Clay County’s assessor and appraisal staff told the county commission Thursday that a surge in local home sale prices over the last decade left the county’s assessments well below market value and required corrective action under state rules.

"I was elected in 2020 by the citizens of Clay County to be the next assessor," Tracy Baldwin said in opening remarks. Baldwin described the assessor’s statutory duty to value property “at a fair and equitable value” and reviewed the office’s outreach and appeal processes.

Lucas Wallingford, the assessor’s attorney, explained that Missouri law and the State Tax Commission require counties to keep assessed values near market value and that the State Tax Commission measures compliance using sales-ratio studies. Wallingford said counties are expected to be within 90% to 110% of fair market value; a county that falls outside that range can be required to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the commission and risks loss of state funding if it fails to follow the MOU.

Joe Mezzacaza, chief appraiser, described mass appraisal methods and the county’s inspection practice. Mezzacaza said the law requires an on-site inspection before increasing an individual property by more than 15% in a cycle: "The statute actually states that the assessment office can't increase properties [to] market value by more than 15% without performing a physical on-site inspection of the property and giving the homeowner the right to request an interior inspection if they want one," he said.

Staff and the commission reviewed recent numbers: Baldwin said Clay County’s total assessed volume stood at roughly $6.6 billion and that the county’s sales-ratio study had fallen to about 79% of market value during the most recent study period, triggering an MOU with the State Tax Commission. Baldwin said the assessor’s office followed the MOU and was on track to regain compliance. She said the office sends change-of-value notices early (about April 1) and provides an informal hearing period before appeals go to the Board of Equalization.

Office statistics cited at the meeting included roughly 90,000 change-of-value notices mailed for 2025, 1,059 informal appeals filed, and 472 of those appeals receiving adjustments (587 received no change). Baldwin and Mezzacaza said about 13,857 residential parcels experienced increases greater than 15% in the current cycle, but that 6,131 of those were attributed to new construction or permitted improvements; that left approximately 7,000 parcels with increases over 15% that were not explained by new construction.

The assessor also explained funding and staffing: the office receives a State Tax Commission contribution (about $3.30 per parcel) and a portion of tax collections and currently pays its own bills; Baldwin warned the commission that failure to follow the MOU could trigger loss of STC funding and require the county general fund to backfill the assessor’s budget.

The county auditor, Victor Hilbert, provided a fiscal primer on how reassessment interacts with levies and the Hancock Amendment’s rollback provisions. Hilbert noted that an aggregate increase in assessed valuation does not automatically increase local government revenue beyond the Hancock cap; instead, levies typically roll back so the political subdivisions receive only the permitted inflationary increase (whichever is less) unless voters approve higher levies.

Commissioners asked for more public explanation materials and for clear guidance on appeal steps. Baldwin and staff said the office posts FAQs and videos on the assessor page of the county website and reiterated that citizens can request interior inspections, meet staff during the informal review period, or appeal to the county Board of Equalization.