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Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge rules in favor of Lee's Summit in case against county over 2023 assessments
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A judge ruled in favor of the City of Lee's Summit in its lawsuit against Jackson County over the 2023 assessments and ordered the city to recover more than $250,000 in damages. Judge Derek Spencer, who was brought in from Cass County, specifically sided with the city on two counts: breach of contract and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. Jackson County likely to comply with latest order on assessments The judgment comes nearly two months after a bench trial was held in Jackson County Circuit Court. The lawsuit was first filed in 2023. The court's order, filed Wednesday, stated that the county broke contract by 'failing to provide necessary records of the tax rolls to the city.' It said that this ultimately prevented the city from collecting taxes and 'thereby prevented the city from receiving the benefit of the bargain': 1% of all taxes collected by the city pursuant to the contract the county and city have had since 2007. It said it breached this contract on April 2, 2024, by excluding the city from the county's ASCEND system and the tax collection process. Here's how to file a claim amid 23andMe bankruptcy The judgment awards damages to Lee's Summit for $259,137.08, and said the city is entitled to pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. On all other counts, the judge ruled in favor of the county, but added: 'Mandamus and declaratory judgment relief are not appropriate relief as many of the issues related to the 2023 assessments relate to the discretion exercised by Ms. McCann Beatty and Mr. Frank White Jr., and certain rights the City request the Court enforce are not clear rights expressed in statutes enacted by the Legislature.' This is a developing story; FOX4 will provide updates as they're madea available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jackson County taxpayers should see no more than 15% assessment increase: judge
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County taxpayers got a win Tuesday morning as a judge (STC), saying taxpayers should not have more than a 15% increase on each of their 2023 property assessments. It's a story as property assessments jumped tremendously in some cases that year. Missouri bill could pave way for Royals stadium in Clay County Republican Legislator Sean Smith and Democratic County Executive Frank White have been at odds about this issue for quite some time. FOX4 tried talking to White Tuesday, but he would not do an interview with us. Director of Assessment Gail McCann Beatty spoke to reporters for about two minutes after coming out of a Jackson County courtroom. She disagreed with the state court judge's ruling that the county's assessment process in 2023 was done incorrectly. Seventy-five percent of homeowners in the county saw property assessment increases of more than 15% that year with the average assessment increase being 30%. 'We absolutely sent notices out to every single person in the county,' McCann Beatty said. 'They were given the opportunity for the interior inspection if they wanted it. We completed over 4,000 inspections, and so I don't agree that that was the case, and so we will see where we go from here. That's all I have to say for right now.' In the summer of 2024, the State Tax Commission had order the county roll back all the 2023 assessments that were more than 15%, ruling them illegal. The county though, . Tuesday, FOX4 learned about the judge's ruling in favor of the state. Following the Tuesday morning decision, Smith called for McCann Beatty, White, and Jackson County Counselor Bryan Covinsky to resign. McCann Beatty said she wouldn't do that. The STC issued its order more than a year after Jackson County completed its state-mandated 2023 reassessment, and nearly a year after property taxes had already been billed, collected, and distributed to other taxing jurisdictions, according to a news release from the county. 'We understand this ruling has caused confusion and concern,' said McCann Beatty in that release. 'Our mission remains what it has always been: to ensure every property is assessed fairly, based on real market data, and in accordance with the law. That commitment has not changed.' Smith on the other hand, said that in writing, the county legislature through resolutions, has told White that the 2023 assessment process was done wrong. White has disagreed though. 'He ignored it,' Smith said of the county executive in response to the legislature's resolutions. 'He used taxpayer money to continue to appeal the process, which has caused more harm, people getting foreclosed on, and cities and counties and school districts that relied on us to get these numbers right who now are going to have to see money clawed back from them probably.' Smith said that any district in the county funding a bond off of property taxes may be impacted by Tuesday's ruling. 'I will just say to the public, consider that you might be putting your city, your school district in a place where they might not have the money to repay this when this order gets enforced,' he said. 'So that's a factor in deciding what you want to do with those bond issues.' Smith spoke to FOX4 for more than 10 minutes Tuesday. One question we had for him was whether he thinks taxpayers will be getting a refund. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri 'I think that homeowners may want a refund. I think that homeowners are entitled to a refund. I think that whether or not we have the money to give them back or have to do future tax credits remains to be seen,' he continued. The county's news release Tuesday says that it's carefully considering 'its next steps.' There's no word whether the county will appeal the ruling although Democratic Legislator and Chair DaRon McGee expects them to do that. Smith and Democratic Legislator Manny Abarca are each calling for a special meeting after the ruling. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
