To the Taxpayers of Platte County:
For the past several weeks, public discussions regarding the Platte County Homestead Tax Credit program have been circulating around the news, social media, the campaign trail and the Platte County Commission chambers. Some of what has been disseminated from a few elected officials and candidates for office has been misleading and disingenuous to taxpayers. I fear that the Homestead Tax Credit program has turned into a political football to score some soundbites on the campaign trail or prop up some agendas within Platte County government.
Much like the Senior Tax Credit program, the role of the collector’s office in the Homestead Tax Credit program is to place any eligible credit amount on the annual tax statement for the primary residence. The eligible primary residences for the Homestead Tax Credit have been determined by the county administrator and the county commission. The collector’s office does NOT determine who is eligible or how much, if any, credit is allowed. The Platte County Commission is the governing body that authorizes such credits.
In June of 2026, discussions were held at the county regarding how and if the Homestead Tax Credit program can be implemented to impact taxpayers for the year 2026. As was discussed at that meeting, the vendor that was used for the billing, collecting, and distribution of property taxes for the collector’s office informed the commission that programming changes to implement the credit could not be completed this year.
The commission was aware of this, but moved ahead with drafting and implementing the Homestead Tax Credit program. While no one can argue that meaningful tax relief is needed for Platte County taxpayers, passing an ordinance with no formalized way to give taxpayers this relief was rushed. For context, planning meetings for Senate Bill 190, the Senior Tax Credit, went on for more than two years with heavy involvement from a special attorney and the Senate Bill 190 committee. The Homestead Credit is far more complex than the Senior Credit program.
The County Commission and County Administrator seem to think that a simple Excel spreadsheet will accomplish the daunting task of applying the credits to the tax statements. However, an Excel spreadsheet is not a viable way to implement this complex program. While a spreadsheet can be used to ‘run the numbers’ once the assessments and tax rates are known, a spreadsheet does not allow for tax credits to be placed on the tax statements nor does it allow for the taxes collected to be distributed effectively and efficiently for the tax entities that levy those taxes. The level of complexity with issuing and/or calculating tax bills far exceeds the capabilities of an Excel spreadsheet. My office has always worked to make sure taxes collected are accurately accounted for and disbursed back into our communities so that we as citizens can benefit from the services they provide.
Notifying impacted elected officials of a new tax credit program through press releases and comments at the end of a commission session instead of having engaged meetings, undermines public trust and shows the commission’s political agenda.
As with what they did for the Senior Tax Relief program, my office stands ready for the commission to contract with the existing software vendors and work on a plan to implement the order they passed for this year. Going into this, they were aware that changes and implementation could not be completed until 2027. Despite this, they forged ahead and instead of being truthful with the taxpayers, they seek to place blame on other officeholders and staff within Platte County.
Neither the collector nor any employee from the collector’s office has ever:
1. Refused to support the Homestead Tax Credit order.
2. Dragged their feet or slow-walked this program.
3. Refused to participate in this process.
In fact, the collector and staff of the collector’s office have always been up front with the commission regarding what is needed to make this program work. The commission was in fact the body that didn’t want to hear the concerns or take action to get the tools and resources in place this year. They were more concerned with pats on the back and scoring political points with passing the order, and now they choose to pass the buck and place blame for their shortsightedness.
As always, the Platte County Collector’s Office stands ready to assist the taxpayers and taxing entities.
Sheila L. Palmer, Platte County Collector of Revenue
