HERMANN – Gasconade County administrators last week received formal notice from the state that’s level of residential property value assessment falls significantly short of state’s range of assessment compared to the fair market value of the real estate sold in the county during the past year.

County Assessor Julia Baker, who several weeks ago advised the County Commission that the formal Letter of Concern from the Missouri State Tax Commission (STC) would be arriving, presented county administrators with a copy of the letter at last week’s session.

The STC’s sales ratio study – a review of the level of property assessment measured against the price of real estate sold, showed the county assessment level to be only at 61 percent of the parcels’ fair market value. That level compares to a level of about 76 percent posted by the Assessor’s Office a little more than a year ago.

The state has placed a range of 90 to 110 percent of fair market value as the target for which counties are to aim. Gasconade County is not alone in falling substantially short of the state’s goal. More than a dozen other counties are among those who are out of compliance with the state and ultimately could face sanctions from the STC that range from a withholding of state funds for the counties’ assessment programs to the STC taking steps to increase the value of residential real estate.

The STC’s letter tells Baker she should continue putting the county’s plan for assessment in place and that doing so should bring Gasconade County into compliance. “Your mutually agreed and approved 2026-2027 Assessment Maintenance Plan outlines specific details about how you plan to ensure final values reflect local market values,” the state agency said. “Complete implementation of the various phases outlined in your approved Assessment Maintenance Plan should result in your residential assessments adequately progressing towards market value,” said the letter written by Larry Jones, the appraisal and assessment manager for the three-member State Tax Commission.

The letter points out that the state agency is aware of staffing constraints on the Assessor’s Office. “The State Tax Commission is aware of the physical inspection requirements” of state law “and potential staffing constrains associated with the physical inspection; however, counties are not required to conduct a physical inspection for valuation increases up to 15 percent,” the letter said.

The Letter of Concern added that the STC will be monitoring Gasconade County’s efforts to increase residential real estate assessments, with a particularly close look in the middle of next year. “Final verification of your county’s progress toward market value will begin in July 2027,” the agency said. It followed that with a point county officials will not want to ignore: “If adequate progress towards market values is not achieved, state maintenance assessment reimbursement funds shall be withheld as required by state law until adequate progress is achieved.”

Baker advised the County Commission that her office has until about February to begin showing movement in raising assessments toward the state’s target of 90-110 percent of market value.

In a lengthy letter to a reporter that Baker said was designed to clarify information contained in a Gasconade County Republican story a week earlier, she acknowledged the county’s current assessment level had fallen from 75.5 percent in 2023 and 84.1 percent in 2021.

Baker noted that former Assessor Paul Schulte made “small incremental changes in valuation including an increase in residential land values and increase in residential structure value. Those small increases did not stand a chance against the rapid increase in the residential market value. There was no way to catch up when things were evolving that quickly. Here we find ourselves starting the 2027 reassessment cycle, facing the harsh reality that small value changes are not going to be enough to keep Gasconade County compliant with the constitutional requirements of being at truck market value (90-110 percent).”

Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, Thursday morning said the need to significantly increase residential property value is not a result of Baker’s work. “It’s not her fault,” Schulte said, putting the blame directly on former Assessor Paul Schulte, who did not seek re-election in 2024 – a decision made, the presiding commission said, because the assessor knew what coming from the state and didn’t want to deal with it.

Baker was Paul Schulte’s deputy and was elected to succeed him, assuming the office later in 2025 after the current assessment cycle was complete and all paperwork transferred to other county offices.

Baker’s plan for satisfying the STC includes working with the various political subdivisions that have a debt service levy – a portion of their overall operating levy dedicated to paying off long-term debt. “I wanted to sit down with the levy districts and explain our current situation with our sales ratio,” she said in her letter to the Gasconade County Republican. “I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that Gasconade County has continued to drift out of compliance and now we are so far out of compliance that value changes are unavoidable.”

Baker said her intention is to ask those districts with debt service levies if they would be willing to roll back the debt-service portion of their opeting levies as a way to offset any increase in a property owner’s real estate valuation.

In her letter, Baker disputed the characterization of her office being at odds with the STC. “That is false. I am not at odds with the STC; in fact, it’s the polar opposite. I have found the STC to be very helpful, in all ways,” the assessor’s letter said.

“I feel it is important to clarify that the STC is not the bad guy,” Baker said. “Are there flaws within the STC, and perhaps some flaws in the statutes and codes? Sure, no one is flawless. Are we all continuing to evolve as the world evolves? Yes, we are. Unfortunately, though, it is so darn difficult to make changes to statutes and getting things changed to better suit the taxpayers is an extremely difficult and time-consuming process,” she said in her letter.