New group of homeowners granted Jackson County appeals for property taxes

JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. (KCTV) - More than 100 Jackson County homeowners who filed for interior inspections will qualify for an appeal.

A county spokesperson says the Board of Equalization will provide them information via email that needs to be submitted and completed by a certain deadline.

It’s an issue that some homeowners were baffled they even had to fight.

“All we want is a fair shake and a fair assessment,” said homeowner Julie Briggs.

The Board of Equalization made the unanimous decision Wednesday morning despite push back from the assessment department.

Director Gail McCann Beatty pointed to an instructional video and claimed homeowners should have received a written notification during inspections to file an appeal on top of filing for an inspection.

“The instructional video told them to file their appeal first and then to go back and request the interior inspection,” said Beatty.

Homeowners pushed back against those claims and call the process confusing.

“They never left any paperwork. They never said anything about you need to file a further appeal, or we would have done that had we known. The lack of communication has been a big issue,” said Briggs.

Beatty also blamed misinformation at community meetings that were not “county sanctioned” and said that contributed to misinformation about filing appeals.

This now raises the appeal total to more than 55,000 appeals shattering all previous records.

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