DUNKLIN COUNTY'S ASSESSOR SCORES

Assessors around the state should take a look at Dunklin County, where Assessor Donna Abmeyer took on the Missouri Tax Commission and won.

Circuit Judge Stephen Sharp ruled recently that the index figure the tax commission ordered Dunklin County to use to factor market values of property for reassessment was too high. The tax commission initially told Dunklin County it should use an index of 1.98. Abmeyer's research showed that growth in the county didn't warrant such a large jump' that the index figure should be 1.56. Sharp agreed.

Not to be overruled, the tax commission appealed Sharp's ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court, which hasn't said yet whether it will take up the case.

With state-ordered reassessment every odd-numbered year, Missouri's county assessors find themselves in a predicament when the tax commission orders an index they feel is too high. Assessors can either go along with the commission -- as most in Missouri did -- settle on a lesser index figure, or take the commission to court.

Abmeyer has been involved in a dispute over the index for almost two years and vows to continue to insist on an index she believes is fair and equitable to Dunklin County taxpayers. She took on the state and should be commended for her persistence.