Missouri AG’s efforts to undo Jackson County property assessments dealt another blow

by Allison Kite, Missouri Independent
November 21, 2024

State officials’ hopes of rolling back Jackson County property assessment increases are floundering after a circuit court judge dismissed a lawsuit by the State Tax Commission on Wednesday. 

The commission in August ordered Jackson County to reverse most of its 2023 property valuations, arguing they had been performed illegally and resulted in huge increases in property values.

But the county didn’t comply.

Jackson County officials called the State Tax Commission’s August order “unconstitutional” and “unprecedented” and said it only took action to cover for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s failures in his own efforts to undo the property assessments.

The State Tax Commission then sought a court order to force the county to cap property assessments to a 15% increase since the last assessment — unless new construction or building improvements increased the value. That effort was dismissed Wednesday.

Missouri attorney general asks to dismiss lawsuit a day before scheduled deposition

Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. thanked county residents in a statement Wednesday “for their patience and understanding as we’ve worked to address problems that have been decades in the making.” 

“Our goal remains ensuring that every property owner is treated fairly under the law,” White said. 

Gregory Allsberry, chief counsel for the State Tax Commission, said in an email that the judge did not find the commission’s order invalid.

“The commission’s order is still a valid order, despite Jackson County’s refusal to comply, and the Commission will continue to do all within its power to enforce the order,” Allsberry said. “It will also do everything within its power to ensure that Jackson county’s assessing officials don’t commit the violations of state law in 2025 that they did during the 2023 reassessment cycle.” 

Neither Bailey’s office nor the State Tax Commission immediately returned requests for comment.

Jackson County’s property valuation process has been in near-constant litigation since Bailey and the State Tax Commission first sued the county in December. 

According to that lawsuit, the county’s 2023 reassessment process resulted in an average 30% increase in value across hundreds of thousands of properties in the county. The lawsuit says more than 90% of residential properties saw an increase in value, and values increased by at least 15% for three-quarters of properties in the county.

The increase in property values means an increase in property taxes for some owners. 

Bailey and the State Tax Commission accused Jackson County of failing to follow proper procedures in the valuation process, including performing physical inspections, before increasing property values by more than 15%. 

During the litigation, Bailey and a deputy came under fire for meeting with a Jackson County official without notifying the county’s attorneys. Under Missouri Supreme Court rules, attorneys are not to communicate about a lawsuit with individuals represented in the case by another lawyer without the consent of the other lawyer.

Bailey maintained that his meeting with the official, Sean Smith, was nothing more than a campaign meeting. At the time, Smith, a member of the Jackson County Legislature, was running for the U.S. House of Representatives against incumbent U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II, who won with 60% of the vote earlier this month.

Jackson County’s attorneys were granted permission by the judge in the case to question Bailey under oath about his meetings with Smith. But in August, a day before Bailey was scheduled to sit for the deposition, the State Tax Commission issued its order and Bailey’s office had the case dismissed.

At the time, Bailey’s spokeswoman, Madeline Sieren, said the state dismissed the lawsuit because of the State Tax Commission’s order.

“Pushing the lawsuit forward could have jeopardized the much needed relief offered in the Tax Commission’s order and would be counterproductive for Jackson County taxpayers,” Sieren said in an August email.

The county said at the time that the State Tax Commission was “being used as a shield for…Bailey, who is trying to escape accountability after lying and realizing he was losing the case.” 

When the county didn’t comply with the August order, the State Tax Commission sought a court order to force the issue.

In response, the county said in a filing that the State Tax Commission was attempting to bring the same legal claims a second time. That was impermissible, the county argued, because the original lawsuit was dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning the case couldn’t be brought again.

Senior Judge Jacqueline Cook, who handled the case because the circuit judges in Jackson County recused themselves, dismissed the case with prejudice Wednesday. 

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: [email protected]. Follow Missouri Independent on Facebook and X.

Frustration about crime shapes race for next Jackson County prosecutor

by Mary Sanchez, Missouri Independent
October 23, 2024

Public anxiety about crime is fueling interest in the campaign to succeed longtime Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker

Republican Tracey Chappell and Democrat Melesa Johnson are on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The candidates have attacked each other’s qualifications on social media and in person in the final stretch of the campaign.

That political drama is playing out amid mounting concerns among voters that criminal charges aren’t being filed on property crimes — especially car thefts, break-ins and drug cases. Recent incidents with guns in the hands of juveniles are drawing the attention of Waldo and Brookside residents, along with owners of restaurants and other small businesses in Westport, the Crossroads and the River Market.

It’s a broadening conversation often centered on the traumatic and disproportionate impact violent crime has on Black communities.

“Crime is bonding us all,” said Julie Prudden, a Realtor and Brookside resident.

Sharp differences

Chappell and Johnson have distinct differences in how they plan to approach the job. Chappell vows to be an aggressive criminal prosecutor, while Johnson promises a balance of prosecution and crime prevention efforts.

Chappell leans into her time as the appointed prosecutor for Blue Springs and her private defense practice, including cases where juveniles have been charged with violent crimes.

She speaks of getting tough on criminals and sees social justice programming as secondary to pursuing criminal convictions.

“We can’t afford to just program our way out of prosecution,” Chappell said.

Johnson promotes her lifelong connections to Kansas City’s urban core, her ability to strike a balance between crime prevention efforts and swift prosecution, and her experience as public safety director for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.

Johnson’s job in the mayor’s office gives her a role in the city’s latest anti-violence effort, SAVE KC, a model that focuses on people deemed most likely to be perpetrators or victims of violence.

“I am the only candidate with a real plan to bring meaningful change to our community,” Johnson said.

Each Wednesday morning, Johnson joins a Kansas City Police Department discussion analyzing  every shooting of the prior week — whether someone was grazed by a bullet or killed. It’s part of a strategy to be responsive to the trauma that gun violence inflicts. Police and other community-based programs can intervene before retaliatory violence occurs and offer help for the people impacted.

Campaign attacks

The candidates have also questioned each other’s qualifications.

Chappell repeatedly has asked if Johnson has ever tried a felony case during her time in the Jackson County prosecutor’s office. Johnson says she was involved in the prosecution of felony cases, including murders, but not as the lead prosecutor.

Johnson said her experience includes making opening statements, cross-examinations and preparing jury instructions in drug and murder trials.

“Your obsession with my resume versus your actual platform is concerning,” Johnson posted to Chappell’s campaign Facebook page.

Johnson has questioned why Chappell left previous legal work with the county, noting that Chappell filed a discrimination suit accusing the Jackson County counselor of discrimination.

Chappell joined the county counselor’s office in April 2008 and filed the discrimination suit in 2016.

Chappell’s lawsuit alleged that she was demoted from handling litigation to working the mental health docket after taking a three-month maternity leave. The suit alleged she was fired after filing a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The case was settled in July 2018.

“The truth?” Chappell said. “I filed a disability discrimination lawsuit related to maternity leave issues that led to a firing — an issue close to my heart as both a mother and a legal professional.”

After leaving the county counselor’s office, Blue Springs hired Chappell as a contract city prosecutor from December 2018 through May 2022.

Anti-violence programs

The next Jackson County prosecutor’s office has historically played a role in a wide range of anti-violence efforts.

Kansas City, in coordination with local nonprofits and community leaders, is deeply invested in programs like SAVE KC and KC 360, led by KC Common Good.

“Safety and justice go hand in hand,” Johnson said.

SAVE KC is a revamp of a similar anti-violence program championed by Baker, KC NoVA, for Kansas City No Violence Alliance.

KC NoVA saw some early success, including a drop in homicides in 2014. But the program unraveled without the backing of former Police Chief Rick Smith.

Chappell questions if there is enough community buy-in for SAVE KC to be any more successful than KC NoVA, which she called a “snitch” program too reliant on expecting people to lead police to suspects in exchange for social service help.

“You have services right now that a person can get without snitching,” Chappell said. “If they wanted to take it, they could get help right now.”

Chappell has accused Johnson of being “a director of no one,” noting she functions without staff reporting to her.

“I’m the only one in this room who’s actually trained police officers on Fourth Amendment issues,” Chappell said, adding that she has experience training other prosecutors and staff during her time as prosecutor in Blue Springs.

Johnson promotes her time with the Jackson County prosecutor’s office early in her career.

“I am the only candidate in this race with felony prosecutorial experience and public safety administrative leadership experience as well,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she leads a city task force that works with businesses that have been plagued with public safety issues, finding them relief through numerous departments at City Hall.

Both candidates are critical of Baker, vowing to prosecute more property crimes and drug cases.

Johnson plans to form a property crimes division in the office, staffed in part by law students.

Chappell proposes satellite offices at police stations to work more collaboratively.

Focus on property crime

Baker has long emphasized that the prosecutor’s office can only file the cases it receives and that property crimes are notoriously difficult to solve.

In 2022, the Kansas City Police Department recorded 24,356 property crimes. Just 6.4% were sent to the prosecutor.

The same year, KCPD logged 7,587 violent crimes. Only 18% were sent to the prosecutor’s office.

“If they sent me another 1,000 property crimes a year I would do them,” Baker said. “I would file them. … It’s not because (police) are lazy or that they don’t care. It’s because they aren’t solving them.”

The prosecutor’s office is a check on police powers. A prosecutor has the discretion to decide whether evidence in a case supports a likely conviction.

In 2020, Baker began research that led her office to focus on drug cases with a connection to violent crime, declining to pursue charges in other, nonviolent cases.

Baker’s research showed a disproportionate number of nonfelony drug cases charging African American suspects (81% of buy-bust cases had a Black suspect, while the county is 39% Black).

Chappell and Johnson have vowed to charge more cases, even those without a tie to violence.

Most of the cases brought to the prosecutor’s office come from Kansas City police.

But the county also works with eastern Jackson County and law enforcement agencies from Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Blue Springs, Greenwood, Lake Lotawana, Levasy, Lone Jack, Sugar Creek and the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Most cases processed and tried by the prosecutor’s office are felonies.

Misdemeanors are managed through the Municipal Court by city prosecutors.

Kansas City has seen 122 homicides as of Oct. 21 this year, compared to 152 at the same time a year ago, with 14 of the cases currently in the prosecutor’s office, according to Kansas City police.

Black men were the victims in 79 cases and the suspects in 76, by far the highest demographic group affected. A firearm was used in 116 of the cases.

KCPD data also show a 68% clearance rate, meaning at least one person was arrested and the case turned over for prosecution.

Teenagers with guns

In early October, two men and two juveniles were taken into police custody after a series of armed robberies in parking lots behind Brookside businesses.

Charges against the men, for robbery and armed criminal action, came swiftly after police pieced together fraudulent use of a credit card, victim statements and surveillance footage.

The county’s Family Court handles juvenile cases.

But the prosecutor can play a role if the Family Court judge certifies a teenager to stand trial as an adult.

Chappell said she’s more qualified to take on crime by juveniles because she has represented teenagers in her defense work and understands the laws of the family court system.

She believes the next prosecutor needs to be willing to charge teenagers prosecuted after they have been certified as adults by the court.

Johnson has criticized “giving slaps on the wrist” to violent juveniles, arguing that disrespects their victims and also the young people.

“We’re selling them a dream that they can conduct themselves in this way, without consequence,” she said.

This will “fast-track their journey to either a jail cell or a morgue for the rest of their life,” she added.

Johnson has also said that her work with Kansas City police, through her job as the city’s public safety director, gives her an understanding of cases where the parents of juveniles who commit crimes need to be held accountable.

“I see incidents where parents can be proven to be complicit in the criminal conduct of their children, or are criminally negligent,” she said.

The adult charges in the Brookside robberies are only the latest incidents that also involve young people as suspects or victims.

Of the homicides reported by KCPD so far this year, 13 victims were younger than 18. Another 27 were 18 to 24 years of age.

Prosecutor candidates in Jackson County

Tracey Chappell

Chappell is from Alabama but moved to Kansas City in 1997 and later enrolled in law school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

She’s running as a Republican in a Democratic-leaning county.

She identifies as conservative and said she does not plan to vote for either Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris.

“But why bring national politics into something, into a local race?” she said.

Doing so, Chappell said of her opponents, is a “dog whistle” attempting to link her campaign to racially divisive comments made by Trump.

Chappell ran for Jackson County prosecutor in 2020 but was defeated handily by Baker.

Her platform includes a pledge of “safety for every ZIP code,” calling for prosecuting violent offenders and property crimes while protecting the rights of victims.

Chappell said that she has not tried to gain the endorsement of unions or other groups.

Melesa Johnson

Johnson grew up in the Oak Park neighborhood of Kansas City.

She often credits her single mother for working three jobs so Johnson could attend Bishop Miege High School.

Johnson graduated from Columbia University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Her law degree is from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

But it is her deep connections to Kansas City’s urban core that she often taps in forums, noting that she knows families who are fearful of their own neighborhoods because of rising gun violence.

She recently posed with Kevin Strickland, who was released after serving 43 years for murders that he didn’t commit.

She plans on invigorating the conviction integrity unit, if elected, running on a promise for “fairness, transparency, and accountability in our justice system.”

Johnson has been endorsed by numerous elected and civic leaders including Jackson County Executive Frank White, Kansas City Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw, Kansas City Council member Melissa Robinson, longtime area leader Alvin Brooks and the community group Southland Progress.

This article first appeared on Beacon: Kansas City and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: [email protected]. Follow Missouri Independent on Facebook and X.

Kansas might use STAR bonds to lure Chiefs and Royals. Here’s how they worked on other projects

by Blaise Mesa, Beacon: Kansas
June 18, 2024

Kansas could finance up to 70% of a Chiefs or Royals stadium under a new proposal to lure professional sports teams to the state. 

Kansas lawmakers have returned to Topeka for a special tax-cutting session and are expected to vote on a STAR bond proposal to finance a new stadium. 

STAR bonds, or sales tax and revenue bonds, pay for tourist attractions and then use the sales taxes collected at those attractions to pay off the construction debt. For stadiums, that means sales taxes on food, tickets or merchandise in that area are used to pay off the bulk of the debt instead of taxpayer dollars in the state general fund. 

That also means that sales tax dollars that might have otherwise paid for public services — including entertainment spending that shifts from an existing business to whatever a STAR bond financed — go to the project that’s financed with state help. Cities can opt out of offering their sales tax under the proposed bill.  

A Chiefs or Royals relocation from Missouri is marketed as a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican, said the new stadiums and surrounding entertainment districts would pay for themselves. 

“(Kansans are) not going to pay a dime unless they visit the district,” Tarwater said. 

But Kansas has a mixed record on STAR bond projects, and the state has never used them to subsidize an NFL or MLB team before.

How often does Kansas fail to pay off STAR bonds? 

A 2021 audit of the state’s STAR bond system found that some projects may need over 100 years to pay off their debt. But the Kansas Department of Commerce said almost 80% of STAR bonds projects are expected to pay off early — often in a few decades. 

The audit and a 2019 Kansas CIty Star article paint a bleak picture of STAR bonds, though, saying they are risky and used too often. 

The Prairiefire development in Overland Park — which has a museum, restaurants and shopping — defaulted on its bond just months ago. Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka closed down and is up for auction. The Schlitterbahn Water Park never recovered from the death of a then-legislator’s son on a waterslide and is another closed-down STAR bond project. 

“When everybody is talking about pie-in-the-sky dreams and all the different possibilities, you have to have an economist say, ‘Here’s what actually happens. Here are the facts.’ ... STAR bonds … simply do not work,” economist Michael Austin told lawmakers. 

The Kansas Speedway, opened in 2001, was the state’s first STAR bonds project. The original bond was for $24.3 million and has $10.6 million in outstanding debt, a 2023 report from the Department of Commerce said. 

Kansas has successfully funded some stadium projects through STAR bonds. 

Children’s Mercy Park, opened in 2011 and home of Sporting KC, was originally issued $150 million in bonds and paid off its debt early. 

Do any current STAR bonds projects compare to a Chiefs or Royals stadium district? 

In 2023, the Royals sold 1.3 million tickets and the Chiefs sold another 638,000. The Royals were a last-place team that year and poor play scared off some fans. The team sold 2.7 million regular-season tickets during its 2015 World Series run. 

A STAR bond district bringing in 2.7 million visitors is comparable to the Wichita River District, which had around 3 million visitors in 2018 and 2019. 

The river district is paying back a $55.3 million bond, while a Chiefs or Royals district could cost substantially more. 

The cost of any stadium is purely speculative, but the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium cost $1.9 billion when it opened in 2020. The new Texas Rangers stadium was $1.2 billion when it opened in 2020. That could mean around $1 billion or more for just a new Chiefs or Royals stadium. 

When the Royals asked Jackson County, Missouri, taxpayers to extend a sales tax to pay for a new downtown stadium earlier this year, that would have eaten up about $2 billion over 40 years to pay the principal and interest on construction costs. Half of that sales tax money would have gone to the Chiefs.

Tarwater, the Stilwell Republican, said he expects the stadium districts to draw far more than the river district. For starters, the stadiums could host concerts, college football playoff games or even March Madness Final Four visits. 

Tarwater said the Arizona Diamondbacks draw millions more people who aren’t at the game because of a district around the stadium. 

“You’re talking 70-80,000 people coming to a region several times a year,” he said. “That generates a lot of commerce.” 

Some STAR bonds districts also went under because the attraction closed. It’s been decades since a major American sports team went out of business.

How much power does the secretary of commerce have on these projects?

The Legislature is expected to vote on a STAR bonds proposal on Tuesday. But the Legislature doesn’t have the final say on how much is spent. That falls to the secretary for the Department of Commerce. 

Bob North, chief counsel for the Department of Commerce, said STAR bonds usually only fund 30% of the proposed projects. The department could authorize financing for 50% of the bonds, but it determines how much bond funding to use by looking at expected revenue. 

Kansas is one of few states using STAR bonds to fund projects. North said that gives the state an edge in economic development. 

Not only does it create new tourist attractions, he said, but it improves the economic well-being of the state. 

“We believe STAR bonds work,” he said. “Over time, that’s going to continue to be proven to be true.”

This article first appeared on Beacon: Kansas and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Lawmakers clarify some confusion to let more counties freeze property taxes for seniors

by Meg Cunningham, Beacon: Missouri
May 31, 2024

Missouri lawmakers gave counties a dose of much-needed clarity in May when they passed a bill aimed at clarifying a 2023 law that lets counties pass a senior property tax freeze, aimed at those 62 and older. 

The law passed last year gave counties the power to freeze property tax rates for Missourians who were eligible for Social Security. But the law left room for interpretation — and confusion. For instance, it didn’t include an outline for how counties should go about the freeze or who would qualify. 

Counties weren’t sure how to interpret “eligible for Social Security.” Did that mean 62 and older? What about people on pensions, like retired teachers or railroad workers? Were they out of luck? 

Some counties thought an annual application would be required, and others wanted to put a cap on home values eligible for the tax break. 

As a result, only the state’s larger counties have been bold enough to pass the freeze. Jackson, Platte and Clay counties passed the freeze in the Kansas City area, while St. Louis, St. Charles and Greene counties have passed the freeze in other parts of the state.

In the meantime, smaller counties took a wait-and-see approach — seeing what the General Assembly might yet do and measuring the potential impact on what a freeze would mean for  libraries and school and fire districts. 

Lawmakers answered some of those questions this year with a bill sponsored by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Platte County Republican who backed the original bill giving counties the power to freeze rates for seniors. 

They also conceded that the freeze law would likely need future updates. But Luetkemeyer, pointing to legislative gridlock, suggested that lawmakers delay making more changes to the bill because it was already so far along in the process. 

The clarification bill has yet to be signed by Gov. Mike Parson. 

What answers does the bill provide for Missouri’s senior tax freeze?

Counties were largely unsure which property owners could qualify for the freeze. Initially, the bill said that Missourians eligible for Social Security would be able to receive the freeze.  

But counties were afraid to open themselves up to lawsuits depending on how they interpreted that language. So lawmakers clarified that part of the bill by changing the language to Missourians 62 and older. 

The senior property tax freeze came amid property tax assessments that shocked many Missourians. The 2024 bill also clarified that the freeze wouldn’t work in reverse. If the assessed value of property dropped, so would the tax bill even if the owner had benefited from the freeze. 

The bill also makes clear homeowners who are behind on their property taxes won’t be eligible for the freeze until they catch up payments. It also clarifies that if homeowners make improvements that raise the assessed value of their home, their rate will be increased to reflect those improvements. 

Previous language also allowed for county residents to petition to pass the freeze if local officials don’t enact it. The new bill would let counties go back and tweak their programs without voter approval. 

It also gives counties full control over how to tailor their property tax freezes. 

This article first appeared on Beacon: Missouri and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.