Opinion ID: 2287933
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: True Value in Money

Text: In their second point, KCPL and the assessor argue that an assessor is not under a ministerial duty to value property according to a company's reported costs. As stated above, the plaintiffs have standing to maintain the declaratory judgment action to the extent that they seek a declaration as to the assessor's duties under the utility taxation statutes. However, they have standing to bring an action for mandamus compelling the assessor to perform her legal duties only if she has a ministerial duty to value and assess the property in the manner they allege. In counts I and II, the plaintiffs allege that the assessor had a ministerial duty to apply the company's original cost for the Iatan plants, as reported by KCPL, as the true value in money of those properties for assessment purposes, and that she breached that duty by valuing the property at approximately half that amount. KCPL and the assessor oppose this interpretation of the law and argue that an assessor has discretion in valuing property. The issue, then, is whether the duty sought to be enforced is a ministerial duty imposed by law or a discretionary duty requiring independent judgment. A ministerial duty is of a clerical nature which a public officer is required to perform upon a given state of facts, in a prescribed manner, in obedience to the mandate of legal authority, without regard to his own judgment or opinion concerning the propriety of the act to be performed. Rustici v. Weidemeyer, 673 S.W.2d 762, 769 (Mo. banc 1984). In contrast, a discretionary duty necessarily requires the exercise of reason in the adoption of means to an end, and discretion in determining how or whether an act should be done or a course pursued. Id. The county assessor derives a property tax assessment from the report filed by the public utility company pursuant to section 151.110. The assessor is required by section 137.115 to assess the property at a given percentage of its true value in money. [7] Although true value in money is not defined by statute, Missouri case law defines true value as an estimate of the fair market value on the valuation date. Hermel, Inc. v. State Tax Comm'n, 564 S.W.2d 888, 897 (Mo. banc 1978). This definition has not changed from case to case. Id. However, the methods used and factors considered in determining a property's true value are subject to change depending on the circumstances of the valuation. Id. The methods employed and factors weighed by the utility company in completing its report are likely to vary from those considered by the assessor. It is expected that the assessor form an individual opinion as to the value of the property in light of the circumstances as a whole, as in this case where the property being valued was still under construction. [8] The utility company's report of its costs merely aids the assessor in determining the appropriate valuation and does not dictate the true value in money. [9] Moreover, several statutory provisions suggest the discretionary nature of the assessor's duty to value and assess property. Every assessor must take an oath of office specifically agreeing to assess all of the real and tangible personal property in the county in which [s]he assesses at what [s]he believes to be the actual cash value.  § 53.030 (emphasis added). In addition, section 151.110.1 provides that the utility company's report listing its costs is to be filed for the benefit of the assessor. The assessor then is given 20 days to fill out the remaining portions of the report, including the columns titled Market Value and Assessment. § 151.110.2. According to the statute, the document furnished to the state tax commission by the company shall list the true value in money of all local property as derived by the county assessor.  § 151.110.3 (emphasis added). The fact that the assessor derives the true value in money further suggests that she has discretion to make her own estimates. Finally, the regulations promulgated by the state tax commission expressly state that each assessor in the state shall estimate on Form 30, Schedule 14 the market value of property owned by ... public utility corporations ... doing business within [her] jurisdiction. 12 CSR 30-2.011(1) (emphasis added). An assessor exercises discretion when valuing property and is not under a ministerial duty to value property according to a company's reported costs. Therefore, the plaintiffs do not have standing to bring a mandamus action. [10]