Municipal – County Classification – Deposit of Property Taxes

Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of her petition alleging that Saline County was a fourth-class county failing to deposit one percent of property taxes into plaintiff’s assessor’s office as statutorily required for fourth-class counties. Plaintiff further alleged that a deposit was required because the county’s aggregate assessed property value had fallen below the threshold for a second-class county for five successive years, reclassifying the county as a third-class county by operation of law. The trial court granted the county’s motion to dismiss, arguing that it was exempt from the assessed-value-based reclassification system.

Where the statutory definition of fourth-class counties expressly stated that counties could remain second-class counties, Saline County was only obligated to make a half-percent deposit as required for second-class counties. However, the trial court erred in failing to consider plaintiff’s claim that Saline County had been reclassified as a third-class county by operation of law.

Judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

Goodman v. Saline County Commission (MLW No. 82879/Case No. WD86126 – 29 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Mitchell, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Saline County, Rose, J. (Richard B. Hicks for appellant) (Duvel Pierre and Peter F. Rottgers for respondents)