Thirty years ago, a Fresno County property owner would have about five special assessment line items on their tax bill.

These represent taxes paid to service bond debt levied on behalf of school districts, parks, etc.

Fast forward from 1995 to 2024, there were 28 line items appearing on the same bill.

That’s an example from the latest Fresno County Civil Grand Jury report released Friday, following up to a concerned taxpayer’s desire for more transparency on their property tax bill. They wanted to know the specific name, dollar amount and maturity date for each bond they were paying off as special assessments on their property taxes.

That’s currently not possible.

Part of the problem, according to the report, is the antiquated programming language for the property tax system. It’s based on COBOL, or Common-Business Oriented Language, with some of the oldest currently running programs coded in 1968.

COBOL is still widely used because it is reliable with large volumes of files, according to the report. But there are limitations, including a 20-character maximum for typing up voter-approved bond names.

For example: “STATE CENTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE 2015 REFUNDING” would have to be coded on the tax bill as “STATE CCC 15 REFI.”

The grand jury found it could be difficult for Fresno County taxpayers to find the information they wanted online or by calling the phone numbers on their tax bill.

The Fresno County Assessor and Auditor-Controller/Treasurer Tax Collector are undertaking a collaborative effort to find new software for the property tax system — something the grand jury said, “should be prioritized among Fresno County short-term funding initiatives.”

They put out a request for proposals for a new property tax system that is due on June 9. It seeks a vendor who can deliver a new system within two calendar years of signing a contract.

In the meantime, the grand jury recommends Fresno County add a few lines of additional information — bond dollar amount and maturity date — to its existing “County of Fresno Tax Rate Book.” It’s 79 pages full of tax rates and special assessments.

“After learning of the processes involved in developing an annual property tax bill, the Grand Jury was impressed with the knowledge base demonstrated by both Fresno County and school district personnel involved in the process,” concluded the report. “With the successful coordination demonstrated by these entities, the Grand Jury is certain that transparency of special assessments could be improved for Fresno County property owners.”