O.C. Board Irate Over Assessor’s Appeal Forfeits

County supervisors are considering a number of sanctions against zAssessor Bradley L. Jacobs for refusing to defend property valuations, potentially causing the county to lose millions of dollars in tax revenue at a time when it needs money the most.

Jacobs contends that budget cuts since the the county lost $1.7 billion in risky investments and declared bankruptcy in December have made it impossible for him to do his job.

But that explanation is not good enough for some members of the Board of Supervisors.

“We’re being stonewalled,” Supervisor William G. Steiner said Thursday. “Under normal circumstances, you can’t expect staff to do the impossible, but these aren’t normal times. All department heads are having to deliver their services under these trying times.”

Among actions being mulled over by the frustrated supervisors are: seeking a grand jury investigation into the assessor’s office, calling for an internal audit of his office, transferring some of his functions to other departments and having the board officially censure him.

The supervisors’ anger centers on Jacobs’ refusal to defend his property valuations for parcels under appeal from property owners who feel their tax bills are too high. As of March, there were more than 61,300 appeals pending--about a two years’ backlog.

In memos to county officials, Jacobs has indicated that budget cuts have left his office incapable of adequately handling a growing workload. The two biggest drains on his office, according to Jacobs, are producing this year’s tax roll and defending assessment appeal cases.

Jacobs, who has been in office for 20 years and earns $100,000 a year, did not return repeated requests for comment this week.

Since the bankruptcy, Jacobs’ budget of about $17 million has been cut $250,000. He is supposed to cut his budget by another $1.3 million this fiscal year.

Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said all county departments are struggling with their budgets in the wake of the bankruptcy, but Jacobs is the only one who is being difficult. Some county officials said Jacobs is trying to force the board to give his office more money.

Because Jacobs is an elected official, the board has no authority to fire him.

This is the third time the board has considered taking severe action against another elected county official since the county was declared bankruptcy in December. Previously, supervisors found themselves unable to fire longtime Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron and Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis when they became upset with those elected officials’ job performances. Citron has since resigned, while Lewis remains on the job.

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The latest tangle with Jacobs is the second time in less than a year that supervisors have quarreled with him.

Shortly before the bankruptcy, Jacobs and former Clerk of the Board Phyllis Henderson were criticized by the board for allowing about 100 assessment appeals to exceed a statutory two-year deadline before scheduling hearings. The blunder cost the county about $1.6 million, about $99,000 of which would have gone to the county’s general fund.

Vasquez said Jacobs’ refusal to defend valuations is putting county tax revenue in peril again.

“We’re evaluating our options to see what strategies and resources are available to us,” Vasquez said. “Here we go again with another deal with another elected official. The board wants to see a resolution. This is not a way to conduct business. It’s another episode that we will have to deal with.”

At the board’s next meeting Tuesday, supervisors will consider a number of proposals that could affect the assessor’s office, including creating a fourth Assessment Appeals Board to handle the increase workload and initiating an audit of Jacob’s office.

County Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy this week tried to downplay the recent turmoil caused by the assessor, saying he was meeting with Jacobs to work out any problems.

“We don’t want this to be newsworthy,” he said.

But Jacobs’ refusal to defend his assessed property values at appeals hearings has county officials concerned. The hearings give property owners a chance to protest the county’s valuation of their land and to seek lower tax assessments. If the assessor refuses to put on a case, the value the property owner has suggested becomes the assessed value for tax purposes.

The county counsel has been working on a legal opinion this week to inform Jacobs that state law requires him to defend his valuations when they are appealed, county officials said.

Jacobs has apparently tried to skirt state law by sending representatives to the appeal hearings but not having them defend the property values. The county’s attorney does not believe that satisfies state law, sources said.

According to Jacobs’ memos, he blames much of his troubles on the county’s bankruptcy.

In a June 21 memo, he wrote that the bankruptcy has created a huge backlog of appeal cases that couldn’t be accommodated with his current staff. In that memo, he said he would not defend some cases, including some entire hearing agendas, starting July 10.

Because of the county’s bankruptcy, assessment appeal hearings were automatically postponed. A judge lifted the stay on the hearing in March. County officials said the four-month delay on hearings has further backlogged an already overburdened system.

Jim Bone, a Mission Viejo accountant and former chairman of an assessment-appeals board, said the assessor’s office is being forced to complete two crucial functions with limited resources: handling appeals and placing new values on properties throughout the county.

“He had to make a decision,” Bone said of Jacobs. “The volume is almost unmanageable.”

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Bone criticized the assessor’s office for writing off entire hearings instead of deciding whether to defend appeals on a case-by-case basis.

He said the assessor’s office should perform a quick review of each case to determine whether it’s worth mounting a defense.

“I have no objection to certain specific cases not being defended. Sometimes, the value at issue is less than the cost of preparing a case,” Bone said. “My concern is when you decide not to defend an entire morning or afternoon calendar.”

Overwhelmed by sharp increases in the number of assessment appeals, other counties have also considered not fighting some appeals.

Riverside County officials said they might be forced to take action similar to Orange County’s if the assessor’s office cannot spare the staff to defend each appeal. Like Orange County, the Riverside County assessor’s office is also in the midst of placing new assessments on properties.

But Rex Jackson, an official with the Riverside County assessor’s office, said the county would probably not resort to writing off entire appeals calendars. Instead, Jackson said, his office would review cases individually and decide not to defend ones where there were only minor disputes in property values.

“We would prioritize,” Jackson said.

Charles Knudsen, principal appraiser with the State Board of Equalization, said that with the real estate market in flux, counties around the state are struggling to handle an increasing number of appeals from property owners who believe their assessments are too high.

Times correspondent Shelby Grad contributed to this report.

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