Class action lawsuit filed over Jackson County assessments

[Hammock Parties]

https://www.kctv5.com/2023/06/25/cla...y-assessments/

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A new class action lawsuit challenges the quality of Jackson County’s property assessment. It calls into question if some increases are even legal considering some notices came in the mail after the June 15 deadline, as required by state statutes.

The filing asks a judge to step in and offer injunctive relief. It also calls for a jury trial.

The lawsuit was filed by attorney and developer Ken McClain on behalf of Trevor and Amanda Tilton of Odessa and two businesses.

The lawsuit is critical of the methodology used by Jackson County to reach new values. It argues the newly-built assessment system fails to include sufficient information and there’s a lack of physical inspections.

It points out assessments should consider current market conditions. It argues that didn’t happen when it came to commercial property.

The lawsuit claims Jackson County uniformly increased the value of every non-vacant commercial property with an improvement by 25%. And vacant commercial properties had an across-the-board increase of roughly 50%.

KCTV5 has heard from numerous homeowners who are shocked by the large increases in their assessments. Some question if they’ll be able to keep their homes. They also question if they can realistically sell when property tax assessments increase so much in one fell swoop.

READ MORE: Jackson County property assessment workshops kick off
There has been a 30% average increase in Jackson County. The Assessor’s Office argues homeowners are seeing large increases because Jackson County real estate has not been assessed with Fair Market Valuations (FMV) for a long time and building costs have increased.

The lawsuit is filed against Jackson County Executive Frank White, Assessor Gail McCann Beatty and other members of the Board of Equalization.

KCTV5 reached out to Jackson County’s public information officer for comment but we have not heard back yet.

Politicans exempt from insane take hikes



Legislation drawn to overturn insane tax hikes:



Protest scheduled at Jackson County Courthouse:



KC Town Hall scheduled July 15

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

my personal meager raise isn't the point but trolls been missing the point since the beginning

if you don't stop them now it'll be worse next time

not gonna be tipping as much now either, SHAME!

It’s not going to be worse next time. It’s just finally getting the assessments in line with the value of the homes. There are certainly exceptions where the homes are being overvalued and hopefully on appeal this gets corrected.

You haven’t been paying your fair share the last couple of years when your home was severely undervalued.

[Hammock Parties]

thanks for trolling, idiots

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

thanks for trolling, idiots

Asking legitimate questions and making honest commentary = trolling.

Posting graphs with false information and using percentages to make things seem worse than they are = good/honest posting.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Why do you subject yourself to living in a place you loathe so much? Why do that to yourself?

Why do you continue to support policies that make this place worse?

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by Titty Meat

Why do you continue to support policies that make this place worse?

We can go back and forth on this hey that is fine...you seem to simply want to bitch about things as if saying "vote them all out" and constantly talking about how KC is a shit hole changes anything. Meanwhile anyone that actually has any idea or whats to do anything that is not the status quo you shit on or talk about how stupid it is. What a great spot to be in you can't lose.

You are either full of shit and being a drama queen about Kansas City or insane for continuing to live in a place you detest. Either way I wish you luck dude.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by |Zach|

We can go back and forth on this hey that is fine...you seem to simply want to bitch about things as if saying "vote them all out" and constantly talking about how KC is a shit hole changes anything. Meanwhile anyone that actually has any idea or whats to do anything that is not the status quo you shit on or talk about how stupid it is. What a great spot to be in you can't lose.

You are either full of shit and being a drama queen about Kansas City or insane for continuing to live in a place you detest. Either way I wish you luck dude.

No I've given plenty ideas not my fault you can't read

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

It’s not going to be worse next time. It’s just finally getting the assessments in line with the value of the homes. There are certainly exceptions where the homes are being overvalued and hopefully on appeal this gets corrected.

You haven’t been paying your fair share the last couple of years when your home was severely undervalued.

Yeah this is true. My property taxes are doubling. I'd love to appeal but they brought my home's value up to... About what I paid for it last year.

Sucks for me, but it certainly isn't dishonest.

[Hammock Parties]

[Hammock Parties]

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news...kcmo-city-hall

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Frustrations against Jackson County’s property tax assessments were seen in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday morning.

Dozens gathered outside the KCMO City Hall to protest their rates. Many of their rates doubled since last year, while some even saw percent increases in the hundreds.

“There’s a lot of arguments, speculations, emotions are flying and rightfully so,” Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca said. “Whatever we need to do to modify these things, we need to ride this momentum to get those things done now.”

The deadline to appeal property tax assessments was extended from July 1 to July 31, but Abarca says the bigger conversations on how to move forward are just beginning.

He wants the state to give counties more localized authority so that the legislature can make modification directly going forward.

“Things like changing the date of collection, making sure 12 months payment programs are there, making sure there are fixed rates within assessed value that will get us there in a cap, that’ll move us forward,” Abarca said.

He says right now, the only thing residents can really do is get their appeals in before the deadline. Other resolutions in the works will not come in time for the Dec. 1 bill.

“SB 190 is one of the proposals right? So that is a fix for the future — the next tax cycle would be frozen for seniors that qualify for that program. However, that’s the future, that's not right now,” Abarca said. “Appeal your taxes, make sure you have the information, do the informals, if you disagree with that, go to the state tax commission.”

Protestors on Saturday talked about the importance of new leadership if they want to see change.

“They need to not just sit at home and watch the TV and complain," Tina Burch said. "You know they need to get out and be proactive."

Burch and and another resident, Paul Salerno, both believe change starts at the grassroots level, specifically by showing up to the polls.

“We don’t want our houses taken from us and that’s gonna happen if we don’t start doing something and we don’t start waking up,” Salerno said. “10 percent of the people vote during these local elections. Come on.”

[Hammock Parties]

Tensions Simmer as Jackson County Property Taxes Explode

How much of their taxes will the Royals not have to pay? Until recently, that question was the hottest tax policy debate in Jackson County as the baseball team considers their options for a new stadium and the county considers a tax incentive package for them. But for local leaders, the Royals’ tax question may be the least of their public relations headaches.

A property tax assessment completed by Tyler Technologies has caused frustration and concern among several Jackson County residents. The county estimated an average increase of 30%; however, some residents report their assessment increased their property value by 80% or more. (emphasis added)

“The problem was their process,” said real estate agent Stacey Johnson-Cosby. “They picked a company that had problems and other areas that had to be rolled back. And why did we spend $17 million of our taxpayer dollars to put this fiasco on?”

Johnson-Cosby organized workshops to educate residents of the appeals process. She reported 1000 people attended the first scheduled workshop and hundreds were in attendance at both the second and third sessions.

“People are desperate. They’re scared. They’re fearful of being forced from their homes,” Johnson-Cosby said.

What can be done? In the long term, the Missouri Legislature could pass a law to cap the extent to which property taxes can rise in a reassessment cycle. A Jackson County legislator is also suggesting the county set aside the current reassessments and place a 15% cap on increases; whether that will happen is unclear.

But what isn’t unclear is that the situation is boiling over. Earlier this week, County Executive Frank White sent a pointed letter to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who had been critical of the county’s property tax problems, which of course affect hundreds of thousands of Kansas Citians. Along with telling Lucas that he doesn’t understand the law surrounding property taxes, White also called Lucas out for living in what the executive described as a “white neighborhood” that would disproportionately benefit from limits to property tax increases.

White’s letter is worth calling out here for a few reasons.

White says the county can’t do what Lucas is demanding, including halting reassessments entirely;

White is saying Lucas is being self-serving for his own taxes, aggressively asserting that his home is the benefit of a sort of privilege; and,

These are the same two guys in charge of Jackson County and Kansas City’s push to keep the Royals in the jurisdiction.

That this conversation is happening as the debate on the Royals’ tax incentive package reaches its final stage is, perhaps, karma. Government has no business giving away tax revenues to professional sports teams, especially while it’s lifting taxpayers by the ankles and shaking the change out of their pockets. Kansas City and Jackson County need to get back to basics.

[stevieray]

I bought a cookie cutter house in Colorado back in 2000. 150k..probably cost them 80k to build.

If I would have paid that home off, it would've cost 360k total.

Today, that twenty three year old, 80k house in now "worth" 368k.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by kysirsoze

Yeah this is true. My property taxes are doubling. I'd love to appeal but they brought my home's value up to... About what I paid for it last year.

Sucks for me, but it certainly isn't dishonest.

You mean you’re not standing outside at a protest holding up a sign with “100% increase!” written on it? Most of these morons aren’t bitching that their homes are being overvalued. They’re bitching because they are finally going to have to pay what they should have been paying for years.

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

You mean you’re not standing outside at a protest holding up a sign with “100% increase!” written on it? Most of these morons aren’t bitching that their homes are being overvalued. They’re bitching because they are finally going to have to pay what they should have been paying for years.

I know someone who had their house way overvalued. He appealed and got it reduced. Still an increase but a fair one. Not saying everyone is having that experience and it is a pain to have to fight to correct a bad appraisal, but the 40 or so people protesting in those photos would be better served spending their time appealing... That is if they actually think their homes are overvalued.

[Hammock Parties]

Wow this is going to be epic. I will be out of town unfortunately. Capping increases at 2% would be HUGE.

Today, I joined a group of fighters advocating for equitable taxation.Although we disagreed on many things, we agreed on fixing this tax assessment process. I will continue to work across party lines, with state & local officials to find solutions 4 #KansasCity @JacksonCountyMO pic.twitter.com/5AeDuMZgbn

— Manny Abarca (@MannyAbarcaIV) July 8, 2023

Originally Posted by kysirsoze

I know someone who had their house way overvalued. He appealed and got it reduced. Still an increase but a fair one. Not saying everyone is having that experience and it is a pain to have to fight to correct a bad appraisal, but the 40 or so people protesting in those photos would be better served spending their time appealing... That is if they actually think their homes are overvalued.

There were over 100 people there.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by stevieray

I bought a cookie cutter house in Colorado back in 2000. 150k..probably cost them 80k to build.

If I would have paid that home off, it would've cost 360k total.

Today, that twenty three year old, 80k house in now "worth" 368k.

Gee, it’s almost like the value of real estate increases over time. What it cost to build a home has **** all to do with current value. My grandparent bought 275 acres of land in 1936 for $13,000 and built a two story home on the land for an additional $32k. In March, the family trust sold that house for 380k and the land for 3.2 million. Were we supposed to sell it all for 45k? By the way, we had been paying taxes on the accurate values of the property.