HERMANN – When the Gasconade County Board of Equalization met July 20 to hear appeals of assessed valuations from property owners, County Assessor Julia Baker had a brief and simple message: “We have nothing to present this year.”

Indeed, for the third consecutive year there were no property owners questioning the values placed on their properties by the county assessor. That very well might not be the case next year and for several years to come.

As a first-term elected county government official, Baker finds herself in an awkward position – at odds with the state agency that oversees the work of county assessors. The state department is not pleased with what it has seen over the years in Gasconade County, and many other rural counties in Missouri, for that matter. As a result, the Missouri State Tax Commission is prepared to come into Gasconade County and set what likely would be substantially higher values on property, especially real estate.

Baker doesn’t want that, so she is taking steps to keep the state agency at bay while she works to increase assessed valuations to a level closer to what the State Tax Commission (STC) says they should be. Given the current level of assessed valuation, she has quite a ways to go. The question is whether the STC will have enough patience for Baker to reach that level without making the leap in one fell swoop, which certainly would mean a crowded Board of Equalization hearing room once those new property values are determined.

(Consider this: In 2025, a reassessment year, new property values in Jackson County – which includes Kansas City – resulted in 35,000 appeals being filed with that county’s BOE. Granted, Gasconade County is only a fraction the size of Jackson County, but a major increase in assessed value could produce hundreds of appeals, each of which would have to be dealt with by this county’s BOE.)

During a Gasconade County Commission session earlier this summer, Baker described a meeting she had with the STC.

“That went as I expected it to go,” she said.

The meeting was held to talk about the assessor’s efforts to increase property values closer to the fair market value of real estate. That is the sticking point for the STC, which says the property in a county should have an assessed valuation of between 90 percent and 95 percent of fair market value. How far from that range are the values in Gasconade County? Pretty far. Last year, a reassessment year, then-Assessor Paul Schulte told the County Commission the level was about 75 percent of fair market value. This year, according to Baker’s calculations, the situation is worse. She told the Commission the level is about 61 percent of fair market value.

That’s 30 percent away from the STC level. That much of an increase at one time – which could happen if the stage agency takes up residence in the county – likely would produce an outcry from property owners the likes of which has never been seen.

During her sit-down conference with the STC, Baker presented her plan for bringing assessed values closer to fair market value. The STC didn’t think much of her plan. The state agency laid out its plan for Gasconade County. Baker didn’t care too much for it.

“They told me what their plan is and it’s not pleasant,” she told the county commission. The conference ended with Baker and the STC agreeing to disagree about the best way to get where the agency feels the county should be.

A bit later, Baker told the commission she was working on a new plan that would resolve the issue, but she couldn’t provide details yet.

“I need time to get my ducks in a row,” she told the commission, adding that she should have something to report by September. It’s now September.

Regular check-ins with Baker by the Gasconade County Republican during the summer indicated she still was refining her plan. She noted that she needed to talk with the various public service agencies in the county that levy a property tax, because her plan would affect them.

“I need to get buy-in” for her plan from those agencies, she told The Republican.

How far along she is with the effort isn’t clear. What does seem clear is that, based on its dealings with other counties in past years, the Missouri State Tax Commission might have the least patience of any state agency awaiting action by a county government. With that in mind, Baker should not be surprised if she gets a knock on her office door from someone other than a local property owner.