Platte County Officials reach agreement with STC

PLATTE COUNTY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- On Tuesday, Platte County Clerk Jera Pruitt and the Board of Equalization chair Lee Ann Fadler signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Missouri State Tax Commission (STC) to finalize a negotiated agreement to raise residential property taxes.

In the STC's original mandated order, Platte County residents would have seen a 15% increase across the board.

Now, all 2024 residential property values will be raised by 6.835%. The new increase aligns more with actual home price increases, which were roughly 7.75% per year from 2019 through 2024.

"This agreement is a clear victory for Platte County taxpayers, as it substantially reduces the financial impact of the STC's initial directive," Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker said. "With very little leverage and very little time, we were able to secure a better deal for Platte County taxpayers that reflects more realistic property value increases."

The imposed valuation increase circumvents the traditional data-driven assessment process used by Missouri assessors for decades, replacing it with valuations dictated by the STC, which impact property owners regardless of the actual increase in individual property values.

Fricker and the County Commission, with the support of other county officials and the Board of Education, engaged outside counsel and led negotiations with the STC to arrive at this arrangement.