Property Tax Bills Holding Steady--for Now
The rebounding real estate market means thousands of Ventura County homeowners could soon see significant increases in their property values--and correspondingly, a bigger bite in their annual tax bills.
But county Assessor Glenn Gray said because the current property tax bills, which are delinquent after midnight Friday, are based on the evaluations his office did last year, they should not show too many drastic changes.
Overall, the assessed value of Ventura County’s properties went up 3.3% last year to $45.9 billion, Gray said. That is a fraction of the double-digit increases of the mid-1980s, but an improvement from the first half of the decade when assessed values were increasing only about 1% or 2% a year.
“There are some areas where values have gone up in the eastern part of the county,” Gray said. “We’ll probably, by next year, see more of that in the bills, but not this time around.”
There is a common misconception that property taxes in California can only go up 2% any given year because of Proposition 13, Gray said.
But under a later initiative, Proposition 8, an assessor who lowers the assessed valuation of property to reflect its market value--as was done earlier this decade--can go back later and increase it to what it was before, or even higher, as long as it does not exceed what would have been allowable under Proposition 13.
“I don’t think that the public understands that,” he said. “I think that is something we need to do some public relations on.”
Treasurer-Tax Collector Hal Pittman estimates his office, which sent out more than 219,000 bills, will take in more than $521 million in property taxes and assessment fees. That would be a $19-million increase from the previous year.
The largest bills this year were sent to Southern California Edison Co., which owed $7.5 million, and Amgen Inc., which is on the hook for $6.9 million.
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Property owners who don’t make Friday’s deadline must pay an extra 10% in delinquency fees. And if they don’t pay property taxes for five consecutive years, they could lose their property to foreclosure.
Ventura County’s delinquency rate is less than 3%--already among the lower rates for any county in California--and it appears to be dropping, which Pittman said signals a healthy local economy.
“It is considered a barometer of economic times,” Pittman said. “That’s one of the last things people don’t pay.”
At the treasurer-tax collector’s office in Ventura, homeowners took time from their lunch breaks Wednesday to pay before the deadline.
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“This bill is 50 cents less than my paycheck,” said Dave Atkins, a Ventura Ford dealership employee who waited in line to make a $900 payment on his Montalvo home. “I’m really thrilled.”
Sarcasm aside, Atkins and most of those in line said they had no regrets about paying property taxes--if the money contributes to the county’s enviable lifestyle.
“I figure the landscaping and the roads are good in Ventura County, so if this is how I have to contribute, I don’t mind,” he said. “I enjoy the quality of life here. It’s worth it.”
Truth is, less than 20 cents of every property tax dollar in California goes to cities and counties, with much of the money being used to pay for schools. County budget officials have said they expect a 5% increase in property tax revenues in the budget for the coming fiscal year.
“The amount that you pay is really pretty flat,” said Christine McKinley , a Simi Valley mortgage broker who stopped by the tax collector’s office Wednesday to drop off a tax check for a client refinancing his mortgage. “But I’m sure it will go up.”
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FYI
The second half of the annual property tax installment must be postmarked by Friday. For information, call the treasurer-tax collector’s office at 654-3744.
