Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Grand Jury: Mendocino County may be losing tax revenue on ag lands


In its recent report titled “The Williamson Act: What is it?,” the Mendocino County Grand Jury finds that the county has not mailed out the reporting statements required to be filled out every two years by owners of agricultural land who qualify for reduced tax levies under the Williamson Act.
According to the grand jury, out of a total of 4,481,920 acres in Mendocino County, 465,181 are included in 662 Williamson Act contracts as of December, 2014.
For fiscal year 2014-15, the Grand Jury reports that the discount meant a reduction in more than $1.3 million of “collectable real property taxes,” according to the county assessor.
According to county code, each landowner with a Williamson Act contract (which can provide a property tax discount of between 10 to 95 percent) is required to file a Reporting Statement to Maintain Agricultural Preserve Eligibility every two years, and that the agricultural commissioner sends out the statements out via registered mail.
However, the grand jury found that the last time the county mailed the reporting statements was in 2009. As a result of that mailing in 2009, more than “50,000 acres were removed from the contracts authorized by the Williamson Act,” meaning more taxes would be paid on the land.
Since the statement to “Maintain Agricultural Preserve Eligibility” has not been sent out in six years, the grand jury “believes there is a substantial possibility that a large number of parcels which would have been removed are still in the Williamson Act,” meaning the county may be not be receiving tax revenue it is entitled to.
The grand jury recommends that the county’s agricultural commissioner “send the Reporting Statement, by registered mail, every two years as mandated by county code.”
In a recent act by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, the time period for the contract discount was lowered from 10 to nine years, resulting in a savings of approximately $450,000 for the county in fiscal year 2014-15.
Last year, the county’s Resource Land Committee started writing “policies and procedures to replace the current ordinance,” and it will be taking the proposed changes to the communities of Potter Valley, Round Valley, Willits, Point Arena, Hopland, Fort Bragg and Boonville “to inform the public and receive feedback.”
In order to send out the new reporting statements, the new policies and procedures must be approved by the Board of Supervisors prior to Sept. 1.
May 5, 2015
Ukiah Daily Journal
By Ukiah Daily Journal Staff

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