Platte County Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to expand the county’s senior property tax credit program.
At the Monday, Dec. 15 administrative session, commissioners passed two orders altering and expanding the senior property tax program. That program was first approved last year after the passage of Missouri’s Senate Bill 190. This program allowed eligible senior citizens to apply annually for a tax credit on the real property taxes on their homes, ensuring predictability and protecting against potential spikes in property tax bills.
“Our plan all along was to design a program that would provide seniors with the maximum property tax relief allowed by law,” said Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker. “As it turns out, the program that we implemented did not accomplish that goal. So today we’re going to fix it.”
The two orders approved remove the current exclusion of bonded indebtedness increases from the program, ensuring seniors receive full relief on all property tax increases; provide retroactive property tax credits for any increased bonded indebtedness paid by approved seniors in tax year 2025, with credits applied to future tax bills; and eliminate the annual renewal requirement starting in 2026, allowing approved seniors to remain in the program without yearly reapplication.
The proposed changes were developed after reviewing other senior property tax relief programs in nearby counties, according to a press release issued by the commission.
During the meeting, state Reps. Mike Jones, Sean Pouche and former county commissioner John Elliott spoke in support of the new measures.
Fricker offered further clarification on the program, stating that it’s not to be considered a tax freeze, as improvements to property, such as construction of a deck or a new room will affect property values and cause a tax increase. However, with the new changes, property taxes will not go up if seniors live in a jurisdiction that increases the debt service levy used to pay their voter-approved bonds, commonly referred to as an increase in bonded indebtedness.
For seniors who were approved for the tax relief program this year and their tax payment includes an amount for increased bonded indebtedness, then they will get that money back on the 2025 property tax bill as an additional credit. First, seniors must pay their tax bill this year and still live in their homes next year.
Finally, because commissioners are concerned that too many approved seniors will not go through the approval process and get kicked out of the program, the county is doing away with the entire annual renewal process.
“We ask that you notify us if you move, and we’ll conduct annual program audits, but there’s nothing else for you to do,” Fricker said.
Fricker went on to say the program is one small step in what he believes needs to be done to overhaul the property tax system in the state.
“I have proposed the following changes and hope that our state legislature can take action to make this happen,” Fricker said.
His proposed changes are as follows:
Move all April elections to November.
Eliminate the assessment process. It’s completely broken and needs to be scrapped. Identical houses are often appraised at significantly different amounts. Without the assessment process, your home would be valued at your purchase price. Simple as that.
Reform the Hancock Amendment. There are loopholes in the amendment that allow school districts to shift excess tax revenues from operating levies to debt service levies, allowing them to avoid lowering their operating levies when increases in property valuations result in a windfall of property tax revenues.
Reform economic development finance laws. Too often, large corporations are granted huge tax breaks in the name of economic development. This effectively transfers their tax liability to average taxpayers.
“Why should households and small businesses pay full taxes while the world’s richest corporations pay little to nothing?” Fricker said.