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

Message from Assessor Phong La Dear Alameda County Residents, Happy Lunar New Year and Black History Month! We start off February by celebrating Black History Month. Celebrated every February in honor of Frederic Douglass and Abraham Lincoln's birthday month, Black History Month honors the momentous achievements, contributions, and resilience of the African American community. On February 10th, we celebrated the Lunar New Year. My office was a proud participant of Oakland Chinatown's 32nd Lunar New Year Bazaar where members of my staff met with constituents and gave away prizes. May the Year of the Dragon bring you all prosperity and good fortune! This month, I had the opportunity to give an office overview and Proposition 19 presentation to the Hayward Rotary Club, Dublin Rotary Club, and Windermere Real Estate in Alameda. Thank you to theses groups for inviting me to meet with their members. Community engagement has always been a priority of mine and these events allow me to directly connect with my constituents. If your organization is interested in scheduling a presentation with me, please reach out to my staff at AllAssessorPRU@acgov.org. Last month, I had the honor of receiving a Distinguished Service Award at the Alameda County Bar Association Awards Dinner. I am so proud and thankful for this recognition. I also want to acknowledge recipients Jocelyn Sperling, Norah Alyami, Judge Brad Seligman, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and Centro Legal De La Raza for their tremendous work. I am very excited to announce our 5th Annual Homeowners Fair! This year, we will be in the City of Dublin on 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. 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. You can now register for our Homeowners Fair on our Eventbrite page. My team will share more details in the upcoming weeks. Please be aware of the upcoming due date for filing Business Personal Property statements, Form 571L. The deadline is Monday, April 1st. Filings can be done by mailing us the paper statement or by filing electronically. You can find more information regarding Form 571L on our website. As always, we remain committed to serving the residents of Alameda County.   Sincerely, Phong La Alameda County Assessor Jobs in the Assessor's Office Auditor Appraiser I This classification specification describes the entry level of the Auditor-Appraiser flexibly staffed series. Incumbents of this classification, under close supervision, perform audits, as required under California Revenue and Taxation Code (hereinafter R&TC), Section 469, of the books and records of businesses, to make appraisals of business personal property and trade fixtures for assessment purposes; and to perform related work as required. Compensation $39.33-$42.93 Hourly Job Posting https://jobapscloud.com/Alameda/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1=23&R2=2705&R3=01 Auditor Appraiser II Auditor-Appraiser II's work independently in the field and in the office under general supervision, performing audits of books and records and appraisals of business personal property, and trade fixtures. This classification is distinguished from the next lower classification of Auditor-Appraiser I in that the latter is the entry-level, trainee classification in the Auditor-Appraiser series. This classification is distinguished from the next higher classification of Auditor-Appraiser III in that incumbents in the latter classification perform audits of the books and records and appraisals of business personal property and trade fixtures of the most complex businesses, and/or perform audits throughout the United States Compensation $43.47 - $52.03/hour Job Posting https://jobapscloud.com/Alameda/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1=23&R2=2710&R3=01 Auditor Appraiser III Incumbents in this position are located in the Office of the Assessor. Auditor-Appraiser IIIs spend the majority of their time performing audits of books, records, and appraisals of business personal property and trade fixtures of the largest and most complex businesses. In the performance of these audits and appraisals, incumbents may be required to travel throughout the United States. This classification differs from the next lower classification of Auditor-Appraiser II in that the latter performs the more routine audits of small- to large-sized businesses (less complex than the most "complex", as defined herein), not requiring on-site audits of records or inspection of assets situated outside the State of California. Auditor-Appraiser IIIs differs from the next higher classification of Supervising Auditor-Appraiser II in that the latter classification has full supervisory responsibility of audit-appraisal units. Compensation $49.33 - $59.38/hour Job Posting https://jobapscloud.com/Alameda/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1=23&R2=2715&R3=01 Assessor in the Community Assessor Phong La with Windermere Real Estate in Alameda Assessor Phong La at Supervisor Carson's Lunar New Year Celebration in Oakland's Chinatown Assessor staff Maggy Chan with staff from SpringHill Suites by Marriott at their ribbon cutting in Pleasanton Assessor staff Maggy Chan and Mona Barra-Gibson (far right) at the Oakland Chinatown 32nd Lunar New Year Bazaar Assessor staff Maggy Chan and our intern Benjamin Leong tabling at the Oakland Chinatown 32nd Lunar New Year Bazaar Assessor Phong La (right) at the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council's 2nd Annual Lunar New Year Parade Assessor Phong La accepting his Distinguished Service Award from the Alameda County Bar Association Resource Value Change Due to New Construction       Under California state law, your property tax may increase due to "New Construction" activity. "New Construction" refers to any improvements to your home other than normal maintenance or repair. When construction is performed, the changed or new portion of your home may be reassessed at market value, thus increasing your property's assessment value.    How does our office determine market value of your new construction?  If the new construction project is only partially completed on the January 1st lien date, the law requires the Assessor to estimate the fair market value in its current state of completion, until the project is 100% complete and the final assessment is determined. If, for example, a building permit is issued on August 15th and on the subsequent January 1st construction is only 30% completed, the Assessor will estimate the value of the "30% portion" and add that value to the next assessment roll. After construction is complete, the Assessor's Office will assess the improvement at market value and add this value to your existing value. (Note: market value may differ from the cost of construction)    How will I know what the updated assessment value is once construction is complete?    A Notice of Supplemental Assessment is mailed to you to notify you of the updated assessed value. The new assessed value is then submitted to the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector. Those offices are responsible for mailing and collecting your tax bill.    New Construction Exclusions from Reassessment    Not all construction activities lead to reassessment. If the projects are part of normal maintenance such as replacing a leaky window, they are likely not considered reassessable. Additionally, there are exemptions from reassessment for certain kinds of construction. For example, solar energy installations, seismic retrofitting improvements, disabled access modifications, and fire sprinkler and detection system improvements will not trigger reassessment. For more information regarding new construction exclusions, check HERE.     To receive the exclusion, a claim form must be filed prior to, or within thirty (30) days of, the commencement of construction activity. To download the Builder's Claim for New Construction Exclusion from Supplemental Assessment, click here, or go to the Assessor's forms page. If you have questions or require more information, please call (510) 272-3787.  Support Resources The next Property Transfer Legal Clinic will take place on Friday, March 15th. Please visit the link HERE to make an appointment with a volunteer attorney for a free 30-minute consultation. The FPP (Foreclosure Prevention Program) is for Alameda County Homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgage. Borrowers can apply for up to 3 properties with a maximum grant of $75,000. The program will also consider 2nd liens. This new program was approved by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in August 2023 and the Deadline to apply for the grant March 31st, 2024.   FPP seeks to ensure that affected property owners retain ownership of their property, thereby decreasing the likelihood of displacement of residential tenants, particularly lower income tenants who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.   Visit the FPP online application to see if you are eligible to apply. Funding is limited and FPP will not be able to serve every property owner who meets minimum eligibility criteria so apply today! www.a1chs.org/fpp Program Requirements: Minimum 30 days behind on a mortgage Non-Owner-Occupied Properties are eligible Property Owner may own up to 10 units Property Owner can apply for up to 3 properties 2nd liens will be considered   For more information please visit https://www.a1chs.org/fpp