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

[Hammock Parties]

oh yeah, it's just coincidence that jackson county weirdly picked this company that's hundreds of miles away in another state to do this, and just a weird coincidence that company is also owned by blackrock

another weird coincidence is that some people's assessments went up 300% and elected leaders saw almost no change at all!!!

all coincidence! just really weird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hammock Parties]

lmao the natives are restless

@PeteMundo I think it is time to threaten to unretire Frank White's number and take down his statue at the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority until he fixes this fiasco with the residents of Jackson County, of which I am one. That will get this resolved very quickly.

— Almost Andy Reid (@AlmostAndyReid) July 11, 2023

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

oh yeah, it's just coincidence that jackson county weirdly picked this company that's hundreds of miles away in another state to do this, and just a weird coincidence that company is also owned by blackrock

another weird coincidence is that some people's assessments went up 300% and elected leaders saw almost no change at all!!!

all coincidence! just really weird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are clueless.

[LoneWolf]

Only in Clay's oatmeal brain does owning 7.5% of the stock in a company means that that company is owned by you.

I guess I need to start calling all the companies I own stock in and let them know that I will be making their decisions from now on. "I own you ****ers. You will bend to my will."

[Eureka]

Originally Posted by ReynardMuldrake

Yeah it's not impossible but the buying opportunities just aren't there anymore. I bought a house in 2008 for around $110K that's worth about $260K today. If I tried to do that now, I wouldn't be able to do it. There simply aren't any starter homes available today in Johnson County.

Between housing prices and student loans, an entire generation is being priced out of home ownership. Or they have to choose between owning a house or having kids. For a lot of people, there's simply not enough money to do both.

Yeah, it's going to be tough for a lot of people. Guess I was being encouraging by saying to try new ideas. Maybe, one has to move to a different area to earn a better income, then move back or get into a field that you can work from home, then move somewhere that homeownership is inexpensive-ish.

Maybe, during that 5 year plan home prices will collapse and new ownership will eventually come about.

Originally Posted by Woogieman

Well, I'm bombarded several times a day by people telling me they "are making $5,000 a week on their side hustle", so I don't know what they are bitching about. And I definitely don't know why they still work a "first job" when their part time job actually earns them more....

Hey it won't be handed to anyone but there is opportunity if one persists.

[Hammock Parties]

County is run by opportunist scum.

Jackson County legislator's data: Seniors more likely to get large assessment increase in district

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

A Jackson County legislator provided some early numbers on how senior citizens are being impacted by property tax assessments in the county.

Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith shared some statistics during Monday's meeting about how many seniors are facing large property tax assessments.

Among the property owners in Smith's district facing at least a 50 percent increase in assessed valuation, 42 percent are seniors, he said.

Roughly 15 percent of Smith's district, which is primarily Lee's Summit, Mo., consists of seniors.

"A lot of my older constituents are extremely challenged by the appeals process," Smith said during the meeting. "Elderly people are three to four times more likely to see those large increases."

He determined those numbers by looking at the addresses with large property assessments and comparing them with voter rolls, which includes the date of birth for the individual.

That information comes a week after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill with the goal of freezing property tax rates for those 65 and older.

Individual counties have to agree to the property tax freeze in order for the state bill to have any impact.

The bill will not have an impact on the 2023 assessments.

[Hammock Parties]

Not sure I can stomach reading any of this crap.

https://jacoassessmentfacts.com/

[Hammock Parties]

This shit is so ****ing gay.

Lee's Summit homeowner fights property assessment, says he hasn't made home improvements since 1997

LEE SUMMIT, Mo. — More than 33,000 Jackson County residents have been fighting their property assessments.

Chances are high that you will get an automated message saying, "we are experiencing a high call volume" when you call the Jackson County Assessor's Office during business hours.

Frank Hanis, who owns a home in Lee's Summit, reached out to KSHB 41 on Monday for help getting through.

"I was number 39 in line, I waited a long time," Hanis said. "I was number two in line and that's when they hung up."

He's calling from the home he's owned since 1997.

"Everything in the house has aged 26 years," Hanis said.

Hanis said he waited on the phone after he was told weeks ago someone would come out to re-assess his property. He said no one showed up.

"I must have called them 20 times at least," he said.

Hanis showed us this year's market value assessment on paper.

"It went from $190,000 to $382,730. I just think that's absurd," he said. "They're assessing like it's brand new and even if it was and I remodeled everything, it still wouldn't be worth that."

That's why he said he wanted someone with Tyler Technologies to come inside and see it for themselves. Another reason is his health concerns at 81 years old.

"I have so much back pain," Hanis said. "I try not to drive places unless I really have to, like a doctor's appointment."

Hanis is among the tens of thousands of Jackson County residents appealing. While he waits, he hopes a reassessment will be closer to reality and the process is improved in the future.

A spokesperson for the Jackson County Assessor's Office acknowledged the long hold times over the phone.

They told KSHB 41 if an appointment was set for an in-person review, it should have happened and they will follow up.

They added that Tyler Technologies increased their staff to process reviews.

Even though the extended appeal deadline is July 31, they clarified that's the deadline for starting the process, not finishing it.

"A team is working day in and day out to make sure they serve the property owners of Jackson County," Aaron Gilbertie, a spokesperson for the Jackson County Assessor's Office, said.

[ToxSocks]

If this really is a matter of KC's housing values catching up, you'd think they could at least roll out the taxation over several years so people and the market could have time to adjust. Surely theres a fair solution to this.

[Hammock Parties]

I'm absolutely appalled by some of these stories. They tried to increase an 83-year old woman's assessment 97% percent, then knocked it down 40%

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news...ty-tax#vidJump

[Hammock Parties]

really good info here....seems it doesn't take much effort to get them to break on the amount of increase

https://www.tonyskansascity.com/2023...ax-crisis.html

I am getting calls and emails from people today who are having their informal reviews with the Assessment Dept/Tyler Technologies people. In one case, the taxpayer had only comps from 2023 (which under state law should not be accepted) and only a couple of examples of repairs needed (without actual price quotes from contractors). Within minutes, the Tyler Technologies person agreed to lower his assessment to no more than a 14.9 percent increase.

As you will recall, in 2019, one out of three residential properties were increased by the magic number of 14.9 percent when the County could not prove that a physical inspection actually occurred. Under the state law, it is illegal for them to increase an assessment higher than 15 percent without that proof. Taxpayers who have been receiving their Sunshine Act requests from the County have been forwarding them to me to show how thin the information is that the County used to base the assessment value on for their property. It is pathetic.

The only evidence of a "physical inspection" have been photos from the street of the house, which under the County regulations and the state law, do not qualify as a physical inspection. If you have not made a Sunshine request of the County Assessment Department to make the show their "homework" for how they arrived at the value of your property, please do so. I believe the more of us that keep the pressure on them--and call them out for deliberately breaking the state law--the sooner you will get your values lowered.

The Assessor told the County Legislature on Monday that there were 33,000 appeals filed. The number of appeals are increasing by about 1,000 a day. At this rate, by the time the July 31 deadline occurs, there will be 50,000 to 60,000 appeals filed, which would be a statewide record. I URGE you all to make an appeal. I believe the County Assessment and Board of Equalization is reaching the breaking point, and they are going to, if they are not already, rubber-stamping 14.9% increase as fast as they can.

This makes the case even stronger that the BOE should step in an initiate a county-wide flat rate increase, since that is essentially what it appears that the County is doing right now, for those who appeal. I ask you to continue to post here about your experiences, and from here on, you might want to figure out what a 14.9% increase would be in your assessment, and that is the value that you ask the County to give you.

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

If this really is a matter of KC's housing values catching up, you'd think they could at least roll out the taxation over several years so people and the market could have time to adjust. Surely theres a fair solution to this.

Hell, most folks in the government want this very solution. The assessor is just being a douche about it.

[HonestChieffan]

This is what a house costs in Waldo?

https://www.redfin.com/MO/Kansas-Cit...9wt7gh-lzxlkSk

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

This is what a house costs in Waldo?

https://www.redfin.com/MO/Kansas-Cit...9wt7gh-lzxlkSk

That’s brand new construction.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

That’s brand new construction.

And sitting in between a bunch of 200k bungalow turds. But there’s soooo many bars and restaurants close by!