Jackson County officials on Friday mailed 73,000 corrected personal property-tax bills and gave all citizens until Jan. 31 to pay taxes on vehicles.

The new vehicle-tax bills replace erroneous ones sent on 118,000 vehicles. The one-month extension of the Dec. 31 deadline will apply only to property taxes for vehicles -- not to real estate or business personal property taxes.

People who do not receive adjusted bills by Jan. 10 had correct amounts on their previous bills and should pay them, said Bob Boley, county assessment director. Anyone who receives a corrected bill and still has questions, county officials said, should call (816) 881-3232 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Anyone who already paid an erroneous tax bill will get a refund for the difference, Boley said.

The flawed tax statements resulted from miscalculations of vehicles' worth. This year Jackson County expanded its tables to be more precise in description and valuation of vehicles.

In many cases, the descriptions were returned incomplete. Also, new computer software to prepare for Y2K problems didn't work properly with the new tables and caused statements to be wrong.

Kansas City Star

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Answers

Jackson County tax-bill error results in refunds

Jackson County tax-bill error results in refunds

By GLENN E. RICE - The Kansas City Star
Date: 01/16/01 22:15

Jackson County expects to refund more than $450,000 to some taxpayers who paid erroneous tax bills, officials said Tuesday.

Those refunds represent almost 11,000 accounts that were incorrect. So far, the county has mailed about 1,500 refunds. Anyone who already paid an incorrect tax bill will get a refund for the difference, said County Executive Katheryn Shields.

In November officials said that the owners of more than 118,000 vehicles received incorrect personal property tax statements.

New tax statements have been mailed. All taxpayers have until Jan. 31 to pay their personal property taxes.

Almost all of the corrected tax statements have been mailed, Shields told county legislators Tuesday.

Taxpayers who did not receive an adjusted bill by Jan. 10 had the correct amount on their bill.

The flawed tax statements were the result of miscalculations of the value of vehicles. This year Jackson County expanded its tables to be more precise in the description and valuation of vehicles, county officials said.

In most cases the descriptions were returned incomplete. Also, new computer software to prepare for potential Y2K problems did not work properly with the new tables and caused statements to be wrong.

Kansas City Star

Thousands of Jackson County property tax statements incorrect

GICC archives

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001

Jackson County fires its assessment director

By GLENN E. RICE - The Kansas City Star
Date: 01/22/01 22:15

Jackson County has fired assessment director Bob Boley, County Executive Katheryn Shields said Monday.

Shields said problems in the county's assessment department, which led to thousands of county residents receiving incorrect tax statements, prompted Boley's dismissal late Friday.

"Boley never came to believe that the problems with the tax bills were with his department," Shields said. "We wanted to ensure that those problems ... didn't happen in the future."

Boley, who worked for the county for about 10 years, declined to comment. He is the immediate past president of the International Association of Assessing Officers, an organization with nearly 8,500 members.

In November, officials said owners of more than 118,000 vehicles had received incorrect personal property tax statements. New statements have been mailed, and vehicle owners have until Jan. 31 to pay their personal property taxes.

Taxpayers who did not receive adjusted statements by Jan. 10 were correctly billed. Last week, county officials said they expected to refund more than $450,000 to some taxpayers who had paid erroneous tax bills.

Shields said Boley had failed to properly test a new software package that officials had used to determine vehicle valuations. Boley, who earned $71,000 annually, also failed to have his staff correct inaccurate tax statements before they were mailed to taxpayers, she said.

"Boley did not know how to instill ... a sense of responsibility when the errors occurred," Shields said. "He was given many opportunities to redeem himself, but I didn't think that ever occurred."

Shields said she had identified a person to replace Boley, but the contract details have not been completed.

Victor Callahan, chairman of the Legislature, said he agreed that a change in the assessment department was needed but that Shields should be held responsible for thousands of incorrect tax statements being mailed.

"There are problems in that department that are unacceptable," Callahan said. "If that involved a personnel decision, it is Shields' to make, but that should have been addressed months ago."

The flawed tax statements were the result of miscalculations of the value of vehicles. This year Jackson County expanded its tables to be more precise in the description and valuation of vehicles.

In most cases, the descriptions were returned incomplete. Also, new computer software designed to address potential Y2K problems did not work properly with the new tables, causing statements to be wrong.

Boley had said earlier that officials had recognized some problems with the billing system but did not believe the errors were widespread.

Kansas City Star

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001