San Bernardino County Assessor Report Card

San Bernardino County

No one needs to see another chart like the one on the right. Many  (commercial property owners) will say this is not representative of the commercial property market relative to property tax assessment in San Bernardino County. We must disagree.

As home sales rose as they did for the years preceding 2007 so did the demand for related commodities.  Furniture, towels, landscaping, dishes and a whole host of other items were in demand during these years. Developers scurried to keep up with the demand to satisfy the consumer. The consumer had money from the rapidly appreciating prices. Then came the fall.

Now the consumer has no money. Houses are not selling and the commercial property market is overbuilt and highly leveraged. This is a fact. The wise among us are cutting costs wherever they can. It is also a fact that one of the highest expenses in real estate ownership is county property tax.  The Associates can cut your property taxes-or you don’t pay! But first, let’s look at the San Bernardino County Assessor’s Office.

By law, the California State Board of Equalization audits each county assessor to determine compliance with property tax law. Overall, the counties do a good job but not without deficiencies. This is where we can help. Look at the excerpts of the last audit report:

San Bernardino County Assessment Practices Survey

The assessment practices survey program is one of the State’s major efforts to address these
interests and to promote uniformity, fairness, equity, and integrity in the property tax assessment
process. Under this program, the State Board of Equalization (BOE) periodically reviews the
practices and procedures of (surveys) every county assessor’s office. This report reflects the
BOE’s findings in its current survey of the San Bernardino County Assessor’s Office.

The assessor uses non-BOE certified staff to value property.

The assessor’s written procedures fail to conform to section 170 and San Bernardino
County disaster relief ordinance.

The assessor does not file quarterly section 69.5 reports with the BOE.

The assessor inconsistently assesses California Land Conservation Act (CLCA) properties.

The assessor fails to assess all possessory interests, and erroneously reappraises possessory
interests whenever there is only a change in the annual rent.

The assessor lacks uniform procedures for valuing historical property.

The assessor fails to create separate appraisal units for leach pads, settling ponds, and
tailing facilities as required in section 53.5. In addition, the assessor fails to determine
market value for mining

The assessor’s mandatory audit program continues to be in arrears.

The assessor uses unsupported minimum percent good factors and inappropriately uses
untrended valuation factors in the appraisal of certain high-tech property types.

The assessor continues to erroneously classify manufactured homes as real property and
does not annually enroll manufactured homes at the lesser of the factored base year value
or the current market value.

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