Every person owning or holding real property or tangible personal property on January 1st of any calendar year shall be liable for taxes, with exemptions for certain properties, such as those for charitable, educational and religious purposes.

Assessment is the process of placing value on property for the purpose of property taxation, and all taxable real and personal property within the City is assessed annually by the county assessors. Reassessment is an update of all real property assessments in the County, conducted by the County Assessment Department to equalize values among taxpayers and to adjust values to current market conditions, and Missouri Law requires all real property to be reassessed every 2 years in odd-numbered years, including 2023.

Recent increases in real personal property tax assessments are shocking residents as they arrive in mailboxes across Jackson County. There has been a 30% average increase in Jackson County, and as of June 26th, 2023, the County Assessor reported that 12,143 property tax assessment appeals had already been filed. Equally troublesome is the fact that property owners only have until July 10th to file an appeal. Moreover, per RsMo 67.110, each political subdivision located, at least partially, within a county with a charter form of government or within a city not within a county shall fix its ad valorem property tax rates as provided in this section not later than October 1st. The appeals process may have a detrimental impact on the City’s ability to meet the October 1st deadline mandated by the Missouri Constitution.

Because of the shocking increases in assessed valuations, the shortened timeline for appealing these assessments, and the adverse impact to the City's ability to set their levy, the City Council wishes to request that the Jackson County Executive utilize the 2022 assessed valuations for properties in Jackson County.