MORE DOCUMENTATION, ADDITIONAL VERIFICATION SUGGESTED
Following the release of the 2025 Platte County Senior Citizen Tax Relief Program, Platte County Auditor Kevin Robinson said, “A thorough review of the program’s administration is recommended to ensure the accuracy of applicant’s information and all requirements are met before presenting to the commission for approval.”
On Aug. 28, 2024, Missouri Senate Bill 756 revised SB190, signed into law on July 6, 2023, created a tax credit frequently referred to as a “tax freeze” to include eligible Missouri residents. “The audit report released today, focuses on the implementation and certain risks associated with providing property tax credits,” Robinson said in a news release this week.
Robinson said this audit report evaluated potential risk and exposure in the development of a tax relief program designed to provide taxation relief to eligible Platte County citizens. This report focuses on the application process and required elements established by the state legislation and adopted by the county commission.
Robinson further stated: “The tax relief program requires revisions to include the additional considerations included in this report to demonstrate compliance with legislative requirements, and the county must take reasonable steps to qualify applicants and protect the interests of the taxing districts.”
The report demonstrates the tax relief program as approved by the county commission does not require all supporting documentation to be collected and verified to demonstrate program eligibility.
Following the first list of approved applications, Robinson recommends the program be amended to include requirements to prove eligibility for the program as a citizen in good standing with all local taxes paid, no protests, no delinquencies for real, personal and business taxes, and in certain cases valid proof of residency.
Robinson further recommends the approval process be revised to include the assessor’s verification of the parcel homestead and other improvements prior to presenting the application for commission approval. As is, if the assessor found a discrepancy in the address or owner, the commission approved application would be rejected and potentially denied.
Scott Fricker, presiding county commissioner, seemed surprised by Robinson’s audit of the program.
Fricker called the audit report “premature.”
“He’s auditing a program with many moving parts that hasn’t even been fully designed and implemented. This is a brand new law that has significant flaws. So as expected, we have made mistakes. But until we’re finished, there really isn’t anything to audit,” Fricker said this week after reading Robinson’s report.
The county clerk’s office has received more than 6,000 applications for the senior tax freeze program, which Fricker said puts “incredible pressure” on the county clerk’s staff.
“The mechanics involved in reviewing and approving applications is much more complicated than we anticipated. And one of the most important people in this process, county assessor David Cox, has been completely unavailable and unwilling to participate, making this task almost impossible,” Fricker said in an emailed statement.
“Because of the intense pressure that rapidly increasing property taxes are putting on Platte County seniors, we are committed to this project. And we will continue to work diligently to put together a senior tax freeze program that is successful and that will withstand scrutiny,” Fricker added.
