It would be easy for people to dislike a person whose judgment
often leads to higher taxes. Through his 37 years in the county
Assessor’s Office, though, James Pacheco has consistently beaten
those odds.
On Wednesday, he’ll retire from his post as a property
appraiser, he said, with only two or three handfuls of
”
bad instances
”
with residents since he began. Appraisers gauge property values,
which determine how much in taxes individual owners pay.
”
I’ve always been able to handle myself fairly well with
people,
”
said Pacheco, 62, a lifelong resident of the county.
It would be easy for people to dislike a person whose judgment often leads to higher taxes. Through his 37 years in the county Assessor’s Office, though, James Pacheco has consistently beaten those odds.
On Wednesday, he’ll retire from his post as a property appraiser, he said, with only two or three handfuls of “bad instances” with residents since he began. Appraisers gauge property values, which determine how much in taxes individual owners pay.
“I’ve always been able to handle myself fairly well with people,” said Pacheco, 62, a lifelong resident of the county.
His boss, Assessor Arnold Fontes, also pointed out Pacheco’s remarkable interaction with property owners. Fontes has headed the office for more than 30 years.
“He was out in the field quite a bit and had to be a good communicator,” Fontes said.
Even Pacheco didn’t expect, when he started in 1967, to last this long. Salaries, compared to other area counties, were much lower than they are now, he said.
A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, he had initially applied for and was denied the position in the Assessor’s Office. The man who beat him out for the job soon after left because “he didn’t want to deal with the public,” Pacheco said.
Pacheco, then working construction, was offered the position by Roy Lewis, the county’s chief appraiser at the time. Getting a job that became an extraordinary career, Pacheco acknowledged, was somewhat of a fluke.
“You don’t find too many people who are home grown and stay and find jobs in the county,” said Marshal Robert Scattini, who attended San Benito High School with Pacheco.
At only one point during his career, when a similar post opened in Monterey, did Pacheco consider leaving the county, he said. But he bought property here and stayed home.
Since, as he called it, he “kind of stuck it out.” And he remained active in civic organizations, such as 4-H, and events, such as the San Benito County Fair.
During his nearly four decades of sticking it out, Pacheco has experienced, without regret, the county’s vast changes in property values and lifestyles. He remembers when a lot at Ridgemark sold for $6,000; when the population was less than 10,000; when most people who lived here were from here.
“It was a major change for us to deal with a different clientele of people,” Pacheco said.
The job duties have drastically changed as well, he said. A state law in 1978 discarded a requirement to re-assess all properties every three years.
Since, the office has assessed only new constructions or those properties of which ownership has changed. That’s likely a reason the number of Assessor’s Office employees – during a population boom – nudged from about a dozen workers when he began to the 14 employed there now.
Pacheco, needless to say, never moved from his corner office. He came to the same place and “became regimented” for 37 years. For that, the county Board of Supervisors recently awarded Pacheco a certificate of appreciation for his service.
“It’s unique and I’m going to miss it,” he said.
