The Assessor is responsible for identifying and appraising taxable real estate and business property in the County of Los Angeles and producing an annual assessment roll. These efforts serve as the foundation for a property tax system which generates $14 billion to fund vital local public services such as education, health care, public safety, parks, libraries, and transportation. The Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office is the nation’s largest public assessment agency, employing 1400 appraisers and support staff across seven offices. Each year, these expert teams value more than 2.56 million properties collectively valued at $1.47 trillion. This is the largest local roll in the state, if not the country.
Technology Modernization
Assessor Jeffrey Prang’s primary initiative has been modernizing the outdated technologies which are used on a daily basis, thereby ensuring maximum efficiency, fairness, and accuracy in the assessment process. Obsolete, decades-old systems, including a mainframe computer and flickering green-screens, are being replaced. The old system was paper-based and inflexible, as well as inefficient for staff and difficult for the public to navigate. Over 2.5 million property records that were still in paper files and housed in one of six locations are now digitized –more than 100 million documents in all!
A new mobile application has also been developed for appraisers in the field, allowing them to access property data, retrieve digital records, sketch diagrams, take photos, and instantly perform functions previously done by hand at a desk. Once complete, this project will likely become the new state standard for assessment technology.
Business Tax Reductions
Small businesses with as little as $2000 worth of furniture and equipment were previously required to report these assets and pay property taxes. Yet processing these assessments cost the Assessor twice as much as was generated in taxes. To ease the burden on small businesses and at the same time increase efficiency for Assessor staff, the Board of Supervisors approved Assessor Prang’s proposal to raise the threshold for reporting business property from $2000 to $5000. Among the benefits was tax relief for an estimated 50,000 small businesses.
Open Data
In the course of routine functions, the Assessor’s Office collects vast amounts of real estate and assessment data, which are also of interest to the public. Assessor Prang led efforts to post an unprecedented amount of property information to Los Angeles County’s Open Data portal, increasing transparency and access to public records. Property data is now available in an easy-to-use format and can be downloaded – free of charge.
Promoting Property Tax Savings
Assessor Prang is committed to ensuring that the all qualified property owners in Los Angeles County benefit from tax-saving programs. Working in partnership with other agencies and organizations, the Assessor’s Office promotes various programs throughout the year, including those that help seniors, veterans, the disabled, and disaster victims. Resource seminars and information sessions hosted in different communities across the County also ensure that property owners are well-informed.
Tax Relief for Disasters: Natural & Man-Made
Property owners adversely affected by natural disasters such as fires, floods, and earthquakes may be entitled to property tax relief if damage exceeds $10,000 in market value. Unfortunately, current state laws limit tax relief to those impacted by natural disasters and fail to adequately address damages caused by man-made disasters. Examples include the Aliso Canyon methane leak and the (Exide) lead contamination in Southeast communities. Assessor Prang sponsored state legislation to expand the needed discretion to offer affected property owners relief. Although the bill was vetoed by the Governor, it served to reveal a deficiency in the law that must still be addressed – and for which Assessor Prang will continue to fight.
One-Stop Public Service Counter
The property tax system is complex and can seem confusing to many, particularly as five separate departments are responsible for different phases of the process. To cut through the confusion and address taxpayer inquiries quickly and efficiently, Assessor Prang joined with the Treasurer and Tax Collector and the Auditor-Controller to open the one-stop public service counter for handling all property tax issues in one convenient location. Over 50,000 taxpayers have already utilized this service without fear of being referred from one agency to another, or being told, “It’s not my job.” Public concerns are all addressed at one time, in one place!
Assessment Appeals
Taxpayers who disagree with the assessment of their property have the right to file an appeal. However, with approximately 20,000 new applications filed annually, nearly 40,000 cases are still awaiting a hearing. Assessor Prang understands that processing these appeals in a timely manner is vital to ensuring that property owners receive fair and speedy resolution. He has prioritized eliminating the backlog, producing clear and measurable results during his first term.
Aircraft Legislation
Assessor Prang led the efforts to roll back a special, temporary tax break for aircraft, which had been given to the airline industry in the wake of 9/11. But as Americans once again turned to air travel, producing record profits for the airlines, there was no longer a need for preferential tax treatment. Assessor Prang successfully opposed extending the special tax break given to these airlines and helped to restore nearly $10 million in annual revenue for schools and vital local public services.
Mobile Home “Mansions” Legislation
Some owners of mobile homes have exploited a loophole allowing for the conversion of their mobile homes into permanent structures while avoiding paying property tax. The Los Angeles Times exposed one such non-mobile mansion that sold for $5.3 million, yet a mere $29 was paid in fees.
Assessor Prang sponsored legislation to close this loophole, stating “All property must be assessed by the same standards to ensure fairness and equity.” Though the bill was not adopted, it began a public dialogue, prompting the Times to editorialize in support of Assessor Prang’s effort to close the loophole.
International Recognition
In September 2017, the Assessor’s Office was awarded the Certificate of Excellence in Assessment Administration (CEAA) by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) for meeting the highest possible standards. The CEAA is the most prestigious professional honor for a public assessment agency, and Los Angeles is the first and only county in California to have earned it.
In addition to the CEAA accreditation, Assessor Prang’s technology modernization initiative has been recognized by the National Association of Counties (NACo), the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission, and Government Technology magazine.
$598M Record Savings in 2018 for Veterans, Community Groups, Homeowners
Assessor’s Office Receives Award for Outreach Leading to Record Savings
LOS ANGELES, CA – Veterans, homeowners, and community organizations across the County of Los Angeles will save $598 million on their 2018 property tax bills, according to the annual property assessment roll just certified by Assessor Jeff Prang.
The International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) recognized the agency for its outreach and education initiatives that led to these record-breaking savings for taxpayers; it will formally award the office its Public Information Program Award at the upcoming conference in Minneapolis.
“My dedicated staff work tirelessly to promote the valuable resources and saving opportunities that benefit LA County residents and businesses, and the record savings are a testament to our commitment toward excellence in service to the public,” said Assessor Jeff Prang.
The 2018 roll reflects $59.8 billion in tax exemptions, which produce $598 million in direct savings. The key components include: Disabled Veteran Exemptions of $477 million, totaling $4.77 million in direct savings; $7.23 billion in Homeowners’ Exemptions for more than a million homeowners, leading to $72 million in savings; and $52.1 billion in exemptions for 15,662 community and faith-based organizations, saving them$520 million. The greatest savings in the last category are for community service agencies and institutions such as schools, hospitals, and museums.
The IAAO Public Information Program Award recognizes assessment agencies around the world that effectively utilize innovative means of distributing information to taxpayers. The Office of Assessor Prang has created a series of public outreach campaigns, which entail: presentations and resource fairs for homeowners, businesses, and real estate and tax professionals; direct engagement utilizing social media platforms; the dissemination of information through print and digital publications; and audience-specific, periodic newsletters. In addition, through the digitization of over 100 million documents and the modernization of antiquated technology, the office now provides intuitive, web-based tools. Among these is the Assessor Portal, which incorporates nearly all data into one comprehensive property profile. These tools enable employees to more quickly and accurately respond to inquiries, and they increase public access to essential information at no cost.
“These are outstanding programs that constitute a meaningful effort to connect the services of the Assessor’s Office with the public that the office seeks to engage,” said the President of the LA Chapter of IAAO. The Public Information Program Award is the second award that the Office of the Assessor has earned in recent days. Government Technology magazine announced the office will receive its Outstanding IT Service and Support Award at the Los Angeles Digital Government Summit later this month for the Assessor’s internal IT portal known as Cherwell.
