Missouri State Auditor Finds Jackson County Assessment Process Unlawful

Posted December 21, 2023

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said up to 200,000 homeowners in Jackson County were victims of a flawed assessment process and urges homeowners to pay under protest.

Fitzpatrick believes the failure of the Jackson County Assessment Department to abide by the law should invalidate the increases in assessed valuation by 15 percent, according to a release from The Office of Missouri State Auditor.

The auditor’s summary determined the department failed to provide property owners with adequate notification of their rights regarding physical inspections, and the notification that was given was inaccurate. Resulting in Jackson County property owners being unaware they were entitled to an exterior inspection and to request an interior inspection. Property owners were denied the benefit of these inspections before their timeline for appeal expired.

“I urge the Jackson County Legislature to take our concerns into consideration and explore all possible remedies for the thousands of innocent homeowners wronged by an invalid process,” Fitzpatrick said. “I would also tell Jackson County residents who saw their home values increase by more than 15 percent that if I were in their shoes, and felt my assessment was unfair, I would pay my taxes under protest and plan to pursue remedies available to me by law based on my individual circumstances in the event the County does not remedy the flawed assessments.”

View the full release, here.