San Joaquin County Grand Jury
• 2012-2013
San Joaquin County Grand Jury County’s “Most Wanted” – Delinquent Property Taxes 2012-2013 Case No. 0612
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 12 findings
F1
3, F2.1, F2.2 and Recommendations: R1.1, R1.2, R1.3, R.2.1, R2.2 San Joaquin County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk respond within 60 days to Findings: F2.1, F2.2, F3.1, F3.2, F3.3, F3.4 and Recommendations: R2.1, R2.2, R2.3, R3.1, R3.2, R3.3 Mail or hand-deliver a hard copy of the response to: Honorable David P. Warner, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court 222 East Weber Avenue, Room 303 Stockton, CA 95202 Also, please email the response to Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury, at grandjury@sjcourts.org
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
1 Beginning Tax Year 2013-2014, the Tax Collector conduct two tax sales each year.
F2
1 There is no regular, scheduled communication between the Tax Collector’s office and the Assessor-Recorder’s office regarding foreclosed and/or abandoned properties which contributes to the inaccuracy of affected records.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
1 By December 31, 2013, the Assessor-Recorder and the Tax Collector develop, revise and/or refine departmental policies and procedures that will facilitate meaningful, timely and accurate communications between and among all parties to ensure the accuracy of all records shared by both offices.
F3
1 There is no time frame established for processing changes of ownership to expedite tax collection.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
1 The Assessor-Recorder establish defined timelines for the processing of regular changes of property ownership by December 31, 2013 and conduct training for all staff on methods to achieve established timelines.
F1.1
By conducting a tax auction of defaulted properties only once each year, the San Joaquin County Treasurer-Tax Collector decreases the number of opportunities for the County to realize a more rapid recovery of revenue from defaulted property taxes.
No recommendations for this finding
F1.2
The San Joaquin County Treasurer-Tax Collector uses only face-to-face auctions as a means to conduct property sales thereby limiting the number of participants in tax auctions.
No recommendations for this finding
F1.3
The San Joaquin County Treasurer-Tax Collector has insufficient staff to manage an ever- increasing volume of delinquent property tax demands.
No recommendations for this finding
F2.1
There is no regular, scheduled communication between the Tax Collector’s office and the Assessor-Recorder’s office regarding foreclosed and/or abandoned properties which contributes to the inaccuracy of affected records.
No recommendations for this finding
F2.2
The use of two different computer programs within the tax valuation/collection structure hinders the daily exchange of critical information among departments charged with overseeing public assets.
No recommendations for this finding
F3.1
There is no time frame established for processing changes of ownership to expedite tax collection.
No recommendations for this finding
F3.2
The back-log of documents requiring processing is mounting due to staff shortages.
No recommendations for this finding
F3.3
The computer technology currently used by the Assessor-Recorder’s Office is insufficient to keep pace with the demand on processing time, especially of agricultural properties.
No recommendations for this finding
F3.4
While not totally obsolete, the aging 18 year-old computer hardware system in use at the Assessor-Recorder’s Office does not provide for the most efficient use of staff time or effort.
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 1
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CL1The San Joaquin County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk’s Office and the San Joaquin County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office each provide a valuable service to the citizens of San Joaquin County. Along with other departments, these offices have faced many staff reductions while experiencing an increase in their workload. The Grand Jury is concerned with the overall efficiency of these offices relative to other Assessors and Tax Collectors in the state. A statement heard more than once during the interviews was: “We have done it that way for 40 years.” Given the current number of property transfers within San Joaquin County, the Grand Jury urges the Assessor and Tax Collector to investigate methods to upgrade their procedures while complying with the California Tax Code. Improvements will not only help promote productivity but will expedite the receipt of much needed tax revenue and better serve the citizens of San Joaquin County. Disclaimer Grand Jury reports are based on documentary evidence and testimony of sworn and admonished witnesses, not conjecture or opinion. However, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing such evidence except upon specific approval of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court or another such Judge appointed by the Presiding Judge (Penal Code Sections 911, 924.1 or 929). Similarly, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing the identity of witnesses except upon order of the court for narrowly defined purposes (Penal Code Sections 924.2 and 929). Response Requirements California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to all findings and recommendations contained in this report be submitted to Presiding Judge of San Joaquin County Superior Court by (within 60 days). San Joaquin County Treasurer-Tax Collector respond within 60 days to Findings: F1.1, F1.2, F.1.3, F2.1, F2.2 and Recommendations: R1.1, R1.2, R1.3, R.2.1, R2.2 San Joaquin County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk respond within 60 days to Findings: F2.1, F2.2, F3.1, F3.2, F3.3, F3.4 and Recommendations: R2.1, R2.2, R2.3, R3.1, R3.2, R3.3 Mail or hand-deliver a hard copy of the response to: Honorable David P. Warner, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court 222 East Weber Avenue, Room 303 Stockton, CA 95202 Also, please email the response to Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury, at grandjury@sjcourts.org