EDITOR:
In an article of Jan. 8, 2026, The Landmark Newspaper reported on the public fight between officeholders over the drastic cuts to the county budget. Eric Zahnd went so far as to demand his contribution back from Presiding County Commissioner Scott Fricker, stating that the change to the budget would significantly impact law enforcement and that Fricker’s claims to back the blue were empty and false.
Sheriff Erik Holland was concerned that the recommended cost of living increase was under the actual rate of inflation. Meaning their officers would struggle and the department would, once again, face significant and costly turnover. That turnover could adversely affect the safety of our citizens.
What was only very briefly mentioned was the cause of this tightened budget: the tax cuts enacted by the same commissioners and the previous property value assessments the state tax board found to be inappropriate. The State Board of Taxation recommended a 15% increase across the board. The county made a negotiated settlement to increase property taxes across the board by 6%. While we can all applaud the county board’s effort, we cannot ignore how we got here.
It was reported that the Platte County Board of Equalization (BOE) had been giving out apparent “friends and family” discounts on property values. Some of the commercial properties saw zero increases over a decade despite the rising value of property in a county seeing the fastest population growth in the metro. Others with private property saw increases so minimal they were not even in the realm of their neighbors who were seeing 11-14% increases.
Some of these assessments were so far decreased by the BOE they resulted in a negative. It was beyond comprehension that these could be the result of any effective assessment or real depreciation of property.
All this, coupled with routine under assessments in general, created such a shortfall that Park Hill School District had to ask for a review and the state board of taxation recommended the 15% increase to property tax. Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker accused the school board of being “greedy” and insisted he was protecting Platte County taxpayers. The same argument he is using against the county prosecutor and the sheriff.
As prosecutor Eric Zahnd suggested, the voters were being hoodwinked. I read with some amusement that Presiding Commissioner Fricker claimed to not be influenced by donors then suggested Prosecutor Zahnd owed him some kind of loyalty for giving his department better digs at the county office. The irony was rampant.
Commissioner Fricker claimed to be protecting Platte County taxpayers. It’s clear he was interested in helping some taxpayers more than others. Simple math tells you that, under the agreement with the State Board of Taxation, the people who had 0% assessments from a favorable Board of Equalization and had to take a 6% increase would only have to pay 6% (0+6=6). The regular folks without that same relationship, who had seen a standard 14% increase, would now be paying 20% more.
When you multiply that across a decade and add the unprecedented tax and funding cuts at the state and federal level, it was clear what was going to happen: This unequal and unfair taxation would create a funding shortfall and leave the average taxpayer in Platte County carrying the water. That funding shortfall was not going to just affect education, healthcare and social services that Commissioner Fricker et al deemed “woke,” but law enforcement and every day services Platte County citizens depend on.
Meanwhile, the Platte County Salary Commission voted to give the commissioners an unprecedented 30% increase in salary. The commissioners opposed it as a formality. It might be true that the commissioners had not had a raise in years, but it is interesting they were not willing to take the same year over year COLA they were offering the sheriff’s department while claiming a $600,000 cut to that part of the recommended budget from the auditor.
Commissioner Fricker, incensed that Auditor Kevin Robinson had invited Prosecutor Zahnd and Sheriff Holland to speak, told Robinson to get back in his lane. Then told educators, social services, law enforcement and Average Joes without connections to suck it up. I’m paraphrasing, of course.
In an election year, that seems pretty cheeky. Maybe it’s time for voters to demand their own break from this crazy management of the county and get a new commissioner. It is time to say, “Frick, no!”
--Kat Henry
Platte County 
