JEFFERSON CITY — Residents of Platte County discovered unwelcome news over the weekend and were frustrated to learn that it was too late to do anything about it. A number of notices of increased property tax assessments were mailed by the Platte County Assessor’s office last week, barely meeting the legal deadline of June 15.
Many property owners did not receive the bad news until Saturday, too late to prepare an appeal prior to the June 17 deadline. State law says appeals must be filed by the third Monday in June, which came unusually early in 2019.
Monday evening, State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, faulted county officials for failing to anticipate the quirk in this year’s calendar. That same day, the County Assessor’s office announced that the deadline for appeals will be extended until June 30.
“I’m happy that the Platte County Assessor and Board of Equalization are granting extensions,” Sen. Luetkemeyer said. “It’s not the taxpayers’ fault that the third Monday comes just hours after the deadline for notices.”
Dagmar Wood, Platte County First District Commissioner, echoes the senator’s view that extending deadlines was proper. “The law allows discretion and flexibility, and the board made the right decision to provide property owners additional time to appeal the assessor’s decisions,” Wood said.
The senator says he may look into a possible legislative fix so that similar conflicts can be avoided in the future. “My office is already looking into possible solutions for next session to ensure taxpayers are protected and have adequate time to challenge their tax assessments.”
For more information about Sen. Luetkemeyer, visit www.senate.mo.gov/luetkemeyer.