Official Newsletter of the Alameda County Assessor's Office | March 2024

Message from Assessor Phong La Dear Alameda County Residents, During the month of March, we honor Women's History Month and celebrate International Women's Day. These holidays give us the opportunity to acknowledge and commend the resilience and contributions of women throughout history. May we continue to celebrate women and strive towards a more equitable society. This month, my staff attended Dublin's 40th St. Patrick's Day Festival at Dublin's Civic Center. Thank you to all of the City of Dublin staff for organizing this remarkable event; we're grateful to have the opportunity to connect with our East Alameda County residents! The Las Positas College President's Scholars invited me to their Leadership Panel where we discussed our approach to life, business, and leadership. I am thankful to have been invited to meet and connect with these young leaders. The California Lawyers Association invited me to give a Proposition 19 presentation at their 2024 Estate and Gift Tax Conference in San Francisco. Thank you to the California Lawyers Association for the invitation and opportunity to join their conference, I had a great time presenting! If you would like to invite me to your event, please reach out to my staff at AllAssessorPRU@acgov.org. April marks the Assessor's Office biggest community event of the year- our annual Homeowners Fair (HOF)! When I was elected, one of my primary goals was to bring the Assessor's Office to you, our constituents. Each year we bring the HOF to a new City, this year we are partnering with the City of Dublin to discuss ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) on Saturday, April 27th from 9 am- 1 pm at the Shannon Community Center. We will focus on learning the necessary steps to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit from City of Dublin staff, the Assessor's Office, and Dublin San Ramon Services District staff. As you may know, ADUs are an innovative, affordable, and effective way for adding much-needed housing in California. Additionally, we will have multiple raffle prizes and host a resource fair for participants to directly connect with City of Dublin staff and ADU companies. This is a FREE event and parking will be available on-site. Register now for Homeowners Fair on our Eventbrite page! As always, we remain committed to serving the residents of Alameda County.   Sincerely, Phong La Alameda County Assessor Women's History Month Spotlight! Mika Hankins, Alameda County Chief Deputy Assessor Mika Hankins serves as the Alameda County Chief Deputy Assessor; Mika first joined the Assessor's Office in November of 2011 as an Auditor-Appraiser. An Oakland native, Mika earned her Business Administration and Accounting degree from California State University, Hayward. Upon graduating, Mika obtained employment with AT&T supervising a staff of 30 in a high-volume call center. It was there where Mika began her lifelong commitment to effectively communicating with the public. After 8 years, and prior to joining the Assessor's Office, Mika was a federal employee with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and later moved on to be a self-employed entrepreneur as an Enrolled Agent. Mika has dedicated her career to understanding and enforcing tax law along with providing a uniform and informational approach to helping taxpayers comprehend tax law and assessments. In addition to being an Auditor-Appraiser, Mika's career path in the Assessor's Office consists of Assessor's Representative, Appeals Supervisor, and Chief of Appraisal. Throughout her career, Mika strives to lead by example through her stellar work ethic, encouraging teamwork, and motivation of others to perform their best. One of her important objectives is to bring positive change to the office culture through bridging the communication gaps between the public and Assessor staff. Despite her achievements throughout her career, her proudest accomplishment is raising her 3 daughters ages 29, 19, and 10. Our Chief Deputy Assessor continues to further advance the Assessor's Office approach to property taxes while also making history as the first ever woman Chief Deputy Assessor in Alameda County! We are proud to have a woman-majority management team with leaders like Mika advancing the Assessor's Office with accomplished backgrounds and diverse perspectives. 5th Annual Homeowners Fair There's still time to register for our upcoming 5th Annual Homeowners Fair! This year, we will be in the City of Dublin on Saturday April 27th, starting at 9am, at the Shannon Community Center. We will focus on learning the necessary steps to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) from City of Dublin staff, the Assessor's Office, and Dublin San Ramon Services District staff. As you may know, ADUs are an innovative, affordable, and effective way for adding much-needed housing in California. Additionally, we will have multiple raffle prizes and host a resource fair for participants to directly connect with City of Dublin staff and ADU companies. This is a FREE event and parking will be available on-site. Register now - last year's event sold out! You can now register for our Homeowners Fair on our Eventbrite page. For any questions, please reach out to HOF@acgov.org REGISTER HERE! Assessor in the Community Assessor Phong La featured in The Castro Valley Forum in preparation for his presentation with the Castro Valley Rotary Club Assessor Maggy Chan at JMC Cellar's grand opening in Livermore Assessor Phong La (right), with San Francisco Assessor Joaquín Torres (center) and Yolo County Assessor Jesse Salinas (left) at the California Assessors' Association in Sacramento Assessor staff, Maggy Chan, at Innovo Dental and Implant Studio's ribbon cutting in Livermore Assessor staff at Dublin's 40th St. Patrick's Day Celebration Assessor Phong La, center, with the Las Positas College President Scholars Resource Business Personal Property What is Business Personal Property?   Business Personal Property (BPP) is any tangible property that is owned, claimed, possessed or controlled in the conduct of a profession, trade or business. Such property may be subject to property taxes. BPP generally includes all property owned or leased by a business except real property and inventory items. Business inventory and vehicles owned by the business and licensed with the Department of Motor Vehicles are not subject to BPP tax.   BPP includes, but is not limited to:   ·      Machinery ·      Computers ·      Equipment (fax machines, photocopiers, etc.) ·      Telephones ·      Furniture (desks, chairs, bookcases, etc.) ·      Supplies   The Assessor is required by law to annually assess most taxable BPP fair market value. In order to determine the fair market value, the Assessor employs a number of methodologies.   BPP is valued annually as of January 1st. Businesses are required to file a Business Property Statement (BPS) if the aggregate cost of business personal property is $100,000 or more, or if the Assessor makes a written request that you report your property (regardless of the cost or value).   Separate filings are required for each business location. The BPS should detail the acquisition costs of all supplies, machinery, equipment, fixtures, and if applicable, equipment and/or improvements under construction at your business location as of January 1st. BPSs must be filed by April 1st. A BPS will be considered delinquent if it is postmarked after May 7th. Amendments to your property statement may be made on or before May 31st if the original BPS was filed timely.   If a BPS is not filed, as required by law or requested by the Assessor, an "average" assessed value that is based upon businesses of a similar size and use may be used to derive an estimated value of your BPP will be applied. Additionally, a 10% penalty will be added to any assessment made on the estimated assessed due to the failure to file.    BPSs are private documents and are held confidential by the Assessor.   For more information on BPP, check out the Business Personal Property FAQ page HERE. For information on filing your Business Property Statement Form 571L, check HERE. Support Resources The next Property Transfer Legal Clinic will take place on Friday, April 19th. Please visit the link HERE to make an appointment with a volunteer attorney for a free 30-minute consultation. Stay in touch!