El Dorado County Municipal Code Ch. 3.32 Reassessment of Damaged or Destroyed Property

This chapter shall be known and may be referred to as the Reassessment of Damaged Property Ordinance.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.010; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

The purpose of this chapter is to provide that every assessee of any taxable property, or any person liable for the taxes thereon, whose property was damaged or destroyed without his or her fault, may apply for reassessment of that property as provided in accordance with Revenue and Taxation Code § 170. This chapter also specifies that the Assessor may initiate the reassessment where the Assessor determines that within the preceding 12 months taxable property located in the County was damaged or destroyed.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.020; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

Unless otherwise defined in this chapter, the definitions set forth in Revenue and Taxation Code §§ 170, 172.1 and 194 shall govern the interpretation of terms used in this chapter.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.030; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

To be eligible for reassessment, the damage or destruction to the property shall have been caused by any of the following:

A. A major misfortune or calamity, in an area or region subsequently proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of disaster, if that property was damaged or destroyed by a major misfortune or calamity that caused the Governor to proclaim the area or region to be in a state of disaster. As used in this subsection, the term "damage" includes a diminution in the value of property as a result of restricted access to the property where that restricted access was caused by the major misfortune or calamity.

B. A misfortune or calamity.

C. A misfortune or calamity that, with respect to a possessory interest in land owned by the State or Federal government, has caused the permit or other right to enter upon the land to be suspended or restricted.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.040; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

An assessee of taxable property or persons liable for the taxes thereon, whose property was damaged or destroyed through no fault of said persons as a result of misfortune and calamity, may deliver to the County Assessor a written application requesting reassessment. The application for reassessment may be filed within 12 months of the misfortune or calamity by delivering to the Assessor a written application requesting reassessment showing the condition and value, if any, of the property immediately after the damage or destruction, and the dollar amount of the damage. The application shall be executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed outside the State, verified by affidavit.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.050; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

Upon receiving a proper application, the Assessor shall appraise the property and determine separately the full cash value of land, improvements and personalty immediately before and after the damage or destruction. If the sum of the full cash values of the land, improvements and personalty before the damage or destruction exceeds the sum of the values after the damage by $10,000.00 or more, the Assessor shall also separately determine the percentage reductions in value of land, improvements and personalty due to the damage or destruction. The Assessor shall reduce the values appearing on the assessment roll by the percentages of damage or destruction computed pursuant to this section. The taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in Section 3.32.100. However, the amount of the reduction shall not exceed the actual loss.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.060; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

The Assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the amount of the proposed reassessment. The notice shall state that the applicant may appeal the proposed assessment to the County Assessment Appeals Board within six months of the date of the mailing of notice. If an appeal is requested within the six-month period, the County Assessment Appeals Board shall hear and decide the matter as if the proposed reassessment had been entered on the roll as an assessment made outside the regular assessment period. The decision of the County Assessment Appeals Board regarding the damaged value of the property shall be final, provided that a decision of the County Assessment Appeals Board regarding any reassessment made pursuant to this chapter shall create no presumption as regards the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of damage. Those reassessed values resulting from reductions in full cash value of amounts, as determined above, shall be forwarded to the Auditor by the Assessor or the Clerk of the County Assessment Appeals Board as the case may be. The Auditor/Controller shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After being entered on the roll, those reassessed values shall not be subject to review, except by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.070; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

If no application is made and the Assessor determines that within the preceding 12 months a property has suffered damage caused by misfortune or calamity that may qualify the property owner for relief under this chapter, the Assessor shall provide the last known owner of the property with an application for reassessment. The property owner shall file the completed application within 60 days of the date of mailing of notification by the Assessor, but in no case more than 12 months after the occurrence of said damage. Upon receipt of the properly completed, timely filed application, the property shall be reassessed in the same manner as required in Sections 3.32.060 and 3.32.070. This section does not apply where the Assessor initiated reassessment as provided in Section 3.32.090.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.080; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

The Assessor may initiate a reassessment of eligible property as defined in Section 3.32.040 where the Assessor determines that within the preceding 12 months that property located in the County was damaged or destroyed regardless of whether an application for reassessment has been filed by an assessee or persons liable for the taxes thereon. The reassessment under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Sections 3.32.060 and 3.32.070.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.090; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which property so reassessed appeared at the time of misfortune or calamity, shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment as determined in accordance with this chapter and the assessee shall be liable for:

A. A prorated portion of the taxes that would have been due on the property of the current fiscal year had the misfortune or calamity not occurred, to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the current fiscal year prior to the misfortune or calamity; plus

B. A proration of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition, to be determined on the basis on the number of months in the fiscal year after the damage or destruction, including the month in which the damage was incurred. For purposes of applying the preceding calculation in prorating supplemental taxes, the term "fiscal year" means that portion of the tax year used to determine the adjusted amount of taxes due pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code § 75.41(b). If the damage or destruction occurred after January 1 and before the beginning of the next fiscal year, the reassessment shall be utilized to determine the tax liability for the next fiscal year. However, if the property is fully restored during the next fiscal year, taxes due for that year shall be prorated based on the number of months in the year before and after the completion of restoration.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.100; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

1. Pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code § 51, the assessed value of the property in its damaged condition as determined pursuant to Sections 3.32.060 and 3.32.070, compounded annually by the inflation factor specified in Revenue and Taxation Code § 51(a), shall be the taxable value of the property until it is restored, repaired, reconstructed or other provisions of law require the establishment of a new base year. If partial reconstruction, restoration or repair has occurred on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be increased in an amount determined by multiplying the difference between its factored base year value immediately before the calamity and its assessed value in its damaged condition by the percentage of the repair, reconstruction or restoration completed on that date.

2. When the property is fully repaired, restored or reconstructed the Assessor shall make additional assessments in accordance with Subsection 2.A or B of this section upon completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction:

A. If the completion of the repair, restoration, or reconstruction occurs on or after January 1, but on or before May 31, then there shall be two additional assessments. The first additional assessment shall be the difference between the new taxable value as of the date of completion and the taxable value on the current roll. The second additional assessment shall be the difference between the new taxable value as of the date of completion and the taxable value to be enrolled on the roll being prepared.

B. If the completion of the repair, restoration, or reconstruction occurs on or after June 1, but before the succeeding January 1, then the additional assessment shall be the difference between the new taxable value as of the date of completion and the taxable value on the current roll.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.110; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)

Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due shall be refunded to the taxpayer pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 5096) of Part 9 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as an erroneously collected tax or by order of the Board of Supervisors without the necessity of a claim being filed.

(Code 1997, § 3.32.120; Ord. No. 4732, 7-3-2007)