CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — A tax rate hike that threatened the owners of nearly 500 vacation rental homes at the Lake will be undone.
So far in 2017, the Camden County Assessor’s Office has sent 495 notices of reclassification to owners of local homes that were being used for short-term vacation rentals, according to Camden Board of Equalizations Chairperson Nancy Rogers. Those notices essentially told the homeowners that their property—despite being zoned residentially—would be reclassified into a commercial property tax rate, since it was being used for transient rentals. Residential properties in the county are assessed at a 19 percent rate for property taxes; commercial properties are at 32 percent, meaning those homeowners would have seen a 68 percent increase in their property taxes.
Outgoing Assessor Kayla Henry’s office is responsible for the assessments and classifications, and despite the unpopularity of this policy, she contends she has simply been carrying on the policy of her predecessor and also points to Missouri case law as her guideline. However, Camden is one of only a few counties in the state that assesses homes differently if they are occasionally rented.
After receiving the notices, 134 homeowners filed appeals with the county Board of Equalizations. They received a hearing on Friday, July 14, and at that hearing, Henry made a statement that (pleasantly) surprised many in the room. It came when one homeowner asked the board if it had the authority to reclassify a property. Rogers said no, that the board could only change the property’s assessed value. In a major decision last year, the board essentially undid the residential-to-commercial tax hike for one property owner by reducing that owner’s assessed property value to the point that their total tax payment would be unchanged, despite paying a higher (commercial) rate.
But last week, Henry contradicted Rogers’ answer about the board’s authority. The board does have the authority to change the property’s classification, she said.
In a later interview, Rogers said she was surprised by Henry’s declaration.
Then, Rogers noted, Henry doubled down, volunteering to revert all of the 495 recently-reclassified properties, from commercial back to residential rates, if the board opted to grant the request of the 134 property owners who had appealed the commercial reclassification.
Rogers confirmed the board has indeed granted those requests. “We did send out letters to all the [individuals who appealed], reclassifying those residences back to Residential [rate],” she said. She added that some of those property owners might not receive their letter of reclassification for a week or two.
Rogers said she did not know whether Henry would take action on the remaining properties, as she had not discussed the issue with the outgoing assessor. Henry did not reply to a LakeExpo.com request for comment.
Incoming Assessor Marty McGuire will take office on Sept. 1, 2017, and he says if the reclassifications back to the residential rate haven't happened by then, he'll make sure the job gets done. "They can either do it before I get there, or I’m going to take care of it when I get there," he told LakeExpo.com.
McGuire says there will be a "culture change" in the Assessor's Office once he is steering the ship. "The way that office is perceived… is how well you handle [the public’s problems] and how well you take care of them," he said, noting the public is "who we work for."
"I’ve got a great staff," he added, noting "those people have… hundreds of years of combined experience… we’re just going to do some fine-tuning." He added, "It may take a little coaching."
He called the vacation rentals issue his "main priority" and said it is something he will address immediately upon taking office. However, he urges county residents to bring any assessment-related issues to him, saying there have been reassessment problems that reach beyond vacation rentals.
Speaking as a realtor, Rogers says vacation rentals are in the crosshairs because of all the money they represent. “Follow the money,” she said, adding, “Expedia wants another profit center.” That was in reference to the “Expedia Bill” from the 2017 Missouri legislative session that stirred up homeowners at Lake of the Ozarks and in Branson. Those opposed to the bill argued the vacation rentals giant was trying to legislatively wedge itself into the vacation rentals transaction process, becoming an essential tax collector. The question about vacation rental property assessments, taxes, and regulations is expected to reemerge during the 2018 session.
On a more local level, school districts have something to gain by higher property tax rates—and to lose when they are diminished, at least in the short-term. Higher rates mean more revenue for the districts. But Rogers says, from a realtor’s perspective, she believes the schools benefit in a different, more indirect way from vacation rentals even when those homes are assessed at a residential rate. Vacation rentals are a key piece of the Lake economy, she says, and as those rentals thrive, property values go up and the local economy thrives.
