property taxes Archives

Brattin and Kinney running to replace State Senator Emery in western Missouri

November 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(News director Andrew Pitkin at Missourinet Nevada affiliate KNEM contributed to this story)

Two familiar names are hoping to replace term-limited State Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, in rural western Missouri. Emery is being forced out of the Legislature by term limits, after serving 16 years, eight in each chamber.

State Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on February 19, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Jonathan Lorenz at Senate Communications)

Emery chaired the Senate Government Reform Committee.

Former State Rep. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, served in the Missouri House from 2011-2018, before being forced out of that chamber by term limits.

One of the issues he’s championed and filed in recent years is legislation to authorize a property tax exemption for people who have owned real property for thirty years and those who have owned personal property for ten years. Real property is land and homes.

Brattin’s bill has never gained much traction, due to opposition from education groups worried about school funding. Brattin says Missourians pay for personal property or real property taxes forever.

Brattin’s Democratic opponent is former Sweet Springs Mayor Raymond Kinney, who lives in Raymore. Kinney grew up in the small town of Cleveland, Missouri, south of Kansas City.

One of his top priorities is assisting small, rural towns with infrastructure. He says rural Missouri towns are struggling to keep up with roads, water lines, as well as police and fire protection.

Kinney notes that in many small towns, the income level is low, resulting in low tax dollars. He says before focusing on high-profile issues, attention must be given to the infrastructural backbone of our communities.

Missouri’s 31st senatorial district covers five rural counties: Barton, Bates, Cass, Henry and Vernon. The district has been Republican. The late State Sen. Harold Caskey, D-Butler, held it for years. Then-State Sen. Chris Koster, D-Harrisonville, also held the seat, although he was elected to that seat as a Republican and later switched parties.

Towns in the district include Lamar, Harrisonville, Butler, Clinton and Nevada. Agriculture is one of the largest industries in the district.

Missouri House committee worries about rising property taxes for seniors (AUDIO)

November 21, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Republicans and Democrats who serve on a Missouri House interim committee studying local taxation expressed concern about rising property taxes for senior citizens, during a Wednesday hearing in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Oversight of Local Taxation Chairman J. Eggleston (right), R-Maysville, speaks on November 20, 2019, as committee vice chair Rep. Mike McGirl, R-Potosi, and State Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, look on (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, who serves on the House Special Interim Committee on Oversight of Local Taxation, also wants to protect those on fixed incomes.

“Even though you may buy a home, pay the loan off in 30 years, you still never own that home because if you don’t pay your (property) taxes, the state can come in or the county will come in and take your home,” Taylor tells committee members.

Taylor describes that as “thievery.” He says elderly residents have paid their homes off and that it’s difficult for them to pay their property taxes.

There is bipartisan support on the committee on the issue. State Rep. Barbara Washington, D-Kansas City, says it’s difficult for seniors in her district to pay increasing property taxes.

“We have to protect those people that are older so that they don’t lose their homes,” Washington tells the committee.

She also says abatement is an issue in her Jackson County district.

State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis County, echoes Representative Washington’s concerns. Murphy says Missouri’s property tax assessment system isn’t fair. Murphy and Washington both note a $2 million Missouri home was valued at $190,000.

Committee Chairman J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, agrees. He says many seniors don’t have the ability to pay higher property taxes.

The committee held its final hearing of 2019 on Wednesday at the Statehouse. They also held four previous hearings during the interim.

The committee also discussed property tax increases in Jackson County. Eggleston showed a map to the committee, saying Jackson County has seen major increases. Washington says that’s because assessments hadn’t been done properly before the current Jackson County Assessor, former House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, took the position.

Chairman Eggleston notes that the St. Louis City and Jackson County assessors are the only two assessors in Missouri that are not elected. He says state lawmakers “carved out” an exemption for them in 2010.

Eggleston supports making those two posts elected positions, saying the same rules should apply to all Missourians. He tells Missourinet he’ll file legislation in January, to try to put the issue on the statewide ballot. Eggleston says that, if lawmakers approve it, the measure would go to a statewide vote, because it would change the state Constitution.

“So I’m looking to put forward an HJR (House Joint Resolution) to put it back on the ballot to include those two assessors as well,” Eggleston says.

If state lawmakers approve the measure, it would be placed on the August or November 2020 statewide ballot.

Chairman Eggleston also delivered a presentation to the committee Wednesday about Wayfair, which involves an internet use tax.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with House Special Interim Committee on Oversight of Local Taxation Chairman J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, which was recorded on November 20, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City: