Decline in taxable value of property hits agencies in Sacramento region
Published: Thursday, Jul. 7, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
The taxable value of Sacramento County properties fell this year by $4 billion, reducing property tax collections on behalf of cities, schools and other agencies by $40 million.The data this week from the Sacramento County Assessor's Office show the county's share of that revenue decline will be $6.5 million.
It is the third straight year of a drop in the county's single largest source of tax revenue, and it raises the prospect of more spending cuts later this year when the budget is finalized.
Interim County Executive Steve Szalay said the county will be ready if more cuts are needed.
"There are a lot of variables, and it could very well be other things (revenue shifts) occur as we close the budget," Szalay said. "We're prepared. If we do have to make further reductions in order to make up that difference, we will."
Sacramento County already has closed a nearly $90 million gap between revenue and expenses. It will adopt a final budget in September.
Overall, the value of taxable property in Sacramento County, both real estate and personal items such as boats, is $124.8 billion, down $4 billion from the most recent fiscal year, Assessor Kathleen Kelleher reported.
That $4 billion decline, equivalent to a 3.07 percent loss in property tax revenue, translates to the $40 million revenue reduction that will hit many agencies, from schools and redevelopment agencies to special districts, cities and the county.
Other counties announced their tax rolls fell, too, but by smaller percentages.
The value of taxable real estate and personal property in El Dorado County fell 1.4 percent, to $25.3 billion. That's less than half the expected drop and will mean a $750,000 decline in funds for county government operations, spokesman Mike Applegarth said.
Yolo County's tax roll now stands at $19.7 billion after a decline of less than 1 percent. The result will be a $1.5 million drop in property tax collections on behalf of all agencies that receive the funds, said Assessor Joel Butler. Yolo County will lose about 10 percent of that amount.
Placer County figures won't be available for a few weeks, but the midyear release of property assessment information gives property owners insight into whether their tax bills – due in the fall and next spring – will rise or fall.
This year, about 18,000 Yolo County homeowners, for example, will pay less than the maximum allowed under Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 ballot initiative that reformed California's property tax laws.
Reductions such as those come via a county's finding that values had fallen in a given neighborhood as of Jan. 1.
Over time, as property values recover, property tax bills may rise quickly – until they reach the maximum allowed under Proposition 13.
Once that happens, property taxes may increase by the rate of inflation, but not more than 2 percent a year.
Even so, Butler said he believes it will be years before properties recover their former values.
Property tax declines, meanwhile, aren't hitting all neighborhoods evenly.
Faring best in Yolo County are unincorporated areas buoyed by rises in agricultural land values. Taxes generated in the unincorporated area of the county will rise 4.2 percent, the county reported.
But Woodland and West Sacramento will see declines of 3.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
Butler said Woodland was affected in part by the decline in value for undeveloped land in the Spring Lake area, a 1,097-acre site south of Gibson Road destined for more than 4,000 homes.
Woodland City Manager Mark Deven said the city's share of the decline will be about $222,700, an amount equal to less than 1 percent of the city's general fund.
"The share of the decline is certainly significant enough to pay attention to, but not enough to launch into immediate panic mode," Deven said.
The good news, he said, is that the just-completed fiscal year closed higher by a few hundred thousand dollars than anticipated.
Even so, he said, the tax reduction shows a problem "that we need to deal with, and we'll get to work on that."
It is the third straight year of a drop in the county's single largest source of tax revenue, and it raises the prospect of more spending cuts later this year when the budget is finalized.
Interim County Executive Steve Szalay said the county will be ready if more cuts are needed.
"There are a lot of variables, and it could very well be other things (revenue shifts) occur as we close the budget," Szalay said. "We're prepared. If we do have to make further reductions in order to make up that difference, we will."
Sacramento County already has closed a nearly $90 million gap between revenue and expenses. It will adopt a final budget in September.
Overall, the value of taxable property in Sacramento County, both real estate and personal items such as boats, is $124.8 billion, down $4 billion from the most recent fiscal year, Assessor Kathleen Kelleher reported.
That $4 billion decline, equivalent to a 3.07 percent loss in property tax revenue, translates to the $40 million revenue reduction that will hit many agencies, from schools and redevelopment agencies to special districts, cities and the county.
Other counties announced their tax rolls fell, too, but by smaller percentages.
The value of taxable real estate and personal property in El Dorado County fell 1.4 percent, to $25.3 billion. That's less than half the expected drop and will mean a $750,000 decline in funds for county government operations, spokesman Mike Applegarth said.
Yolo County's tax roll now stands at $19.7 billion after a decline of less than 1 percent. The result will be a $1.5 million drop in property tax collections on behalf of all agencies that receive the funds, said Assessor Joel Butler. Yolo County will lose about 10 percent of that amount.
Placer County figures won't be available for a few weeks, but the midyear release of property assessment information gives property owners insight into whether their tax bills – due in the fall and next spring – will rise or fall.
This year, about 18,000 Yolo County homeowners, for example, will pay less than the maximum allowed under Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 ballot initiative that reformed California's property tax laws.
Reductions such as those come via a county's finding that values had fallen in a given neighborhood as of Jan. 1.
Over time, as property values recover, property tax bills may rise quickly – until they reach the maximum allowed under Proposition 13.
Once that happens, property taxes may increase by the rate of inflation, but not more than 2 percent a year.
Even so, Butler said he believes it will be years before properties recover their former values.
Property tax declines, meanwhile, aren't hitting all neighborhoods evenly.
Faring best in Yolo County are unincorporated areas buoyed by rises in agricultural land values. Taxes generated in the unincorporated area of the county will rise 4.2 percent, the county reported.
But Woodland and West Sacramento will see declines of 3.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
Butler said Woodland was affected in part by the decline in value for undeveloped land in the Spring Lake area, a 1,097-acre site south of Gibson Road destined for more than 4,000 homes.
Woodland City Manager Mark Deven said the city's share of the decline will be about $222,700, an amount equal to less than 1 percent of the city's general fund.
"The share of the decline is certainly significant enough to pay attention to, but not enough to launch into immediate panic mode," Deven said.
The good news, he said, is that the just-completed fiscal year closed higher by a few hundred thousand dollars than anticipated.
Even so, he said, the tax reduction shows a problem "that we need to deal with, and we'll get to work on that."
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