The State Board of Equalization voted unanimously April 22 to approve three recommendations developed by the Board Work Group on County Assessor and Assessment Appeals Board (AAB) Issues, including a recommendation that during the BOE’s next annual form review period, the staff should “explore options for simplifying the assessment appeals application form to minimize taxpayer confusion and enhance the effectiveness of the form.”
Executive Director Yvette Stowers said staff will review the form and try their best to balance the needs of everyone, while being mindful that a complete redesign of the form would require assessors to change their systems, which they do not support absent new funding to cover the costs.
Deputy State Controller Hasib Emran, representing State Controller Malia Cohen, lamented that BOE Member Antonio Vazquez, who spearheaded the work group, will be termed out of office before the form update occurs. Emran raised the possibility of holding a special meeting so Vazquez could be there to see the work group’s recommendations accomplished, but staff indicated that there would be several logistical problems and costs.
The other recommendations are to develop guidance including a list of factors to be considered by AAB Members in determining whether good/reasonable cause exists for the postponement or continuance of an appeal, and to affirm existing guidance and encourage counties to “share strategies and explore options to maximize the effectiveness of their scheduling process.”
BOE Chair Sally Lieber praised Vazquez and his staff, as well as the BOE staff, for holding valuable discussions on the AAB issues. The work group held three lengthy meetings, during which assessors, taxpayer advocates, and others presented detailed testimony about the AAB process in counties of various sizes, and the pros and cons of numerous potential changes in the system.
The recommendation relating to continuances of appeals must be advisory in nature, to preserve discretion of AABs to make the decision, the board noted. Chief Counsel Richard Moon said the form of this guidance has not yet been determined, but could be a letter to assessors or a regulatory change. The latter would have the effect of law but would take much longer to issue, he noted. Defining “good cause” would be a change that requires a regulation, he said, because that isn’t defined in statute, specific to this use.
Vazquez said the next step is to bring forward a final summary report to “continue these important conversations with stakeholders.”
In other action from the board’s meeting in Sacramento:
Annual Report Documents 4.6 Percent Increase in Assessed Values. Stowers presented the BOE’s 2024-25 Annual Report and noted that the assessed value of properties in California reached $9.1 trillion that year – an increase of 4.6 percent from the prior year. The value of locally assessed property accounts for $9 trillion of the total, she said.
Stowers made a point to note that the cover of the report features a photo of the San Diego coastline, and that photos in the publication are labeled with their locations – a response to Schaefer’s annual recommendation for more information about the photos used in BOE publications. Schaefer, whose district includes San Diego, was pleased that the information was included.
Schaefer inquired about the specificity of the data in the report about how many phone calls were fielded by the staff and what the issues were in each call.
Stowers said the BOE’s practice is to document as much as possible, in this case providing “due diligence so we know who’s calling and what the questions are.” The data can be used to determine if there are any gaps in the information provided to taxpayers, she said.
Roll Changes Approved. The board voted 4-0 to approve several staff-recommended changes to the state-assessed properties roll to change values based on properties discovered during audits. Cohen participated in these votes, as they involve a constitutional function that cannot be delegated to the deputy controller, and BOE Vice Chair Ted Gaines was not present for this portion of the meeting.
Additionally, the board approved a change to the 2023 roll to correct a staff processing error for a Los Angeles County property. The staff removed the land value, but not the improvements that should not have been included on the roll, staff testified. The information about the change will be sent to the county, which will be responsible for issuing a refund.
Assessors Get More Time. Stowers announced that the assessors in Mariposa and Sierra counties have been given 30-day extensions to prepare their local assessment rolls.
More Social Media Content. John Taylor, hired in February as the BOE’s new chief communications officer, told the board he has expanded the agency’s social media content. Analytics show that the BOE’s website had 1.2 million views during the first three months of the year, he said, with the most popular destinations being the homepage, property tax landing page, and Proposition 19 page, in that order. Proposition 19 was the most searched topic on the site, Taylor added.