Board’s Clerk Resigns Amid Tax Appeals Probe

Under pressure from the Board of Supervisors, Clerk of the Board Phyllis A. Henderson resigned from her position Tuesday amid a county investigation into her office’s handling of more than 200 property assessment appeals.

In a brief letter to the board, Henderson said her resignation would be effective Nov. 30. She thanked supervisors for their support since her appointment in 1992 and said she would “provide every assistance possible during the transition period between now and my departure.”

County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider, who accepted Henderson’s resignation, said she “did the right thing.”

Schneider said Henderson will be reassigned to her former job as a staff analyst with the county’s General Services Agency. Her base pay of $62,000 will remain the same, but she will lose about $10,700 in executive benefits, such as a county car.

Henderson did not return repeated telephone calls to her office Friday. She become embroiled in controversy last month when county officials discovered that more than 200 property assessments appeals had expired before they were set for hearings.

As a result, the county is forced to accept the owners’ estimated value of their property instead of the county assessor’s. The mistake could cost cities, schools, the county and other governmental agencies as much as $10.7 million in tax revenue.

County supervisors were outraged over the foul-up and have demanded to know who was responsible. Henderson, who is responsible for scheduling appeal hearings, and county Assessor Bradley L. Jacobs, who initially receives and processes the appeals, have blamed each other for the blunder.

Some board members, however, said they thought Henderson was more responsible for the bureaucratic snafu. Nonetheless, some board members are pushing for an independent management audit into Jacobs’ office.

On Tuesday, the supervisors held a closed, executive hearing on Henderson’s job performance. Some supervisors had said privately that they would fire Henderson if she didn’t resign.

Supervisor William G. Steiner said Henderson’s resignation was “to be expected.”

Nonetheless, he said, “the responsibility has to be shared by more than just Phyllis from my perspective. I hope the grand jury and CAO study of the process will fix accountability and give a clearer picture of what went wrong. I think there are still some unanswered questions.”