Judge issues ruling in Jackson County tax assessment lawsuit filed by Blue Springs, Independence

JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Cass County judge on Monday issued a ruling on a lawsuit filed by the cities of Independence and Blue Springs concerning ongoing trouble with Jackson County property tax assessments.

Cass County judge Derek Spencer said ultimately, Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. is responsible “for the performance of the Assessment Department and the Director of Assessment.” That director, Gail McCann Beatty, Spencer pointed out is appointed rather than elected, something that is different than every other county in Missouri.

Spencer was critical of Jackson County officials for their process with the assessments and went as far as to say “The Jackson County Assessment Department failed the citizens of Jackson County in conducting the 2023 biennial assessment due to producing inaccurate property assessments.”

Spencer said the Assessment Department also said there was a failure to timely and adequately inform property owners of some of their statutory rights. Still, despite those failures, Spencer said he does not believe the BOE’s failure to process appeals was due to a lack of work, but rather a lack of leadership from White Jr., McCann Beatty, and the Jackson County Legislature.

“The manner in which Jackson County conducted biennial assessments in 2019 and 2023 under the leadership of Director Gail McCann Beatty, the County Legislature, and County Executive Frank White Jr. appear to this Court do demonstrate a clear disregard for the rights of Jackson Countians, a disregard for the budget process that taxing jurisdictions must undertake each fiscal year, and gross incompetence,” Spencer concluded in his findings.

Still, Spencer said the court was “without power to mandate that Jackson County resolve all pending appeals upon a certain deadline as the relevant statute that determines when appeals should be finalized is not mandatory.”

You can read the full ruling here.

On Tuesday, a Jackson County spokesperson released a statement:

For more coverage from KCTV5 of the tax assessment trouble, click here.