Inyo County Municipal Code Ch. 3.28 Tax Relief in Disasters

A. 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 herein. The chapter may also specify that the assessor may initiate the reassessment where the assessor determines that within the preceding twelve months taxable property located in the county was damaged or destroyed. To be eligible for reassessment, the damage or destruction to the property must have been caused by any of the following:

1. 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 the 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, "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;

2. A misfortune or calamity;

3. 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. As used in this subsection, "misfortune or calamity" includes a drought condition such as existed in this state in 1976 and 1977.

B. Written application for reassessment must be filed with the county assessor within twelve 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 of California, verified by affidavit.

(Ord. 1135 § 3, 2008)

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 ten thousand dollars 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, and the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in Section 3.28.050. However, the amount of the reduction shall not exceed the actual loss.

(Ord. 1135 § 3, 2008)

A. 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 reassessment to the local assessment appeals board within six months of the date of mailing the notice. If an appeal is requested within the six-month period, the 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 board regarding the damaged value of the property shall be final, provided that a decision of the local assessment appeals board regarding any reassessment made pursuant to this section shall create no presumption with regards to the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of the damage.

B. Those reassessed values resulting from reductions in full cash value of amounts, as determined above, shall be forwarded to the auditor by the clerk of the local assessment appeals board . The auditor 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.

(Ord. 1135 § 3, 2008; Ord. 1311, 11/5/2024)

If no application is made pursuant to Section 3.28.010 and the assessor determines that within the preceding twelve 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 twelve months after the occurrence of said damage. Upon receipt of a properly completed, timely filed application, the property shall be reassessed in the same manner as required in Section 3.28.020.

(Ord. 1135 § 3, 2008)

The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the property so reassessed appeared at the time of the 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: (1) a prorated portion of the taxes that would have been due on the property for 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 (2) a proration of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition, to be determined on the basis of 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 as provided by law. If the damage or destruction occurred after January 1st 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.

(Ord. 1135 § 3, 2008)

A. The assessed value of the property in its damaged condition, as determined pursuant to Section 3.28.020 compounded annually by the inflation factor (not to exceed two percent), shall be the taxable value of the property until it is restored, repaired, reconstructed or other provisions of the law require the establishment of a new base year value.

B. If partial reconstruction, restoration or repair has occurred on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be increased by 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 lien date.

C. When the property is fully repaired, restored or reconstructed, the assessor shall make an additional assessment or assessments in accordance with subsection 1 or 2 upon completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction:

1. If the completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction occurs on or after January 1st, but on or before May 31st, 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.

2. If the completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction occurs on or after June 1st, but before the succeeding January 1st, 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.

D. On the lien date following the completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction, the assessor shall enroll the new taxable value of the property as of that lien date.

E. For purposes of this section, "new taxable value" shall mean the lesser of the property's:

1. Full cash value; or

2. Factored base year value.

(Ord. 1135 § 3, 2008)