KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you live in Jackson County and have to pay personal property taxes, like those on your car, Friday was your deadline to get help in-person.
That was easier said than done for the hordes of people in Independence who trudged through long and cold lines at the Historic Truman Courthouse.
That is now the only spot that is handling in-person meetings for people wanting to talk about their bills.
It isn’t really a secret, but you can pay those bills online. However, if you had an error or need a waiver, you had to hit the queue.
On Friday, some Jackson County residents described the wait as “the purgatory experience.” For many, it was not their first day.
“Well, we started yesterday, and I had to go to work yesterday so we had to stop. And I’m off today, and it’s draining. I don’t want to be here all day, and I’m here all day,” April Cobb said.
“I have been stressing about this. I sent my boyfriend home. I said there’s no use in us both waiting,” Candy Saunders said.
“You know, she says there no sense in both of us staying, but when we were standing out here, I couldn’t leave then, you know?” Greg Mahan said.
“I was really blessed. This one gentleman handed me these hand warmers, something I never contemplated using until today,” Rickie Rone said.
But the incentive for waiting is high with people trying to avoid penalties. And the county started offering a digital line, with people watching their phones hours.
“Then it went to 110. Then it went to 97. Then 84. Then 70. Now 57,” Dwayne Isaiah said, describing his experience.
“Why’d they stop doing it downtown? You can’t do it downtown to do it. You can’t go to Grandview. You have to come here and do it,” Isaiah said.
“But you got to give props, you say to yourself. Whoever did this was a very smart person, very smart. Then you got to give his boss props because he had to be smart as well. So if they’re watching this, I give you props. You’re smart gentlemen leaving us in the cold at 6 o’clock in the morning,” Rone said.
“But what’s ironic about all this is like thank God it’s not a real December,” Rone said, referencing the mild midday temperatures.
FOX4 received no immediate answer from the county on why the courthouse in Independence is now the only location to resolve issues with the Personal Property Tax Office.
The office would typically close at 5 p.m. Employees said they were planning to stay open to work through the whole line on Friday.
The deadline for payments is Monday when Jackson County offices will be closed in honor of the New Year’s holiday.
