Trinity County Municipal Code Ch. 3.16 Reassessment of Destroyed or Damaged Property

Every person who at 12:01 a.m. on March 1st was the owner of, or had in his possession, or under his control, any taxable property, or who acquired such property after such date and is liable for the taxes thereon for the fiscal year commencing immediately following July 1st, which property was thereafter damaged or destroyed, without his fault, by a misfortune or calamity, may, within sixty days of such misfortune or calamity, apply for reassessment of such property by delivering to the assessor a written application showing the condition and value, if any, of the property immediately before and after the damage or destruction, which damage must be shown therein to be in excess of five thousand dollars. The application shall be executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed outside the state, verified by affidavit.

(Ord. 362 §1(part), 1977)

Upon receiving a proper application, the assessor shall verify the amounts claimed on the application in the before and after condition. The assessor shall then compute a percentage relationship of loss and reduce the current assessed value by that percentage. 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 board of equalization within fourteen days of the date of mailing the notice. If an appeal is requested within the fourteen-day 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 board of equalization regarding any reassessment made pursuant to this section shall create no presumption as regards the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of the damage.

(Ord. 362 §1(part), 1977)

If the amount of damage, as verified by the assessor, is not at least five thousand dollars, no adjustment shall be made to the roll and no taxes shall be cancelled or refunded. The reassessments resulting from those reductions, as determined above, shall be forwarded to the auditor by the assessor or the clerk of the board, as the case may be. The auditor shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After being entered on the roll, the reassessments shall not be subject to review except by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Ord. 362 §1(part), 1977)

If no such application is made and the assessor determines that a property has suffered damage caused by misfortune or calamity, which may qualify the property owner for relief under this section, 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 thirty days of notification by the assessor. Upon receipt of a properly completed, timely filed application, the assessor shall proceed to reassess property in the same manner as required above.

(Ord. 362 §1(part), 1977)

The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the property so reassessed appeared at the time of its original assessment shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment determined in accordance with this chapter. In the event that the resulting figure is less than the tax theretofore computed, the tax shall be determined as follows:

A. With respect to property on the secured roll a prorated portion of the tax due on the property as originally assessed at the rate established for property on the secured roll for the current fiscal year, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the year during which the property was in an undamaged condition plus a proration of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition at the rate established for property on the secured roll for the balance of the fiscal year;

B. With respect to property on the unsecured roll, he shall be liable for a prorated portion of the tax computed on the original assessment of the property and a prorated portion of the tax computed on the reassessment of the property as determined in subsection A.

(Ord. 362 §1(part), 1977)

Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due shall be refunded to the taxpayer pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code Section 5096, as an erroneously collected tax or by order of the board of supervisors without the necessity of a claim being filed pursuant to Section 5096.

(Ord. 362 §1(part), 1977)

The assessment of the property, in its damaged condition, as determined by this chapter, shall be reviewed at the lien date next following the date of the misfortune or calamity and shall be assessed in the same manner as prescribed by law for any other assessable property.

(Ord. 362 §1(part), 1977)

Adjustments of assessments and requests therefor pursuant to this chapter shall be processed in all respects in the manner provided in Section 155.13, Revenue and Taxation Code.

(Ord. 362 §2, 1977)