20020618_a

AGREEMENT FOR STATE-COUNTY

PROPERTY TAX ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into by and between the County of San Mateo (County) and the California State Department of Finance (State).

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, Revenue and Taxation Code Section 95.31 provides that upon recommendation of the Assessor, and by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, the County may elect to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Program, administered by the State; and

WHEREAS, the County elects to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Program and to apply for a loan of $2,220,001 for the calendar year beginning April 1, 2002 and ending March 31, 2003; and

WHEREAS, the County finds that this loan will allow the County to enhance its property tax administration system; reduce backlogs of new construction, changes in ownership, mandatory audits and property inventory; prepare a defense for each appeals case that is scheduled by the Assessment Appeals Board; maximize value enrollment capabilities; and improve and modernize the County's system of recorded documents; and

WHEREAS, in order to participate in the State-County Property Tax Administration Program, the County must enter into a new agreement with the State;

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:

TERM OF AGREEMENT

This Agreement shall commence upon the date of execution by both parties and shall expire on March 31, 2003.

LOAN AMOUNT

The State agrees to make available to the County a loan in the amount of $2,220,001 for the calendar year beginning April 1, 2002 and ending March 31, 2003.

COUNTY REQUIREMENTS

The County agrees to use the funds received from the State to enhance the County's property tax administration system. The County agrees not to use this loan to supplant the Assessor's current level of funding. The County understands and agrees that in order for the County to be eligible to participate in this State-County Property Tax Administration Program, it must maintain a base staffing, including contract staff, and total funding level in the Assessor's Office, independent of the loan proceeds provided pursuant to this Act, equal to the levels in the 1994-95 fiscal year exclusive of the amounts provided to the Assessor's Office pursuant to item 9100-102-001 of the Budget Act of 1994.

The 1994-95 fiscal year base funding and staffing levels, as determined by the Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and the Office of the County Manager, which shall be deemed to satisfy this requirement are as follows:

Gross Appropriation

$ 5,088,678

Total Budgeted Positions

Additional Contract Positions

OPTION TO PARTICIPATE

Not applicable.

RECEIPT OF FUNDING

In calendar year beginning April 1, 2002 and ending March 31, 2003 the County shall receive payment of $2,220,001 within thirty (30) days after the approval of this agreement by both parties.

DEFINITION OF REPAYMENT

Repayment of the loan shall be evaluated based upon the Assessor's performance under the following criteria:

(a)

Prepare a defense for all assessment appeal cases that are scheduled by the Assessment Appeals Board.

Year

Appeals Workload (Est.)

Accumulated Appeals Resolved (Est.)

Backlog Goals

2001-02

2,000

(b)

Eliminate the June 30, 2001 backlog of 660 new construction assessments by March 31, 2003 by completing the following accumulated number of reassessments

Year

Accumulated Workload (Est.)

Accumulated Reassessments Completed (Est.)

Backlog Goals

2001-02

10,000

(c)

Eliminate the June 30, 2001 backlog of 822 reappraisable transfers of ownership by March 31, 2003 by completing the following accumulated number of reassessments

Year

Accumulated Workload (Est.)

Accumulated Reassessments Completed (Est.)

Backlog Goals

2001-02

13,000

(d)

Eliminate the June 30, 2001 backlog of 33 Proposition 8 assessments by March 31, 2003 by completing the following accumulated number of reassessments.

Year

Accumulated Reassessments Reviewed (Est.)

Reviewed with AB818 Funds

2001-02

4,000

(e)

Eliminate the June 30, 2001 backlog of 165 mandatory audits, providing records are available (if not available a waiver request will have been sent) by March 31, 2003 by completing the following accumulated number of audits.

Year

Accumulated Audits Completed (Est.)

Backlog Goals

2001-02

300

In measuring payment, the following formula shall be used: [A + (B-C)] ÷A, where:

"A" = actual accumulated number of reassessments completed

"B" = backlog goal

"C" = achieved backlog

Examples:

If the achieved backlog for (b) above for 2001-02 is 400, the above formula will produce the following: [10,000 + (0 - 400)] ÷10,000 = 96.0%

If the achieved backlog for (a) above for 2001-02 is 0, the above formula will produce the following: [10,000 + (0 - 0)] ÷10,000 = 100.00%

The percentage of success, including percentages over 100, for each of the five goals, (a) through (e), will be weighted as follows to determine the total percentage of success: (a) = 30%; (b) = 15%; (c) = 15%; (d) = 30%; and (e) = 10%. If this total is 95% or greater, the loan shall be considered to have been repaid. If the percentage is less than 95%, that percentage multiplied by the loan amount shall be considered the amount that has been repaid as partial payment as set forth in Section 9.

If the workload for items (a), (b), (c), (d) and/or (e) of Section 6 increases by 10% or more, the backlog goals for each year will be automatically increased by the numeric amount of the workload increase.

RENEGOTIATION OF THE REPAYMENT DEFINITION

At the request of the County, the State agrees to renegotiate in good faith the definition of repayment specified in Section 6, if there is any major misfortune or calamity occurring in the County , as proclaimed by the Governor to be a state of disaster and affecting 1% (.01) or more of the assessable parcels in the County. If an agreement is not reached, the provisions of Section 6 will apply; however, the repayment date will be extended automatically to June 30 of the fiscal year following the year in which the loan is made and, upon request, the County will be granted a repayment extension as provided in Section 95.31 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

USE OF LOAN

The County will use the loan proceeds received from the State pursuant to this Agreement to fund appraisal, clerical, and support positions, overtime as needed, and to enhance its property tax administration system, as specified in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference.

It is understood and agreed that funds received by the County pursuant to this Agreement shall be deposited into a trust account to be used as required by Revenue and Taxation Code Section 95.31. Any funds remaining in the account at the end of each annual term may be rolled over to the next fiscal year for authorized uses consistent with the provisions of Section 95.31.

It is also understood that upon satisfaction of the terms set forth in Section 6 as repayment for each annual loan, the State will have no further claim on these funds provided the County continues to meet the requirements stipulated in Section 3.

However, in the event that the County has not expended all of the loan proceeds, the County may, at its option, return to the State all or a portion of any unspent loan proceeds to reduce the amount of the loan.

FAILURE TO REPAY LOAN AMOUNT

If the County fails to fully repay the loan within the meaning of Sections 6 and 7 of this Agreement, the State shall notify the County and State Controller of the amount of the loan required to be repaid pursuant to this Agreement. The Controller shall make an apportionment to the General Fund on behalf of the County in the amount of that required payment for the purpose of making that payment. The Controller shall make that payment only from moneys credited to the Motor Vehicle License Fee Account in the Transportation Tax Fund to which the County is entitled at the time, under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11001) of Part 5 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and shall thereupon reduce, by the payment the subsequent allocation of allocations (<<????) to which the County would otherwise be entitled under that chapter. It is understood and agreed that partial payment of the loan will be accepted by the State in accordance with the formula established by Section 6. The State shall be entitled to recover only that portion of the loan considered unpaid as established by Section 6.

10.

REPORTING CRITERIA

The County agrees to provide to the State, by January 15 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which this Agreement is executed, an Interim Report listing the projected impact of the increased funding in the current and subsequent fiscal year regarding the number of reassessments completed, appeals defended, June 30 backlog, and the average increment of assessed value change associated with this Agreement.

The County will also provide to the State by May 15 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which this Agreement is executed a report listing the actual workload, number of reassessments completed, the achieved June 30 backlog, and the average increment of assessed value change associated with Section 6 of this contract. The County's Controller will verify this report.

11.

PROJECT RESPONSIBILITY-COUNTY

County will provide a Project Director who will be responsible for ensuring the objectives under this agreement are met. The Project Director will monitor County performance. County's Project Director will serve as liaison with the State's Project Director on an as-needed basis. County's Project director shall provide direction to the State in the areas relating to County policy, and information and procedural requirements.

County's Project Director for this agreement will be:

Terrence R. Flinn, Deputy Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

555 County Center, 3^rd Floor

Redwood City, CA 94063

(650) 599-1271

County shall notify the State in writing of any change in the name or address of County's Project Director, including any designee who will serve in the Project Director's absence, if any.

12.

PROJECT RESPONSIBILITY-STATE

The State will provide a Project Director who will be responsible for State performance under this agreement. The Project Director shall be a full-time employee of the State.

The State's Project Director for this agreement will be:

Connie Squires

Program Budget Manager

State of California

915 L Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 322-2263

The State's Project Director will serve as liaison with County's Project Director on an as-needed basis.

The State shall notify the County in writing of any changes in the name or address of the State's Project Director, including any designee who will serve in the Project Director's absence, if any.

13.

EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT

This agreement constitutes the complete and exclusive statement of understanding between the parties which supersedes all previous agreements, written or oral, and all other communications between the parties relating to the subject matter of this agreement.

14.

CHANGES AND AMENDMENTS

The County and the State reserve the right to change any portion of the work required under this agreement or to amend such other items and conditions as it may become necessary. Any such revisions shall be accomplished only with the written approval of both the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and the State.

15.

NOTICES

All notices or demands required or permitted to be given or made hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given if made by hand delivery with signed receipt or as shown on the receipt when mailed by first-class, registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the County and State at their respective addresses designated below or at such other address as County or State shall have furnished in writing to the other.

The designated addresses of respective parties for the purpose of notice are as follows:

COUNTY:

STATE:

County of San Mateo

State of California

Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

Department of Finance

555 County Center, 3^rd Floor

915 L Street

Redwood City, CA 94063

Sacramento, CA 95814

Attn: Terrence R. Flinn

Attn: Connie Squires

Deputy Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

Program Budget Manager

Department of Finance

County of San Mateo

County Manager's Office

400 County Center

Redwood City, CA 94063

Attn: Paul Scannell, Assistant County Manager

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized officers:

COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

STATE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

By: ___________________________________

Jerry Hill, President

Connie Squires

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

Program Budget Manager

* * * * *

EXHIBIT A

Budget for State-County Property Tax Administration Program 2001-02

(April 1, 2002 - March 31, 2003)

(in dollars)

Loan Amount:

2,220,001

Carry-Over from Prior Program Agreement:

649,248

Total PTA Funds Available:

2,869,249

Staffing:

Extra-Help Office Assistants

147,430

Extra-Help Auditors & Appraisers

507,436

Staff Attorney for Appeals Board & Litigation (County Counsel)

144,629

Computer Systems Specialists

76,666

Expert Witnesses (Biotech & Airline Valuation Disputes)

250,000

Temporary Services Agency

234,192

Sub-Total:

1,360,353

Systems and Processing Automation:

Appraisal Systems Software Contract Services (EZ Access)

295,028

E-Government Assessment Software (SouthTech)

125,000

Controller's Automation

125,000

Tax Collector's Automation

125,000

Consultant: Automated Valuation Programming

30,000

GIS Maintenance with Information Services Department (ISD)

59,834

Database Administrator (ISD)

154,440

Sub-Total:

914,302

Office Services, Supplies, and Expenses:

Equipment and Software

5,000

Services, Supplies, Transportation, and Miscellaneous

Desktop Computer Training

5,000

Professional Training

84,594

Sub-Total:

94,594

Total Loan Allocation:

2,369,249

Estimated Carry-Over to Subsequent Program Agreement:

Assessment Systems/GIS Enhancement

500,000