Important Message:

Article XIII Section 1(a) of the California Constitution generally requires reappraisal of property at market value whenever a change in ownership occurs or new construction is completed (Supplemental Assessment Process).

If you are a new property owner who purchased your property after January 1, 2008, and you believe that your assessed value will be lowered in the Supplemental Assessment process, please read the following:

Secured property tax bills for the 2008/09 fiscal year have been issued in September 2008 with the lien date (January 1, 2008) owner’s value as provided by law.

A “Negative” Supplemental Assessment may be warranted if your assessed value is determined by the Assessor’s Office to be lower than the assessed value stated on this current bill.

When the Assessor’s Office has mailed you a “Notice of Supplemental Assessment”, you have 30 days from the date of the notice to request an informal review of the New Base Value set by the Assessor. Contact the Real Property Division at (408) 299-5300 and ask to speak to the appraiser responsible for the assessor’s parcel number as shown on page 1 of the notice. If you are not satisfied with the results of the review you may apply to the Assessment Appeals Board for relief. In general, an Application for Changed Assessment must be filed with the Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board within 60 days of the date of the notice.

After approximately 60 days have expired, the information is transmitted to the Tax Collector’s Office for processing.

If you have received a “Notice of Supplemental Assessment” from the Assessor, and your New Base Value is stated to be less than the value on the secured tax bill, you have two options:

YOUR TWO OPTIONS:

OPTION 1: You can pay the 2008/09 secured tax bill as it is shown. Since the Tax Collector cannot take partial payments; you must pay the bill in full if selecting this option. When the office processes the “negative” supplemental, you will be receiving a refund of overpaid taxes.

NOTE: The law provides (Revenue and Taxation Code Section 75.43) that the refund be made within 90 days of the date of the enrollment (this date is the day the Tax Collector’s Office receives the information). If the refund is not made within this 90 days, interest shall be paid at the county pooled apportioned rate, which is currently 4.493%.

OPTION 2: Wait for the letter of credit from the Tax Collector’s Office notifying you of available credit for application to the 2008/09 secured property tax bill. This letter of credit will give the property owner 30 days to pay the new tax amount without penalties. Your payment must be postmarked within 30 days from the date of this notice to avoid penalty collection. A special envelope will be included for your remittance.

Please note the following important reminders:

• The Tax Collector’s Office cannot accept partial payments. Partial payments will be returned to sender with a letter. The amount due stated on the letter of credit, is the full amount due considering your credit.

• The Tax Collector’s Office cannot create credits or refunds without receipt of the Supplemental Assessment authorized by the Assessor’s Office.

• The Tax Collector’s Office cannot prevent delinquent notices from being mailed on all accounts unpaid in May. Even if the Negative Supplemental Assessment is in process, these notices are mass mailed. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are certain that you are entitled to a Negative Supplemental Assessment and you receive a delinquent notice in May, please disregard this notice.

• Non-payment of secured property taxes does not enter into your credit score or affect your credit rating unless the taxes are unpaid for five (5) years.

• Your lender/bank may be concerned about any delinquent taxes connected to your property. Please contact your lender/bank and discuss this issue with them, if you so desire.

• Generally speaking, customers with impound accounts will notice that their lenders will pay the 2008/09 tax bill prior to a credit adjustment. Any refund generated by the Negative Supplemental Assessment will be made payable to the owner of the property, not the Lender.