JEFFERSON CITY – Citizens from across Missouri will decide whether the St. Louis County assessor should be elected rather than appointed.
The Missouri House voted Tuesday in favor of an amendment to the
Missouri Constitution that would make an assessor, who tabulates real
property value, an elected official. Ultimately, voter approval will
be needed to amend the state Constitution. Missouri senators approved the amendment in late March, and with
Tuesday's result in the Missouri House, the measure will be put
to voters in the November 2010 general election. The amendment in question would require assessors to be elected in
all counties that have a charter form of government, but it would make
an exception for Jackson County, where Kansas City is located.
Jefferson County and St. Charles County in eastern Missouri already
elect county assessors, leaving St. Louis County as the only chartered
county that would be affected by the amendment. Supporters of the proposal say the change would bring greater
accountability to property assessments in St. Louis County and would
cut down on unfairly assessed property. "As people are elected, there's no doubt that they're more
accountable to the people," said Mike Sutherland, R-Warrenton, who is a
former county assessor. "All of us are accountable to the people
because they're the people who are our boss." Some St. Louis County representatives, such as Democrat Jake
Zimmerman, said county citizens could take measures to change
its charter if they felt assessors should be elected. "I'm flattered and I'm honored that gentlemen from such
distinguished places as Warren County and St. Charles County care so
deeply about the needs of my constituents," he said, "but Mr. Speaker,
you know what? Why don't you let those people handle county issues
through their own county government? ... Let's face it, what's going on
here is a deliberate, narrow attack by a couple of people with an ax to
grind against our county executive." According to the St. Louis County charter, the county director of revenue appoints the assessor.