COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

County Counsel

DATE:

September 7, 2004

BOARD MEETING DATE:

September 28, 2004

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Thomas F. Casey III, County Counsel

SUBJECT:

Correction of Property Tax Roll, APN 030-074-100, 3085 Ralston Avenue, Hillsborough

Recommendation

Approve a change to the 2003 tax roll, and a corresponding tax refund to Terence and Katrina Garnett (the “Garnetts”), to reflect the San Mateo County Assessor’s stipulation to a Proposition 8 reduction in assessed value of the property located at 3085 Ralston Avenue (the “Property”) from $15,494,960 to $8,743,000 as of the 2003 lien date.

Background

The Garnetts purchased the Property in January 2001. As of the 2003 lien date, the factored base year value of the Property was $15,494,960, and this value was reflected on the 2003 tax roll. The Garnetts appealed the 2003 enrolled value for the Property to the County Assessment Appeals Board. After reviewing materials provided by the Garnetts, and considering comparable sales from the period around the 2003 lien date, the Assessor stipulated to a 2003 lien date value of $8,750,000 for the Property.

As a result of this stipulation, the County’s property tax roll for 2003 should be corrected. Since the correction will result in a property tax decrease of $71,003.62 to the 2003 roll (and a corresponding property tax refund in this amount to the property owner), the approval of the Board of Supervisors is required.

Discussion

Pursuant to sections 4831.5 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, the tax roll may be corrected to adjust for errors caused by “a defect of description or clerical error of the assessee in his property statement or in other information or records furnished to the assessor . . . .” Similarly, section 5096 provides for the refund of property taxes where they have been erroneously collected.

As a result of the above-discussed stipulation regarding the Property’s value as of the 2003 lien date, the County’s property tax roll for 2003 should be corrected. Since the correction will result in a property tax decrease of $71,003.62 to the 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 implementation 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.”

Fiscal Impact

The fiscal impact of this action is estimated to be a $ 71,003.62 decrease in the 2003 property tax roll. The County General Fund’s share of this decrease/refund is 14% of this amount (i.e., approximately $9,904.51).