EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – Clay County will continue to collect property taxes for Excelsior Springs. Earlier this month, the City Council approved an ordinance to give Mayor Sharon Powell the go-ahead to implement a new county-city tax collection agreement. The county has handled Excelsior Springs’ property tax collection for the past eight years, City Manager Molly McGovern stated in a June 2 memo to city leaders. McGovern mentioned in the memo, and later during the council meeting, that an agreement giving the county that authority had “recently expired.” In a May 6 letter to city officials, county Collector Lydia McEvoy stated a new agreement was necessary because an audit of the Clay County Collector’s Office conducted by the state “indicated a need to update” the county’s agreements with Excelsior Springs and other communities. McGovern stated the new agreement is “perpetual,” with an option to end it “with notice by July 1st.” Other conditions include “clarification on how special…