2008-2009 Final Report

Employee performance evaluations in the Assessor’s Office are not being conducted according to the schedule specified by County policy.

Absence of the expectation that all employees attain appropriate computer competency, and the lack of adequate support for employees to improve their competency, contribute to declining operational efficiency in the Assessor’s Office. 10

The lack of a convenient Web-based system through which citizens can access property information and other public records through the Internet contributes to operational inefficiencies in the Assessor’s Office and to unnecessary delays in recording, processing, and providing information.

Regular management and staff meetings are not conducted in the Assessor’s Office.

There appears to be a practice of grooming a current employee in the Assessor’s Office to ultimately run for election to the Assessor position.

Twenty California counties currently combine the duties of the Assessor with those of other county offices, as permitted by Government Code. Combining offices and functions for purposes of cost and management efficiency could be a benefit to Humboldt County.

and Recommendation 5. Background As part of its responsibility to periodically review County agencies under its jurisdiction, the 2008-2009 Grand Jury of Humboldt County conducted a review of the Humboldt County Assessor’s Office. The review was conducted in the time period beginning in August of 2008 and ending in March of 2009. The County Assessor is an elected official responsible for the discovery, valuation, and assessment of all taxable property located within the County. The Assessor’s Office is located on the third floor of the Humboldt County Courthouse and when fully staffed includes thirty-two employees. In conducting this review, representatives of the Grand Jury interviewed the Assessor, current and former employees of the Assessor’s Office, and other individuals knowledgeable of county operations. In addition, Jury members reviewed documents and other resources available through the California Assessors’ Offices’ Web site, which includes links to the fifty-eight counties in California. Report The California Revenue and Taxation Code is the primary resource used by the Assessor’s Office when establishing a value on real and/or personal property. Real property is assessed, or reassessed, when there is a change of ownership or significant physical modifications are made to the property. These modifications include new construction as well as additions to, or 8 remodeling of, existing structures. The appraised value of real property is determined by the initial value, the purchase price, and the value of modifications to the property, as established by financial records of an improvement project contractor. Personal property is subject to annual appraisal and includes items such as boats and aircraft as well as furniture, equipment, and supplies used in the operation of a business. The total Secured Assessment Units in Humboldt County for 2008-09 are estimated at 75,250. In 2008-09 it is projected that 9,150 Business/Personal Property Assessments will be performed. The total property tax roll value for all assessed property in the County is estimated at $10.7 billion. A standard two percent increase is applied to the base value of real property in the County on an annual basis, unless the State Board of Equalization determines that the California Cost of Living Index indicates the increase should be less than two percent. Since the 1970s a value of less than two percent has been applied on four occasions. An appeal process is available to property owners who wish to contest the assessed value of property. Appeals are heard by an Appeals Board consisting of three individuals appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The Appeals Board meets on an as-needed basis. Most of the appeals that are heard by the Appeals Board receive a ruling that is favorable to the appellant. Members of the Board of Supervisors occasionally inquire as to the status of a constituent’s property. Although such an inquiry can raise the interest of the Assessor’s Office in addressing issues relative to a particular property, the Grand Jury found no indication of a Supervisor interfering or unduly advocating for a constituent. The Assessor’s Office is not normally involved in establishing property designations or in determining the legal/illegal status of a property. These status determinations include decisions regarding properties in Timber Production Zones (TPZ) and “suspect” properties, which are those properties “red flagged” by the Planning Department when the property use designation is unclear. The responsibility of the Assessor’s Office’s is to place a value on legally designated properties that have been assigned an Assessor’s Parcel Number. The Assessor’s staff makes these determinations according to the Revenue and Taxation Code and a Procedures Manual developed for employees. Disagreements over the status of some land parcels cause confusion, inefficiency, and delay in the Assessor’s Office as well as in other departments of the County. Staff positions in the Assessor’s Office include a supervising leadership group, assessment and transfer personnel, draftspersons, technicians, and support personnel. These positions also include ten appraisers, who are usually assigned to either personal or real property appraisals in a specific geographic area of the County. The 2008-09 General Fund Budget for the Assessor’s Office is $2,497,040 of which 85.5 percent is for employee salaries and benefits. When seeking, providing, or researching information in the Assessor’s Office, the public is assisted at the front desk by designated technicians. Appraisers are assigned to front desk support on a rotating basis. Two computer terminals are available to the public for researching recorded 9 and assessed properties within the County. All such property records are public records. Copies of records and maps are available for a fee. Qualifications for employment as an Appraiser include a Bachelor’s Degree or appropriate professional experience. Upon initial employment an Appraiser is assigned to a Supervising Appraiser for on-the job training and is required to participate in additional training provided by the State of California. Probationary employees in the Assessor’s Office are to be evaluated at the end of a three-month period and again at least ten days prior to the end of their six-month probationary period. Permanent employees are to be evaluated on an annual basis two weeks prior to their anniversary date of employment. In practice, performance evaluations are not completed on a timely basis, or at all. Over the past two years, 18 evaluations have been completed when as many as 60 evaluations were required. The Grand Jury believes that this lack of evaluations is having a negative effect on employee performance and morale. The Assessor’s Office uses a computer software program called Megabyte for recording and tracking information. This program is in common use in Assessors’ Offices throughout the state. Also in common use in other counties is a Web-based system through which citizens can obtain property information and other public records through the Internet. The lack of such a system in Humboldt County contributes to operational inefficiencies in the Assessor’s Office and to unnecessary delays in recording, processing, and providing information. The Grand Jury also learned that not all employees in the Assessor’s Office have the appropriate level of technical competency. Absence of the expectation that all employees attain appropriate competency and the lack of adequate support for employees to improve their competency contribute to declining operational efficiency in the office. Regular management staff meetings are not conducted in the Assessor’s Office. The Grand Jury also observed that there appears to be a tradition in the Assessor’s Office of unofficially preselecting and grooming an existing employee to run for election to the Assessor position when it next becomes vacant. Although this tradition may tend to produce a qualified and experienced candidate for the Assessor position, it can also result in the selected candidate’s feeling inappropriately obligated to the current employees who participated in the pre-selection and grooming process. Findings 1. Employee performance evaluations in the Assessor’s Office are not being conducted according to the schedule specified by County policy. 2. Absence of the expectation that all employees attain appropriate computer competency, and the lack of adequate support for employees to improve their competency, contribute to declining operational efficiency in the Assessor’s Office. 10 3. The lack of a convenient Web-based system through which citizens can access property information and other public records through the Internet contributes to operational inefficiencies in the Assessor’s Office and to unnecessary delays in recording, processing, and providing information. 4. Regular management and staff meetings are not conducted in the Assessor’s Office. 5. There appears to be a practice of grooming a current employee in the Assessor’s Office to ultimately run for election to the Assessor position. 6. Twenty California counties currently combine the duties of the Assessor with those of other county offices, as permitted by Government Code. Combining offices and functions for purposes of cost and management efficiency could be a benefit to Humboldt County. 7. There is continuing confusion regarding the status of some properties in the County. This was previously noted in the 2006 Grand Jury Report. These unresolved issues are a source of frustration for the Assessor’s Office, for other county departments, and for property owners in Humboldt County.