordinance 5984. The ordinance includes fines, jail time, mandatory impoundment and potential safety courses for violators. 'Police need some really serious tools to come down on, because it's easy for those vehicles to elude a normal police pursuit, so when you do grab them, you really need to bring the hammer down,' Smith said. He's hoping to obtain for stiffer penalties, while making sure police and the county prosecutor have the tools they need to enforce violations of this kind of activity. Kansas City bar hires sheriff's deputies to protect customers from 'bad characters' Smith and legislator Manuel Abarca both have similar ordinances on the matter. Monday, neither were taken up for discussion. Smith's has been moved to the anti-crime committee. It's likely the two ordinances will merge into one next week, Smith says. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Frank White veto override fails on rolling back 2023 property assessments
KANSAS CITY, Mo.- The Jackson County legislature will not comply with the Missouri State Tax Commission's (STC) order to to no more than a 15% increase from what the numbers were in 2022. The county legislature failed to override Democratic County Executive Frank White's veto from Friday, April 18. As expected, the legislature was one vote shy of the two thirds majority needed. Teens killed in Saturday crash were students leaving Shawnee Mission South prom Republican County Legislator Sean Smith needed five other legislators to support his ordinance. He only got four. On April 7, the County Legislature voted 5 to 4 on an ordinance that would that no parcel could have more than a 15% increase from 2022 to 2023. Friday's veto by White meant that the legislature would need six votes in favor of an override. On issues like this, White has had four legislators support him, Republican Jeanie Lauer, and Democrats Megan Marshall, Jalen Anderson, and Charlie Franklin. The five legislators that supported the ordinance for the county to comply with the STC order were Democrats Donna Peyton, Vanessa Huskey, Manny Abarca, Daron McGee and Republican Sean Smith. Smith said there is still an unknown for taxpayers and the county's taxing jurisdictions. 'We are a month and a half away from potentially sending out a whole new batch of assessment notices that will be substantially unlawful because they premise themselves on what happened in '23 having been lawful,' Smith said in an interview with FOX4 before Monday's meeting. 'We know it wasn't.' During Monday's meeting, Marshall, who voted not to override the County Executive's veto, discussed how the STC order could still be challenged in court. She also talked about the financial implications of this situation. 'If this ordinance is implemented, taxing jurisdictions across Jackson County could lose over $200 million, including tens of millions of dollars in lost funding for public schools,' she said. 'That's not just a number. That's teachers, counselors, school busses, and after school programs.' Student loans in default will be sent to debt collection, education officials say In the courtroom, Jackson County, MO must officially decide whether it's going to appeal the state district court judge's ruling that said taxpayers should not have had more than a 15% increase on their 2023 property assessments. In Friday's veto message though, White called the STC's order factually flawed and legally unenforceable. Separately from whether the county appeals the state district court judge's ruling, White's office has decided to increase 2025 residential assessments by no more than 15%. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Times
22-04-2025
- Health
- Times
‘It's all up in the air': the science companies exporting to America
Sean Smith's company, Eden Research, is on an admirable mission: 'We like wine and we want to save wine.' Eden's main product saves wine grapes from Botrytis cinerea, a fungal infection more commonly known as noble rot that can wipe out crops just before harvest. It protects grapes in an unusual, but increasingly popular, way. 'It's not a chemical pesticide or fungicide, instead it uses plants' natural chemistry,' said Smith, 58, who has been chief executive of Eden for ten years. 'Regulatory and consumer pressure on the use of chemicals is feeding demand for natural solutions like ours to solve the problems facing farmers.' Britain has long been a world leader in emerging science and technology, with particular strength in the life sciences sector
