COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

County Counsel

DATE:

August 19, 2003

BOARD MEETING DATE:

September 9, 2003

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

County Counsel

SUBJECT:

Correction of 2002-2003 Property Tax Roll: APN 032-196-350, 24 E. Santa Inez Avenue, San Mateo

Recommendation

Approve a change to the 2002-2003 Property Tax Roll, and corresponding property tax refund to El Camino Family Housing L.P., to reflect the granting of a welfare exemption for property located at 24 East Santa Inez Avenue, in San Mateo.

Background

The property at 24 East Santa Inez Avenue is owned by El Camino Family Housing, L.P., which uses the property for low-income housing. Low-income housing qualifies for a welfare exemption from property taxation pursuant to sections 214, 270 and 271 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code.

Discussion

While the general partner of the property owner initially filed in November 2002 for a welfare exemption for the 2002-2003 tax year, it was not until March 2003 that the Assessor received all of the information needed to fully review the application. The Assessor forwarded the completed application to the State Board of Equalization (the "SBE") and, in June 2003, the Assessor received the SBE's approval of the welfare exemption. This was in time for preparation of the 2003-2004 property tax roll, but too late for the 2002-2003 roll.

As a result of the granting of the welfare exemption, the County's property tax roll for 2002-2003 should be corrected. Since the correction will result in a property tax decrease of $122,671.04 to the 2002-2003 roll (and a corresponding property tax refund in this amount to the property owner), the approval of the Board of Supervisors is required.

Vision Alignment

The approval of this proposal will further commitments and assist in achieving goals set forth in the County's Shared Vision 2010 report. Specifically, this proposal implements the commitments of providing "responsive, effective, and collaborative government." Similarly, the instant proposal will help the County to achieve the goal of ensuring that "housing exists for people of all income levels and for all generations of families."

Fiscal Impact

The fiscal impact of this action is estimated to be a $122,671.04 decrease in the 2002-2003 property tax roll. The County General Fund's share of this decrease/refund is 14% of this amount (i.e., approximately $17,173.95).