San Bernardino County Property Tax Division Unclaimed Refund Procedures

Recommendations 4

• R00-45
  ADD WORDING TO THE TAX BILL THAT IS MAILED ANNUALLY BY THE TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR STATING THAT AN UNCLAIMED TAX REFUND IS DUE UNDER THIS PARCEL NUMBER.
• R00-46
  MAKE A CONSCIENTIOUS SEARCH BY THE PROPERTY TAX DIVISION OF BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS OWED TAX REFUNDS AND MAKE A SECOND MAILING TO NOTIFY THOSE TAXPAYERS THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AN UNCLAIMED TAX REFUND.
• R00-47
  PLACE A NOTICE IN ALL OF THE MAJOR COUNTY NEWSPAPERS BY THE PROPERTY TAX DIVISION ALERTING THE PUBLIC THAT THERE ARE ONLY 30 DAYS REMAINING TO CLAIM THEIR TAX REFUND, PRIOR TO REQUESTING TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND.
• R00-48
  REQUEST THE AUDITOR ANNUALLY SUBMIT TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR APPROVAL THE TIMELY TRANSFER OF THE ELIGIBLE UNCLAIMED TAX REFUNDS TO THE GENERAL FUND. COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE An important function of California Grand Juries is to consider bona fide complaints concerning local government operations submitted by members of the public. In San Bernardino County, complaints must be submitted in writing using the Grand Jury’s standard complaint form. As the Grand Jury has no assigned staff of investigators, public input is of vital importance if government oversight is to be effective. The identity of the complainant, the actions taken by the complainant to solve the problem, the subject and target of the complaint, and supporting data and information are essential if the Grand Jury is to investigate properly and recommend appropriate actions. All complaints are handled in the strictest confidence as required by the law. The 1999-2000 Grand Jury received 21 complaints. Each complaint was reviewed by the Complaints Committee for the appropriate action to be taken by the Grand Jury. There were nine complaints that were determined not to be within the jurisdiction of the Grand Jury. A letter was sent to each complainant informing him or her of that fact. There were five complaints that fell within the jurisdiction of the Grand Jury and those complaints were forwarded to the appropriate committee for action. The assigned Grand Jury committee investigated each complaint received from the Complaints Committee and may have included the results of its investigation in its final report. The fact that the investigation was based on a complaint will remain confidential, as well as the source of the complaint. There were seven complaints that were returned to the complainants stating that the Grand Jury would take no action; usually this was because the complainants may not have provided enough supporting data. HEALTH CARE SERVICES COMMITTEE As the 1999-2000 Grand Jury began its term of service, the Health Care Services Committee had three departments within its scope of responsibility: Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) Public Health Department (PHD) During the structural reorganization by the County Administrative Office, the latter two departments (DBH and PHD) became a responsibility of the Human Services System. For the purpose of this Grand Jury’s investigating and reporting, all were retained within the Health Care Services Committee.