In this festive season, as I gather with friends and acquaintances, discussion inevitably centers on what I do not do as assessor, which is the one thing almost everybody thinks I do — I do not collect taxes! The person responsible for collecting taxes has a very intuitive title: the tax collector.

Candidly, the property tax administrative system is very confusing. There are multiple departments that each have a different piece of the system. In Fresno County, the assessor-recorder and auditor-controller/treasurer-tax collector are both departments headed by elected officials, which may be why people get confused with which questions to ask which department.

One reason for the confusion is the inexplicable yet universal use of the term “tax assessor.” The office of “tax assessor” only exists in a few jurisdictions far from California. I find it fascinating that the term is so commonly used even though there is no history in this state of such a position.

 

Here is where the misuse of the term becomes problematic: the term “tax assessor” is a conflation of two separate offices, that of the assessor and that of the tax collector. In the assessor’s office, more than 50% of all calls we receive from the public are regarding treasurer-tax collector issues. This can be very frustrating for a member of the public who calls with an issue and then feels they are getting the runaround as they are routed to a different (but more appropriate) department. The same ratio probably applies to the Collector as well.

Here is a very short primer on how the system works. When a property is sold, a deed is recorded with the county recorder’s office at 1250 Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, CA, 93721. Or when there is new construction, a permit is issued by the local city. Those deeds and permits are then transmitted to the assessor, at which time we conduct an appraisal of value. That value data is then sent to the auditor-controller. The auditor-controller is the department that tells you what you owe — they add the tax rates, direct assessments, etc. The auditor-controller then transfers the data to the tax collector, who issues the bills, collects payments and handles issues such as late penalties, lost bills and payment plans.

As an elected administrator of a little known and greatly misunderstood public office, one of the biggest challenges I face is getting vital information out to the public about our services and how to access those services. My office dedicates a great deal of time and effort to helping the public navigate the complexity of the property tax administrative system. In a County with over 1.1 million residents and covering more than 6,000 square miles, this is a big task, but I am committed to providing the ongoing effort required.

While this information may not solve the confusion over office responsibilities, you now know that there is no “tax assessor” in Fresno County, but rather, an assessor-recorder and an auditor-controller/treasurer-tax collector, two different departments involved in the complex system of property tax administration.

My staff and I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

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Paul Dictos, CPA, is Fresno County’s elected assessor-recorder. He is not the “tax assessor,” nor does he collect taxes.