Jackson County homeowners experience sticker shock from hike in property taxes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Many Jackson County homeowners are seeing a hike in property taxes, including senior citizen Becky Wendt.
“They have doubled my property taxes, almost tripled it from last time,” said Wendt. “I’m on a fixed income. They want half of my income, essentially, now for my property taxes.”
In 2019, her house was valued at $134,000. This time around, it’s $377,000.
“I was shocked,” Wendt said. “I don’t know where this came from.”
Many homeowners are experiencing sticker shock at the increase in value, which could lead to a higher property tax bill.
“There is a pretty significant increase in Jackson County and, actually, statewide,” said Jackson County Assessment Director Gail McCann Beatty. “But, we do say come and see us if you feel like the value is not correct.”
Beatty said the average increase from the last county assessment in 2021 was around 30%.
“When I received my assessment: 91.83% increase,” said Jackson County homeowner Joseph Jackson. “Which means it actually doubles,”
Beatty said the county has been working to bring up assessed values to match market prices, which have increased sharply in the past few years.
“Mass appraisal is not perfect,” Beatty added. “We understand that. We’re going to have some values where they are over-valued. We don’t want anyone’s property to be over-valued.”
Since 2019, the department has been revamped with increased staff, brand new technology, and a third-party consultant.
“They said that they have a new system, new building, new employees, but we’re still going through the same problem,” Joseph Jackson said. “Where is the money supposed to come from? You can’t get blood from a turnip.”
At the county’s new office building, residents can review their assessment. Once you file an appeal, you’ll be connected with a real estate agent to walk you through options moving forward.
Also read:
Home values now accessible online for Jackson County residents
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