7 in Race for Beleaguered Assessor’s Post

Seven candidates are vying for the job of Orange County assessor at a time when county supervisors are threatening to cut the assessor’s salary and applying pressure to process property tax appeals faster.

Bradley L. Jacobs, the incumbent for the last two decades, is stepping down after bickering for two years with supervisors critical Larry Bales

of his performance. They assailed him for closing the office to the public and causing strained relations with other county departments.

The seven candidates are Deputy County Assessor Larry Bales, accountant James S. Bone, Deputy County Assessor Steven D. Grimm, Managing Deputy Assessor Webster Guillory, Realtor Jeff Scott Reid, financial planning manager Thomas J. Sacco and Irvine Finance Commissioner Bruce Peotter.

The state Board of Equalization, which oversees the assessor’s office, gave Jacobs good marks last year for the way his office calculates property values, though residents in parts of Irvine charge that the system unfairly taxes them. The state agency also praised the office for its innovative use of technology.

But Jacobs has been unwilling to apply for a $6.8-million state loan to help the county process property tax appeals, saying he does not think the county should borrow money. The loan could eventually become a grant if certain requirements are met. His refusal to seek the loan has been a sore spot with supervisors, who maintain that there is a backlog of appeals cases, and has become a major campaign issue.

Supervisors voted in February to notify all candidates for the assessor job about a potential cut in salary based on job performance, an action many candidates view as a threat.

Two candidates, Guillory and Peotter, oppose the idea of a state loan. Grimm said he would need to study the issue further. But Bales, Bone, Reid and Sacco say the assessor should apply for the loan.

“There is no reason to borrow the people’s money to conduct this office,” said Guillory, who has worked in the assessor’s office for two decades. “The county has plenty of money to provide for us.”

Guillory said the county should increase funding to the office, which has an $18-million budget and a staff of about 300. He said there is no backlog because the real estate market has rebounded.

Peotter, who is backed by the Republican Party’s influential Lincoln Club, said the loan could end up costing taxpayers. To convert the loan into a grant, he said, the county could be forced to increase tax assessments.

Grimm, a deputy assessor for 24 years, said he would “reevaluate the assessor’s position” but would not “jump on the take-the-money bandwagon just because of the threats from the Board of Supervisors.”

But Reid, who is backed by the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., said he “definitely” would seek the loan. “It is money that Orange County taxpayers deserve to have returned to Orange County rather than being disbursed throughout the state,” he said.

Bales, an assessor’s employee for more than 20 years, said he would support applying for the loan because it could help ease the number of assessment appeals sent to the county.

“The board is short on cash and [the office is] over-assessing homeowners,” he said. “The state has recognized the problem. It’s a recovery of our money anyway; it’s on a loan basis.”

The candidates also are split over what some call unfair property taxation, stemming from the way the county calculates house values.

Under a new system, the assessor’s office is basing tax bills for many new homes not only on the value of each property but also on the value of the subdivision’s improvements, such as curbs, gutters and lighting. Those improvements were funded by certain types of assessment bonds.

Jacobs said his office began charging for the value of improvements late last year after the Board of Equalization sent a notice stating that such assessments are required under state law.

“To be fair, we have to include the bonds on all properties so that they are all appraised equally,” said Bone, an accountant for 30 years who is backed by Supervisors William G. Steiner and Charles V. Smith. “There is no double taxation. The roads and schools make the properties more valuable by their existence.”

Grimm and Guillory agree that property owners are being taxed fairly.

“There are some folks in this race who want to interpret the law independently and set personal values on property, and that would be illegal,” Guillory said.

But Reid, Sacco, Bales and Peotter disagree, saying that those homeowners are being unfairly penalized.

Peotter said some residents in Irvine and other parts of the county are subjected to double taxation.

“Some of those taxpayers are paying an extra $600 on their homes, and that is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

Reid asserts that the surrounding infrastructure and schools already are taken into account in assessing a home.

Sacco, who said he has not raised any money for his campaign, asserted: “Our assessor is the only one in the state that is tacking on assessments in addition to the taxes,” a charge that Jacobs denies.

The candidates, except for Guillory, agree that the assessor’s office needs to cooperate more with other county offices. Guillory said the office is open and gets along well.