The Missouri Supreme Court is leaving in place a lower court’s ruling that arguments about Saline County’s classification need to go before a district judge.

The court announced Tuesday, July 1 that it would deny the request from the Saline County Commission to have the lawsuit brought against them by Saline County Assessor Jessica Adcock Goodman return to the state’s top court. The Supreme Court had heard arguments last September, before remanding the case back to the Western District Court of Appeals for their consideration. The appellate court then ruled in March that the circuit court erred in their initial dismissal in March 2023 of three of the five counts in Goodman’s lawsuit.

With the appellate court’s ruling still in place, the initial case will return to the circuit court to hear arguments about whether state law requires a reclassification of Saline County as a third-class county, rather than keeping the fourth-class classification that they and three of its neighbors have had since 1989. Currently a fourth-class classification allows Saline County to operate as a second-class county despite not having the required valuation to earn the classification outright. A reclassification to third class would result in the assessor’s office receiving one percent of property taxes collected, rather than one-half of one percent.

Both the county commission and assessor’s office referred KMMO News’ request for comment to their respective attorneys. The commission noted that attorney costs accrued by the commission, assessor, and collector’s office have totaled $132,669.41 since the initial lawsuit was filed in October 2022. Meanwhile, the collector’s office reports that funds held in escrow as of May 2025, reflecting the amount that would go to the assessor’s office if the court determines that Saline County is a third-class county, totals $428,742.18, along with another $25,472.25 in accrued interest. The funds would be distributed proportionally among county’s 48 taxing entities if the court rules that Saline County can remain a fourth-class county.