KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County residents will have no more than a 15% increase in their residential property assessments in 2025.
County Executive Frank White, Jr., and County Assessor Gail McCann Beatty made the announcement Thursday afternoon in a news release.
The release states that the decision to limit the increases to no more than 15% came after consulting with legal and tax experts and "reflects the only responsible course of action left as the State Tax Commission continues to shift rules, issue contradictory mandates and leaves local governments exposed to legal and financial harm."
Homeowners are feeling relieved that they won't see triple digit percent increases again in 2025.
"It's about time," Kansas City realtor Stacey Johnson-Cosby said.
Many Jackson County residents got sticker shock when they saw their 2023 property assessment values and how much they'd have to pay in taxes.
"It had an impact across the board," Johnson-Cosby said. "Sellers couldn't sell their homes to those buyers and many homeowners were forced to sell their homes because they couldn't afford to stay in their homes."
Johnson-Cosby explained a 15% cap for 2025 assessments will bring stability back to the housing market.
"We now have certainty in the market," Johnson-Cosby said. "It is how it's supposed to be, and we know that any increases will be minimal and that's something we can deal with."
Earlier this week, KSHB 41 News brought you in depth coverage of how the Jackson County assessment process works. Experts shared concerns of a compounding effect if Jackson County's 2025 assessment were based off 2023 numbers.
"Generally speaking, everyone in the metro needs to take a look at whatever value they got on their assessment notice and ask themselves, 'Do you think my property is worth that?"' Amy Rasmussen, executive director of the International Association of Assessing Officers, said.
Thursday's announcement did not reference the status of the 2023 property assessment cycle.
In addition, the county points out in its news release it "is capping the increases based on the State Tax Commission's own statement that, in the absence of completed physical exterior inspections, this is what a county is expected to do, despite the conflicting information previously provided by the STC."
“While others point fingers or promise what they know can’t be delivered, we’re making the hard choice to protect property owners, preserve public services and ensure that our assessment process can continue under the most difficult of circumstances,” White said in the release.
McCann Beatty says the county has not gotten the answers it needs.
“One day, we’re told inspections must happen after January 1. The next, they say we can start before. We’ve asked, repeatedly, what counts as a ‘physical inspection.’ We’ve received no answers,” she said in the news release.
By law, any property facing an increase of more than 15% must receive a physical exterior inspection. In addition, state and county rules allow property owners to request an interior inspection, something the STC now says must happen at the same time as the physical exterior inspection.
The release also states assessors don’t determine whether a property will exceed the 15% threshold until after the assessor has gone to the property, affirmed the physical characteristics, the property’s condition and external influences that may impact value. That means the STC is effectively demanding two physical exterior inspections and an interior inspection, all after January 1, for hundreds of thousands of parcels. It’s not just unworkable, it’s a logistical and legal contradiction.
“With more than 300,000 parcels, who do we inspect? Who do we leave out?” said McCann Beatty. “And how is it fair that those we manage to reach may end up with higher taxes than those we physically couldn’t? Why should either group be penalized?”
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KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
