Kern County Municipal Code Ch. 4.24 Reassessment of Damaged or Destroyed Property

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Disaster Relief Ordinance."

(Prior code § 9300)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 2, 12-8-15)

This chapter is adopted pursuant to Section 170 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code to allow the Kern County assessor to reassess taxable property which has been damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity without fault of the assessee or any other person who may be liable for the taxes thereon. This chapter shall be construed to be consistent with Section 170 of the Revenue and Taxation Code as it now reads or as it may be amended or reenacted. Any conflicts between this chapter and Revenue and Taxation Code Section 170 shall be construed according to the statute.

(Prior code § 9301)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 3, 12-8-15)

A. As used in this chapter the term "misfortune or calamity" shall mean:

1. A disaster occurring in the county or any part or parts thereof causing damage or destruction to property which causes the governor of the state to proclaim the county or any part or parts thereof affected by such disaster to be in a state of disaster;

2. Any other unforeseeable occurrence occurring in the county which causes property damage or destruction which the assessor determines warrants the relief provided for in this chapter;

3. With respect to a possessory interest in land owned by the state or federal government, an unforeseeable occurrence beyond the control of the property owner that has caused the permit or other right to enter upon the land to be suspended or restricted, including a drought condition such as existed in this state in 1976 and 1977.

B. As used in connection with subsection (A) of this section, the term "damage" includes a diminution in the value of property as a result of restricted access to the property if such restricted access was caused by a misfortune or calamity as defined in said subparagraph.

C. As used in this chapter the terms "damaged or destroyed" and "damage or destruction" shall not be construed to include diminution in value absent physical injury.

(Prior code § 9302)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 4, 12-8-15)

An application for reassessment under this chapter may be filed by the assessee of any taxable property or by any other person liable for those taxes, if that taxable property was damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity.

(Prior code § 9303)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 5, 12-8-15)

A. An application made pursuant to Section 4.24.040 of this chapter must be made within twelve (12) months of the date the damage or destruction occurred.

B. The application is made by delivering a written request for reassessment to the county assessor within the time set forth in subsection (A) of this section to the county assessor.

C. The application must state the condition and value of the property immediately after the damage or destruction, and the dollar amount of the damage or the value before destruction.

D. The application shall be executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed outside the state of California, verified by affidavit.

(Prior code § 9304)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 6, 12-8-15)

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 or destruction by ten thousand dollars ($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 subdivision, and the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in Section 4.24.100 of this chapter; provided, however, that the amount of the reduction shall not exceed the actual loss.

(Prior code § 9305)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 7, 12-8-15)

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 county assessment appeals board within six (6) months of the date of mailing the notice. If an appeal is requested within the six (6) 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 value of the subject property shall be final, provided that a decision 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 the damage.

(Prior code § 9306)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 8, 12-8-15)

The reassessed values resulting from reductions in full cash value as determined under this chapter shall be forwarded to the county auditor-controller by the assessor or the clerk of the 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, such reassessed values shall not be subject to review, except by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Prior code § 9307)

A. If no application is made under Section 4.24.050 and the assessor determines that within the preceding twelve (12) months a property has suffered damage or destruction caused by a misfortune or calamity which 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 (12) months after the occurrence of said damage or destruction. Upon receipt of a properly completed, timely filed application, the property shall be reassessed in the same manner as required by Section 4.24.060.

B. If the assessor determines that within the preceding twelve (12) months all or a portion of the county has suffered damage or destruction by misfortune or calamity, which may qualify property owners for relief under this chapter, the assessor may reassess the property as provided in Section 4.24.060 and notify the last known owner of the property of the reassessment.

(Prior code § 9308)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 9, 12-8-15)

A. The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the reassessed property appeared at the time of the misfortune or calamity shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment in accordance with this section, 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, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the 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, such proration to be determined on the number of months in the fiscal year after the damage or destruction, including the month in which the damage was incurred.

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; provided, 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 completion of the restoration.

C. 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 subdivision (b) of Section 75.41.

(Ord. G-6489 § 2, 1999: prior code § 9309)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 10, 12-8-15)

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. The written request for reassessment shall be considered a claim for refund as required under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 5097. The refund shall be issued to the person who paid the tax.

(Prior code § 9310)

(Ord. No. G-8606, § 11, 12-8-15)

A. The assessed value of the property in its damaged condition, as determined pursuant to Section 4.24.060, compounded annually by the inflation factor specified in subdivision (a) of Section 51 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, shall be the taxable value of the property until it is restored, repaired or 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 misfortune or 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, its new taxable value shall be the lesser of (1) its full cash value, or (2) its factored base year value or its factored base year value as adjusted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 70 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The new taxable value shall be enrolled on the lien date following completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction.

(Prior code § 9311)