On July 1, 2009, County Assessor Larry Stone delivered to the Santa Clara County Finance Agency Director and the Tax Collector the completed annual assessment roll reflecting the assessed value of all property as of the lien (valuation) date, January 1, 2009. The total net assessed value of all real and business property grew by a meager $542 million, an increase of only 0.18 percent over the prior year. This is the smallest increase since Proposition 13 passed in 1978. “Too put this in perspective, the assessment roll grew by nearly $20 billion last year. In 2001, the apex of the dot-com boom, the assessment roll grew $27 billion,” said Stone.
Earlier today the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office mailed more than 460,000 assessment notification cards, providing property owners the opportunity to review their property’s taxable value before the 2009-10 property tax bill is generated, and mailed in September. The Assessor has proactively reduced the assessed value of just over 90,000 residential properties, a temporary reduction resulting in lower 2009-2010 property taxes. The average reduction for each residential property is $170,000 and the total assessed value reduction is expected to exceed $17 billion.
Earlier today the Board of Supervisors approved increases to the fees charged by the Assessor for a wide range of products and services. The new fee schedule which has not been updated since 2004, will be effective July 1, 2009. “We have increased our fees in some instances to cover the increased cost of doing business during the past five years,” said Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone. On average, the fees increased between 3% to 4% per year.
