KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers local government and politics. He has followed Jackson County's assessment issues since 2023. Share your story idea with Charlie.
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The Missouri state auditor called Jackson County’s 2023 property assessment process a “catastrophic failure” and gave the assessment department a “poor” rating in its final audit released Friday.
The audit’s ranking aligns with a “citizen’s summary” Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released in April.
The 2023 assessment process led to a record number of appeals, lawsuits, intervention from the State Tax Commission, and ultimately a 3-year tax credit program where affected property owners will receive discounts on future tax bills for taxes they overpaid in 2023 and 2024.
The final audit squarely places blame for the issues on former Director of Assessment Gail McCann Beatty. She was fired from the county in November 2025 and filed a wrongful termination lawsuit the following month.
The audit said the process was “flawed from the outset.” It highlights several mistakes the assessment department made.
- The assessment department did not follow new state laws enacted in 2020 which require assessors to consider percentage increases when using a computer-assisted mass appraisal system, which Jackson County did use with the help of Tyler Technologies.’
- Delays in issuing and implementing the $18 million contract with Tyler Technologies reduced the time Jackson County had to complete the process.
- The assessment department did not reconsider its approach even though it should have known it would not be able to provide notice to property owners as required by law.
- Roughly 200,000 property owners were not given sufficient notice of an increase in assessed value over 15% and their right to request an interior inspection.
- 49,701 notices were mailed after the state-issued deadline
- Estimate 50,000 physical inspections were done remotely
- County leaders required multiple subpoenas to comply with requests relating to the audit
The auditor held a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Friday. You can watch it in the video player below.
In a response including in the audit, County Executive Phil LeVota wrote “problems existed” before he took over in October 2025.
LeVota said addressing the deficiencies is a top priority, “Jackson County will continue working to strengthen its assessment operations, protect the interests of taxpayers, and ensure that the lessons of this period result in lasting improvements for our residents.”
The audit is important because the county will launch another round of assessments in 2027.
Fitzpatrick is up for reelection as Missouri State Auditor on Tuesday facing Democratic challenger Quentin Wilson and Libertarian Dustin Coffell.
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