(1170) Assessor's Division

The Assessor’s Office has several divisions which include Administration, Appraisal, Auditing, Mapping and the Front Office. The Administration oversees the entire function and operation of the office. Appraisal & Auditing work together in the overall property appraisal process. The Mapping division is the starting point in drawing and creating new parcels from recorded subdivisions and processing workflow distribution to the appraisal staff. The Front Office staff processes documents, receives phone inquiries, serves as the representative and focal point for the Assessor’s Office in providing outstanding customer service to the public.

• Assessment Roll Increase – We experienced an additional $645 million in assessed value for the 2021 assessment roll which represents a 6.5% increase from the prior year. Our total assessed value reached a new milestone exceeding $10.5 billion which will generate approximately $105 million in property taxes for local government agencies and schools.

• Prop 8 Assessments – Due to the changing real estate market, the Assessor’s Office focused efforts on properties that had received a temporary value reduction under Proposition 8 and reviewed over 900 properties to determine the value of those properties as of January 1, 2021. As a result of this mandatory review, 168 properties were removed from Proposition 8 status and fully restored to the Proposition 13 assessed values. The majority of the remaining 732 properties also experienced some upward value adjustment (partial restoration).

• Assessment Appeals – The Assessor’s Office staff has worked diligently to reduce the filing of assessment appeals through more taxpayer contact and detailed explanation of our assessed valuations. In 2021, there were a total of 8 assessment appeal applications out of approximately 25,100 (secured & unsecured) assessments which represents .03% (1/30 of 1%).

• SSCAP Grant – The Assessor’s Office qualified for the State Supplementation for County Assessor’s Program in 2018. This state grant is a total of $750,000 for a three-year period which expired on June 30, 2021. The funds have been used to hire new personnel, purchase office equipment, computers, and upgrade software. There are additional funds leftover that will be used for fiscal year 2022-23. Hopefully, this grant will be extended in future years.

• Expand Office Space – The Assessor’s Office needs more office space for current and future needs. With increased staffing levels, the office space at the Assessor’s Office is very limited to accommodate new personnel.

• Rapid Development Growth – The office is concerned with the rapid growth in residential developments and keeping up with new construction assessments. We are working on alleviating the backlog of appraisal work. Our mapping department is moving forward with staying current on drawing and creating parcels from new subdivisions which will speed up the workflow distribution process allowing our appraisal staff to value those properties in a timely manner.

• Scanning and Cataloging of All Records – One of our objectives is scanning and cataloging of all our paper records. We have purchased scanners and are in the process of digitizing our property records providing a much more effective way to store, retain, and locate our information which will improve office and appraisal efficiency.

• With the passage of Proposition 19 by the California voters on November 3, 2020, it has created a much heavier workload for staff. This emphasizes the need for additional staff (accounting appraiser technician) but also more in-depth training and certification for existing staff who are making important assessment decisions to determine the taxpayer’s eligibility for the exclusion.

• Continue to Expand Office – The goal is to increase the office personnel for future assessment needs.

• Succession Planning – Train existing staff to take on some of the management roles in the Assessor’s Office.

• Continue with the conversion of the Assessor’s AutoCAD parcel maps to a GIS format for the Assessor’s parcel maps which will provide all our parcel map pages in a digitized environment.