The Calaveras County 2019-20 Grand Jury has released a report addressing citizen complaints of a backlog of properties at the county Assessor’s Office which has caused hefty, unexpected bills sent to taxpayers and an undetermined amount of revenue loss to county funds.
The
report, which can be read in full at grandjury.calaverasgov.us, details
problems including understaffing, inefficient workload management, and an
influx of damaged properties due to the 2015 Butte Fire as contributing factors
to the backlog of over 6,800 re-appraisable events.
“The
current backlog can sometimes result in the need for years of supplemental
bills to be issued for residential properties. Sometimes the taxpayer receives
these supplemental bills at or near the same time,” the report reads.
“Significant issues can arise if the property changes hands multiple times
before a reassessment is completed. Property owners may be unaware that
additional tax bills will be issued.” advertisement
The
report acknowledges that recommendations made by the 2016-17 Grand Jury to
close an approximate three-year gap on residential property reassessments and a
four-year gap on commercial property reassessments were not acted upon,
specifically by the county’s Administrative Office.
The
report did not find any wrongdoing by County Assessor Leslie Davis, who has
held the elected position for 12 years and has served as president of the
California Assessors’ Association. Alternatively, the Grand Jury pointed to
insufficient departmental budget increases of roughly $100,000 over the past 15
years resulting in a staffing deficit.
“Many
citizens in Calaveras County are upset with the Calaveras County Assessor’s
Office because late reassessments are creating unexpected tax bills,” the
latest report reads.
One
such individual is Katherine Searcy, a Bay Area resident who decided to pay her
retired father-in-law’s several-thousand-dollar tax bill on his West Point
property after he was slapped with the unexpected expense.
“It
doesn’t seem like a very fair way to do it when they get five years to
reassess, and seniors on a fixed income have to turn around and pay out of
pocket,” Searcy said.
Taxpayers
have the right to an informal interview with the Assessor’s Office as well as
the right to appeal within 60 days of the notice in question, though Searcy
says she chose not to appeal due to interest and fees charged by the
Treasurer/Tax Collector’s Office if the amount goes unpaid.
During
fiscal year (FY) 2019-20, there were 108 appeals filed with the Assessor’s
Office.
Taxpayers
also have the option of undertaking an interest-free payment plan for taxes in
excess of $500, though the Grand Jury found that method often delays by years
the collection of county funds.
“All
taxes comprise about 25% of the total projected General Fund revenue for FY
2020-2021. This tax revenue is in part comprised of real property and personal
property taxes. Understanding the value and economic loss to the county as a
result of the backlog is difficult to determine. Until a reassessment occurs,
the accurate assessed value cannot be taxed,” the report reads. “At the time of
this writing, according to the (Assessor’s Office), if the residential
reassessments were updated to within six months from the time of a title
change, a one-time increase to General Fund revenues would be approximately $2
million to schools and approximately $1 million to county, city and special
districts.”
To
expedite this process, the Grand Jury recommends that the Assessor’s Office
cease comparative market analyses and instead utilize the “Value Concept,” a
less accurate but more timely method of assessing property values based on
sales price.
“As
an alternative ... assessors have the discretion to conduct a comparative
market analysis, a more time-intensive method,” the report explains. “This
comparative analysis is mainly done when the sales price does not seem to
accurately reflect the true market value of the property.”
In
all other counties interviewed by the Grand Jury, the Value Concept method was
used and backlogs were within the range of two months to two years.
“Accuracy
was considered paramount in all counties, but it was acknowledged that less
than 100% accuracy was sometimes acceptable in order to keep up with the
workload,” the report reads. “It was acknowledged that a lower assessment value
was acceptable in order to move through reassessments in a timely manner.”
It
was also recommended that the Assessor’s Office should develop a more
time-effective work-flow method than its current “first in, first out” policy
for reassessments.
Beyond
recommending that the county Board of Supervisors “should maintain sufficient
funding in the Calaveras County Assessor’s Office budget to bring all
reassessments to within one year of all re-appraisable events by June 30,
2022,” the Grand Jury also called on the county’s Administrative Office to
follow through with their 2017 pledge to complete a “comprehensive staffing and
work methods analysis.”
As
is customary, responses to the grand jury’s findings and recommendations are
required from elected officials within 60 days of the report’s release, and
within 90 days from governing bodies.
Calaveras
Enterprise
by Dakota Morlan
December 23, 2020
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