While Jackson County has dominated the headlines for its property tax problems over the past few years, trouble is brewing in Platte County as well, with officeholders announcing they will not comply with state orders and casting blame at one another over the past week.
Last week, the Missouri State Tax Commission ordered the Platte County Clerk and the Board of Equalization to impose an across-the-board 15% increase in residential property valuations.
On Wednesday, July 30, the Platte County Commission issued a statement refusing compliance with this order. The clerk and members of the Board of Equalization agreed with what commissioners called a “heavy-handed and unjust action by the STC.”
Commissioners held a press conference Friday, Aug. 1 regarding the situation, and stated they have retained legal counsel to fight the state order. At the press conference, Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker and Recorder of Deeds Christopher Wright laid the bulk of the blame for the situation on Assessor David Cox, and questioned Cox’s eligibility to serve in his office, as they alleged he maintains a residence in Pensacola, Fla. Fricker said he had also been in touch with Gov. Mike Kehoe regarding the situation.
“This order by the STC is a direct result of two things: Platte County Assessor David Cox’s failure to complete the County’s mandatory biannual residential reassessment; and the county’s five school districts who are demanding property tax increases and who apparently can’t operate without massive annual revenue increases paid for on the backs of hard-working Platte County taxpayers,” the press release states.
“If implemented, this order would bypass the traditional data driven assessment process used by Missouri assessors for decades and would replace it with an arbitrary and onerous assessment increase dictated by un-elected Jefferson City bureaucrats. Furthermore, taxpayers will not have an opportunity to appeal the new valuations, threatening the economic stability of many Platte County households.
“We call on Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe to overturn this order immediately and convene a special session of the state legislature to reform state tax law, removing the power of an un-elected board to impose arbitrary and onerous tax increases on hard-working Missourians. Such reforms are essential to protect our residents and restore accountability to the taxation process.”
COX RESPONDS
On Monday, Aug. 4, Cox issued his own press release.
“There has been a lot of talk and accusations in the past week regarding property values and assessments,” the release states. “Facts that the taxpayers of Platte County need to know are below. Everything I am sharing is public information. Many recent public statements by county officials concerning my office amount to nothing more than a campaign of fabrication and misrepresentation.”
Cox said he reassessed property values in 2025 and chose to leave values unchanged due to what he feels is the disequalization of values caused by the Board of Equalization.
“I did not want to compound the problem by raising values for people who did not appeal,” Cox said in the release. “The current Commission-appointed BOE is lowering values for the majority who appeal their valuations with little or no supporting documentation. What is even more egregious is there are BOE members appealing their own personal and commercial property valuations to their own board to be lowered, when actual sales data supports their properties’ values being raised or kept the same. I was surprised to hear Mr. Fricker defend this action.
“As the BOE lowers commercial property, the tax burden will go back to the residential homeowners that did not appeal. Platte County homeowners should expect to pay more with these kinds of BOE decisions.
“It is unfortunate that we have county Commissioners like Scott Fricker that appoint a BOE that destroys the county’s tax base. “The fact that the State Tax Commission ordered the BOE to raise values should not be a surprise to anyone on the board or to Mr. Fricker. I explained the possibility to the BOE chair in May of 2023 when I shared my concerns about the board lowering values and throwing the county out of compliance. I reminded her that I am mandated by state law to keep values at a minimum of 90% of market value. If the ratio falls below 90% then the State Tax Commission could come in and order the BOE to raise values in the entire county.”
SUPERINTENDENTS LETTER
In June, superintendents from Platte County school districts sent a letter to the Missouri State Tax Commission, stating they were recently made aware of “inconsistent, potentially discriminatory and disparate assessment practices in Platte County.”
The letter was signed by superintendents of all five districts operating in Platte County – Dr. Mike Kimbrel, Park Hill; Dr. Jay Harris, Platte County R-3; Brock Dover, West Platte; Karl Matt, North Platte; and Dr. Mark Maus, Smithville.
“Our county assessor’s office informed us there will be no reassessment growth (0%) calculated for 2025. For the past decade and more, Platte County has followed a pattern of complete reassessment of all property in odd calendar years, and reassessment applied to only new occupancies and for improvements on current property in even calendar years. This predictable and reliable pattern informs school district budgeting processes. In our budgeting process we provide revenue projections to our respective Boards of Education based on the historical reassessment practices. Due to the unexpected loss of revenue, we are now in a position to have to amend our budget assumptions and publicly explain the implications of the assessment issue to our elected Board members,” the letter states.
“Over the past decade, there has been a range of approximately 5-10% assessed valuation growth for the school districts in Platte County, and we have consistently developed our annual budgets accordingly. For FY26, next year, we have already made budgetary decisions around personnel and programs based on prior assessment practice and history. To now learn that we may only realize a very small increase in assessed valuation will put our Boards of Education in a difficult financial position.
“As you are aware, Missouri school finance practices and laws are designed to rely heavily on the assessment process in each county. This practice should be conducted accurately, predictably, and fairly to reflect the market value of the property within the county. School districts and other taxing jurisdictions (libraries, fire districts, ambulance districts, etc.) trust the county assessment process to adequately provide for the needs of our stakeholders.”
The superintendent urged the STC to issue an equalization order instructing the county to make a market adjustment to all existing properties.
DEMOCRATS RESPOND
The Platte County Democratic Central Committee also issued a response, stating:
“As Republicans in Missouri continue their relentless attack on public education, Republicans in Platte County are playing their part by underfunding schools in order to give tax breaks to themselves and to businesses at the expense of residential homeowners. What Assessor Cox has recently described as ‘extreme measures’ by the Republican-appointed Board of Equalization has the appearance of the classic cronyism that Platte County citizens have come to expect from the Republican Party. With the Board of Equalization zeroing out various property tax valuations, we have to ask: Did Platte County officials reduce their own property values to zero? In 2026, we have the opportunity to elect a county government that will put the citizens of Platte County first above padding their own pockets.”