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Jackson County Voters Approve Elected Assessor in Landslide as Interim Leader Prepares Tax Relief Update

The change ends Jackson County’s status as Missouri’s lone county with an appointed assessor.

Overview

  • More than 88% of voters backed making the county assessor an elected post, with the first election scheduled for November 2028.
  • Interim County Executive Phil LeVota set a 1 p.m. news conference to detail property tax relief, including a plan to cap commercial assessment increases at 15% for properties under $5 million and to correct prior over-threshold hikes without requiring applications.
  • Missouri House Speaker Jonathan Patterson confirmed a statewide constitutional amendment on electing assessors in charter counties will appear on the November 2026 ballot.
  • The vote follows years of backlash to assessment practices, including blanket near-15% hikes in 2019 and average increases of about 30% in 2023, which drove record appeals and the September recall of County Executive Frank White Jr.
  • Former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued Jackson County and contractor Tyler Technologies in 2023 over alleged illegal actions tied to the sharp assessment increases.