KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Property owners in Jackson County, Missouri, have until 11:59 p.m. Monday to file an appeal of their property assessment. Owners should file the appeal online through the county’s website.
The county will send an email or letter to property owners letting them know when the office will review their appeal about seven to 10 days before their appointment. The assessment office asks people to check the spam or junk folder in their email for the notification.
Beginning Aug. 1, property owners who filed for an appeal — but have not yet received a notification on when their appointment will take place — can walk into the assessment office. The office will help the first 50 walk-in customers. Everyone who filed an appeal will get an appointment.
If property owners are unhappy with their informal appeal, they can ask for a formal appeal with the county’s Board of Equalization. Michael Fuller plans to do this after the assessor’s office did not lower his assessed value during the informal property review.
“Within the greater Kansas City area, our property values are going up. It just needs to be reasonable,” Fuller said.
If Fuller, or other property owners, are unhappy with the Board of Equalization’s ruling, they can make another appeal to the State Tax Commission.
The county has until Aug. 28 to certify the assessed values of the properties within the county. In September, taxing jurisdictions will set their tax rates.
Jurisdictions like school districts, cities, libraries, fire protection districts and others divide their budget by the assessed values to determine at what rate they need to set taxes in order to collect enough money to fulfill the budget. If budgets remain relatively similar year to year, tax rates may decrease as assessed values increase.
“I think they need to realize we’re out here struggling and our properties are the only thing we have,” said homeowner Al Nicholson.
Nicholson lives in Kansas City, Missouri, and is considering testifying to city council members to make tax rates low.
Property owners will receive their tax bill closer to November. Owners must pay their bill by Dec. 31.
