Angry Board Orders Audit of O.C. Assessor

Frustrated Orange County supervisors on Tuesday escalated their attack on Assessor Bradley L. Jacobs, who has refused to defend hundreds of disputed property valuations, and voted unanimously to order an audit of his office.

Jacobs, who was asked by county administrators to attend the board’s evening meeting, did not.

“I think Mr. Jacobs’ absence says a lot tonight,” said Supervisor William G. Steiner. “I don’t know how an elected official who is responsible for an agency . . . can be missing in action during an unprecedented crisis and expect to get away with it.”

The Board of Supervisors also moved to transfer six positions from Jacobs’ office to the clerk of the board to handle a portion of the overburdened assessment appeal process, which Jacobs has said he can’t manage without additional staff and money.

Steiner said he wants the board to go beyond the audit and job transfers and look into the possibility of deputizing workers in the General Services Agency to take over the assessor’s appeal cases.

Other supervisors and members of the public also took turns criticizing Jacobs and accusing him of putting revenue for the county at risk by not defending his property valuations under challenge by property owners as too high.

Jacobs could not be reached for comment Tuesday night, but he has said the county hasn’t lost any money because of his actions. He said he is doing the best he can with a budget that has been slashed because of the county’s financial trouble.

Since the bankruptcy, the assessor’s budget of about $17 million has been cut by $250,000. The budget is expected to be cut by another $1.3 million this fiscal year.

Jacobs said his staff can’t defend all the appeal cases that have been scheduled recently because they are preoccupied with putting out next year’s tax roll, which he says is more important.

Supervisor Jim Silva said the situation with Jacobs makes him “sick,” while Supervisor Marian Bergeson said she was “very disappointed.”

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton said the brewing debacle with Jacobs highlights the board’s problems in trying to supervise elected officials, whom they have no real power to control.

The board directed interim County Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier to look for a company to perform a management and operational audit of Jacobs’ office. The cost of the audit was not discussed.

In other action Tuesday the board:

* Deadlocked over whether to direct the county to work with the Orange County Transportation Authority to study the practical and legal issues involving a transfer of airport ownership. The transfer of John Wayne Airport is viewed by Stanton and Steiner as one possible way of meeting cash needs brought about by the county-run investment pool’s $1.7-billion loss. Silva, Bergeson and a number of public speakers said such a study would be a waste of time.

* Partially approved a management audit of county operations as part of an ambitious government restructuring plan. The board allocated about $86,000 to begin the work, but postponed funding the remaining $300,000 until the county can determine where the money will come from.

* Agreed to let the city of Laguna Hills annex a 1.5-square-mile pocket of county land known as North Laguna Hills. Under the deal, the county will be relieved of the burden of providing services to the area. The county is also assured of receiving a portion of the property tax revenue that the city gets by incorporating the land.

The board’s most dramatic action, however, centered on Jacobs, who frustrated the board last November when it was disclosed that the county had lost about $1.6 million because assessment appeals had passed a statutory two-year deadline without being heard. In such cases, the property owner automatically wins.

This time the board is upset with Jacobs for not defending a number of his disputed valuations. Property owners who challenge their tax bills before an appeals board have a better chance of winning a reduction if Jacobs’ office does not defend its property valuations.

Jacobs said the problem results in part from poor scheduling, which is the responsibility of the clerk of the board. Jacobs said he can defend only about 800 of the more than 1,200 cases that are scheduled for review each week.

County officials said Tuesday that Jacobs was offered more money to help him handle the appeals but dropped the offer when Jacobs would not guarantee that he would use the cash for appeal purposes.

County officials said the county is facing a critical appeals backlog. Currently, about 42,000 appeals are pending. And, as the real estate market continues to sag in California, county officials said, they expect another 35,000 to 40,000 cases to be filed by September. That would create more than a two-year backlog, they said.

* INTEREST IN CONGRESS: Panel will investigate county’s handling of bankruptcy. A10