Expected to Decline
By Miles Shuper
Tulare County - Although final tabulations remain to be completed, officials expect Tulare County's assessed property values to drop for the first time ever.
County Assessor Greg Hardcastle said this week he anticipates the total for fiscal 2009-10 will show “negative growth,” a situation he expects will be experienced by most, if not all, counties in the state.
Hardcastle would not venture an estimate of just how much the drop might be, but said indications are that the $27.9 billion total assessment for 2008-09 won't be reached. The county, like others, has been granted a 30-day extension until July 31 to deliver the tax rolls to the county auditor/tax collector. Hardcastle expects his report to be filed before the deadline.
Last year, the county's total increased 5.591 percent, a drop in the growth rate for the previous several years, including a 12.8 percent rise in 2007-08. This year's drop is not a surprise, county officials say. The county along with other tax-supported entities including cities, school districts and other groups already are tightening their purse strings as economic condition continue to slump.
Property taxes make up a huge portion of city general fund revenues – money that pays for police and fire services. The city of Visalia is facing a $5 million deficit caused mostly by falling property tax revenues, along with falling sales tax revenues. Property taxes and sales taxes make up two-thirds of the city's general fund revenues.
“We've been projecting a drop
in property tax revenues since March – about 2 percent down,”
admitted Visalia City Manager Steve Salomon.
He said the city has been budgeting property tax revenues conservatively,
but even at that the projected increase ran 4-5 percent a year. So, he
explained, for it to be negative is a really big swing.
The decrease is not only caused by a lack of growth, but on the massive reassessment of single-family homes and other residential units in the dismal housing market.
The assessor's office continues to tackle a backlog of re-evaluations fueled by plunging property values. More than 44,000 properties were reviewed with about 33,000 of them being reduced in value, some of them more than once, Hardcastle said, adding that many more are in the review process.
Only homes bought in and around 2004 have been and are being re-evaluated. Reductions have run the gamut ranging from 5 percent to a high of about 35 percent with changes made depending on the size, location, time of purchases and improvements.
Hardcastle called the task of reviewing
property values and trying to unclog the backlog as “a massive undertaking,”
adding “the staff has been working very, very hard to get it done
in addition to keeping up with the normal workload.”
Notices are being sent to those whose property values have increased or
decreased by 2 percent or more, the assessor said, but urged them to wait
until their actual assessments are received before seeking details. Property
tax notices usually go out in October and the deadline for filing an appeal
is late in November, Hardcastle explained.
by 2 percent or more, the assessor said, but urged them to wait until their actual assessments are received before seeking details. Property tax notices usually go out in October and the deadline for filing an appeal is late in November, Hardcastle explained.
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