JEFFERSON COUNTY — Jackson County is facing a lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Andrew Bailey and the state Tax Commission alleging property owner assessments were illegally increased, in some cases, more than 100 percent.
The lawsuit recently filed in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, alleges tens of thousands of property owners in the county were unlawfully assessed an average value of at least 30 percent and "assessment notices were delivered past the legally mandated June 15th deadline." The lawsuit further alleges that Jackson County property owners were coerced into dropping their appeals of the assessments.
"I will always fight for Missourians who are being over-taxed, especially in Joe Biden's economy where everyone's wallet is stretched thin," Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement.
Bailey also names a third party, Tyler Technologies, which has a contract with Jackson County for appraisal and reassessment services, as a defendant in the complaint and alleges the company assessed the value of more than 300,000 properties which include 275,000 residential parcels. Bailey claims in the suit that 90 percent of those residential parcels assessed by Tyler were given an increased value with 75 percent of those increased by more than 15 percent.
The suit further states that Tyler performed "parcel-by-parcel reviews" which consisted of taking photos of some but not all of the property's exterior and were not done "reliably and accurately." Tyler is also being accused of relying on a photo of a property that was five years out of date for its inspection/review of the property, according to the lawsuit.
As far as property owner appeals for the assessments, Bailey claims in the lawsuit that the defendants created "formidable obstacles in filing an appeal" including property owners facing a website with technical issues and having to wait for hours on the phone and then being disconnected. According to the suit, the defendants also created confusion in the review process and pressured property owners to accept assessment values and "sign away their administrative remedies."
"The Missouri Constitution expressly prohibits a county from illegally taxing its residents," Bailey stated in a press release. "We will stand in the gap to protect Jackson County residents and right this egregious wrong."
Bailey's office also said in a statement that complaints from residents have "poured into the Attorney General's Office" over what his office is calling "undue taxation" and the "illegal and dysfunctional" manner in which the assessments were handled.
"We're glad Jackson County residents came forward to let us know how they were adversely affected by this illegal behavior," Bailey stated in the release. "We encourage all Missourians to reach out when they need help. We will always have Missourians' backs."