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California – Property values declined by 1.8 percent statewide for the current fiscal year, marking only the second drop since the state began collecting data in 1933. As announced by Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty T. Yee last week, the total value of state-assessed and county-assessed property declined to $4.371 trillion for 2010-11, a drop of $78.2 billion from the previous year. This also marks the second straight year-to-year decline in the statewide total. County-assessed property fell by $81.1 billion to $4.292 trillion, while state-assessed property consisting mostly of private public utilities equaled $79 billion, an increase of $2.9 billion. In total, 48 of California’s 58 counties posted year-to-year declines, with nine of them declining by five percent or more. Most of the decline centered in the Central Valley. The biggest decrease in the state was 11.9 percent in Calaveras County. Despite the news, Amador County Assessor Jim Rooney says our county is doing well compared to figures from most other counties in the state. “Typically we do quite well and show increases of up to 15 percent, and now when things are really down we are starting to show slight decreases,” he said. Amador County’s property values decreased by 3.75 percent over the current fiscal year. Rooney said his office is committed to assessing property at the lower of either fair market value or Proposition 13, a 1978 referendum that capped property-tax increases. The last time there was a downward adjustment to property values was after Prop 13’s passage. Rooney urges property owners to read their assessments carefully and to call his office if they believe their property is being overassessed. “Some people also have concerns over how this will affect county revenues, but I don’t think there should be huge concerns over this slight decrease,” said Rooney. Only two counties – Kern and San Francisco- saw values increase because of oil production. The five-member California State Board of Equalization is a publicly elected entity that collects more than $48 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
