06/20/2026
COVERING PLATTE COUNTY: The Platte County Assessor's Office held the first educational session in a series of four Wednesday in front of dozens of taxpayers in Platte City.
Carrie Haskey, the sales validation and education coordinator in the Platte County Assessor's Office, and Platte County Assessor Marcus Farr gave a presentation and answered questions from residents.
The meeting room at a Mid-Continent Public Library branch reached capacity, and library employees stood at the doors to prevent people from entering. Several people stood outside the room's glass windows to watch the presentation.
The meeting comes as the assessor's office has mailed another round of letters to Platte County taxpayers. The letters notified property owners that their assessed valuations are projected to increase by more than 15% during the 2027 reassessment cycle.
The letters do not impact this year's assessments or tax bills. 2026 is not a reassessment year, meaning the assessor does not assess properties unless there has been new construction or improvements made to the property. Most homes will retain the assessed valuation shown on their 2025 tax bill.
The letters are intended to give residents a preview of possible changes to assessments for 2027. The values included in the letters or available online are not final.
The reassessment values will not be finalized until early 2027, when the assessor's office completes the reassessment process and sends out final notices.
Missouri requires counties to reassess property values every odd-numbered year to reflect changes in market conditions.
About 27,900 of the 35,900 residential parcels in the county were projected to increase in assessed value, according to preliminary numbers released in December. Roughly 900 parcels were projected to see an increase of less than 1%, while 14,000 parcels could see an increase of less than 15%. Roughly 13,000 parcels were projected to increase by more than 15%.
It is unclear if those numbers have changed since December.
Under Missouri law, the assessor is required to conduct a "physical inspection" of residential real estate before increasing a property's assessed valuation by 15% or more. The law requires an on-site observation and review of the exterior of buildings on the property by the assessor's office. A drive-by inspection does not meet the requirement under the law.
If a physical inspection is required, the property owner may request that an interior inspection be performed during the physical inspection. An interior inspection is not required by law.
Farr said state law allows the assessor's office to enter properties for inspections, but his office would respect property owners who do not want staff to come on-site.
"If you say, ‘Stay off my property,’ I’ll document it and make that happen," Farr said.
The letters explain how homeowners can request an interior inspection and include a QR code for owners to submit interior or exterior photos to the assessor.
Many people at Wednesday's meeting wanted to know how the 2027 reassessments would impact senior citizens enrolled in the Senior Property Tax Credit program.
"Your credit will absorb the new amount for the reassessment," Haskey said. "Your taxes won't go up."
Other county officials have said the new assessed values will not affect property taxes for seniors enrolled in the program.
Platte County is also working to implement a separate tax credit program to limit annual property tax increases for eligible taxpayers. Voters overwhelmingly approved the program, known as the Homestead Property Tax Credit, in April.
Platte County residents who own and live in their primary residence and are responsible for paying property taxes on that home would be eligible for the program.
Three additional educational sessions will be held in July and August at other Mid-Continent Public Library branches in the county.
