Clay County commission denies request to waive penalties after taxpayer cites mail, bankruptcy issues

Brandy Page, a Clay County resident who asked the commission to waive penalties and interest related to a missed personal property reassessment, spoke at the board’s Feb. 20 meeting and asked for leniency after what she described as a year-and-a-half of missed communications with county staff. The commission voted 5-0 to deny the request.

Page told commissioners she moved into Clay County in October 2021, paid the first year’s charges and believed her accounts had transferred. She said she did not receive reassessment notices after a spring 2023 move and that her emails and phone messages to county staff went unanswered. “I never received any … correspondence for me to reassess my vehicle,” Page said. She said she finally completed required reassessment paperwork on Dec. 3, 2024, after finding a chat option on the county website and that a subsequent bankruptcy discharge led staff to backdate some amounts.

The county collector, Barbara O’Reilly, told the commission staff had taken penalties and interest back to the date of the taxpayer’s bankruptcy so there was no assessed late-penalty amount for 2024; the remaining amounts sought by Page relate to assessment penalties for 2023 and earlier. “The penalties and interest were taken back to the date of the bankruptcy,” O’Reilly said.

County Assessor Tracy Baldwin said the assessor’s office had no record of more recent, completed change-of-address notification before December 2024 and that the office had sent assessment notices to Page’s prior address. Baldwin confirmed an account was opened in 2022. “We did send the assessment form to her previous address, and we were not notified by the taxpayer that she had moved,” Baldwin said.

Commissioners discussed whether the record showed a county error that would allow them to legally waive penalties and interest under Missouri law. Several commissioners said state law treats Missouri as a self-reporting jurisdiction for personal property, so relief is permitted only if the county is at fault. “Unless we can prove an error made on behalf of the county, it’s hard — the state law doesn't allow us to refund, waive penalties and interest,” Commissioner Lawson said.

After questions and further discussion about email records and whether a county employee named Amanda Reeves had previously worked with Page, Commissioner Wagner moved to deny the waiver request. The motion passed on a roll-call vote, 5-0 (Commissioners Wagner, Wellington, Lawson, Johnson and Carpenter voting yes). The commission did not adopt any additional relief beyond amounts already adjusted by staff.

The denial leaves Page responsible for the assessment penalties shown for 2023 and any related interest not adjusted by staff. The commission took no further action; Page said she appreciated the commission’s time and urged improved communication between staff and taxpayers.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 20 25 52 — request to waive fees, interest and taxes for applicant Brandy Page — motion to deny approved 5-0.