Long, cold lines worsen in Jackson County to pay personal property taxes
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INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Presented with hurdles to paying taxes, some Jackson County residents describe their double-dip of frustration while trying to pay personal property taxes.
FOX4 has reported on the issue for months but long lines have re-intensified at the county’s lone assessor’s office at the Historic Jackson County Courthouse in Independence.
Last week the Jackson County Administrator Troy Schulte shared plans to hire more people to alleviate these issue, but the timeline was more into April. It is a goal, but it is also unclear when assessment issues will again be handled downtown.
Until then, people are stuck waiting in the cold, many waiting hours for their turn.
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“So I thought ‘Hey, come early. Come around six. That shouldn’t be too bad.’ That was a joke,” Jamie Martin said with a laugh, standing outside of the courthouse.
“And you can sign in on your phone but that’s finicky. And you’ve got to wait until 8 o’clock to do that. And, heaven forbid, that doesn’t even work,” Martin said.
Another person trying to resolve his paperwork is Kevin Bryce. He said the texting waiting line only returns responses that the office is closed.
He abandoned the physical line after making it inside.
“Finally a security guard announces ‘Just so everyone knows, if you’re near the door you’ve got about another five hour wait just to get to the desk to check in,'” Bryce said.
“Not only am I not willing to do this. I’m also incapable,” he said.
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“We have a child who needs to get picked up at 12:30, a child who needs to get picked up at 3:30. And it’s like, let alone work or my wife needing to get groceries, like, I can’t stay here all day,” Bryce said, mentioning that they are currently a one-car home.
Jackson County Legislators Manny Abarca and Sean Smith visited the line Tuesday morning and blamed the issue on the county executive.
“We have to change and one option is to get rid of the people that have screwed this up,” Smith said.
“This doesn’t happen in any other county,” Abarca said. “The assessor manages this department. They’ve made a decision to consolidate in Independence and then close the line at noon. These are decisions they’ve made and we have to hold them accountable for that.”
No response back from the county executive’s office when FOX4 asked for an update on Tuesday to their timeline to add staff and reopen services downtown.
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“This is sad. I’m in the snow. Probably going to catch the flu for a piece of paper? So I can get my car registered so I can drive? Are you serious right now?” Martin said.
