It Couldn’t Hurt to Ask

Orange County Assessor Bradley L. Jacobs has delayed too long in applying for state funds that could help his office hire more people and hack away at a backlog of assessment appeals. He should take action now.

Three months ago an independent audit criticized the assessor for not seeking to participate in the state program last year. The audit said Orange County was eligible for up to $21 million over three years. One year’s delay has already cut the maximum available to the county to $14 million.

Jacobs contends he did not apply because the county was not eligible, though that was disputed by auditors and some county officials. We recommended then that he ask the state to include the county in the program. The worst that could happen would be a rejection. But the assessor has taken no action, unlike 40 of the state’s 58 counties, including all the other counties in Southern California.

The state funds are designated as loans to a county to help it hire workers and better handle increasing workloads. If a county meets efficiency goals, the loans are forgiven.

Jacobs said Orange County did not qualify for the loans under state standards. His explanation was that the state offered the funds only to counties that did not reduce the budgets or staffs of their assessor’s offices. Jacobs had seen a cut in both budget and staff, due in part to Orange County’s bankruptcy more than two years ago.

The state’s reasoning was good. Without the conditions, supervisors could cut an assessor’s staff and funding, knowing the state would make up the lost money.

Jacobs’ office has too few people to cope with the backlog of appeals. The number of homeowners questioning the assessed values of their residences understandably jumped during the recession. No one should pay taxes on a house assessed at $300,000 if the fair market value is only $250,000.

The assessor’s office has a heavy workload. Total property in the county is valued at $173 billion; taxes paid on the property come to about $2 billion.

It may be the county was shortsighted in reducing the assessor’s staff and budget, but cuts had to be made in many departments after the bankruptcy. Jacobs is an elected official, so there are limits on what the supervisors can do in this case. If he wants someone to say that maybe the cuts were wrong, let someone say that. But Jacobs should apply for the state funds well before the June deadline for this year’s allotment.

If the loans are approved, Jacobs can get the increased staff both he and the independent auditors agreed was needed. If not, it will be up to the supervisors to decide whether they can find funds for the assessor.