The county assessor has agreed with conclusions of a recent
study predicting a significant drop in local property tax
revenues
– as much as $1.6 million – if voters approve Measure G on the
March ballot.
County Assessor Arnold Fontes found the report’s points valid,
he said. His office appraises San Benito County property values
– those figures are used for taxation.
The county assessor has agreed with conclusions of a recent study predicting a significant drop in local property tax revenues – as much as $1.6 million – if voters approve Measure G on the March ballot.
County Assessor Arnold Fontes found the report’s points valid, he said. His office appraises San Benito County property values – those figures are used for taxation.
The No on Measure G Committee gave Fontes a copy of the report and asked for his views, according to Annette Giacomazzi, chairperson of the campaign.
Fontes on Monday confirmed his Assessor’s Office supplied the researcher with public documents, and that he had read the 92-page report.
“Regarding the loss in property tax valuation, the report doesn’t seem that unreasonable at all,” Fontes said. “I do find the conclusions reached are reasonable.”
The measure, in restricting landowners’ ability to subdivide, would decrease some properties’ values, Fontes said. That would result in lower overall tax revenues.
He declined to comment whether he supports or opposes Measure G.
The report was put together by Nicolai Kuminoff, a graduate student at North Carolina State. He also received his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Davis.
In it, he analyzed the potential economic downside of the initiative. The No on Measure G Committee commissioned and financed his services for $8,000.
Among his conclusions, he found Measure G would decrease property values by $162 million and annual revenues to local jurisdictions by $1.6 million. Those effects would occur with “downzoning” of agricultural lands, he contended.
Among its changes, Measure G – also called the Growth Control Initiative – would change zoning of ag properties to restrict landowners’ ability to subdivide and develop. It would also initiate a credit program to foster more development near Hollister limits – while compensating some farmers.
Regarding the specific dollar amounts projected by Kuminoff, Fontes said he could not accurately evaluate their precision.
“I would have no idea how much (the revenue loss) would be right now,” he said.
Opponents of the measure – which is on the March 2 election ballot – believe Fontes’ assertions strengthen their case. The committee approached Fontes for his view, Giacomazzi said.
“I think it gives it a lot of credibility,” said Dara Tobias, another member of the committee. “The tax assessor in this county knows the county.”
But proponents and authors of Measure G remain firm in disputing the study’s conclusions. The report, they believe, is speculative and biased, according to Margaret Cheney, an author of the initiative.
Another member of the committee who wrote the initiative, Mark Levine, reiterated their stance on property values.
“The county did a study,” he said of head planner Rob Mendiola’s report. “And their study says very different. It says the tax base will be stabilized, and revenues will even increase.”
Giacomazzi said she believes Fontes is the most qualified person to examine the study’s conclusions on property values.
“The San Benito County assessor, Arnold Fontes, is the number one person in the county that assesses property value,” she said.
