Annual Report 2020 -2021

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date. There was a noteworthy decline in the assessment ofbusiness property, i.e. machinery, equipment, computers,and fixtures, which grew by a meager $775 million, $1 billionless than the prior year. In addition, for the first timein several years, the assessed value of more than 8,000single-family homes and condominiums dropped belowtheir market value. All other properties remained belowtheir purchase price, adjusted by two percent mandated byProposition 13.Ten-Year Economic Boom Comes to a CloseDuring the past ten years, the assessment roll increased84 percent, driven primarily by changes in ownership andnew construction. Ten years ago, new construction addedjust $1.3 billion to the assessment roll, contrasted with$8.5 billion in 2020, a 700 percent increase. This increasewas driven by the development of major high technologyheadquarters and high-rise, multi-family housing projects.In the past ten years it has been major high technologycompanies, the same entities that have driven the stockmarket to record levels, who have been acquiring landin Silicon Valley and developing significant, sometimesiconic, buildings and campuses.Just as married couples will often rent before purchasing,emerging high technology companies followed a similarpattern. Silicon Valley has been a major beneficiary asmajor companies have planted deep roots in the Valleywith plans for continued expansion.Unlike the dot-com boom when technology companieswere primarily tenants of office and industrial property,the economic boom of the past ten years has been characterizedby mega office and commercial developmentsof tech companies, including Apple, Google, LinkedIn,Adobe and Nvidia.Geographic DifferencesOnce again, development of new office projects in Sunnyvaleand Mountain View triggered strong year-over-yearassessment roll growth of 10.4 percent and 8.9 percentrespectfully. Santa Clara, Palo Alto, and six other localjurisdictions, recorded assessment growth greater thanthe county average. In contrast, unincorporated portionsof the county and heavily residential communities, likeSaratoga and Los Altos Hills, experienced roll growth lessthan five percent.Challenges and AccomplishmentsWithout question the health and humanitarian crisis ofCovid-19, and the restrictions imposed by the Shelterin-PlaceOrder have been the greatest challenge of my26 years as assessor. My executive management teamimmediately set into motion actions designed to protectour employees and taxpaying customers, while continuingour commitment to provide quality public service,and successfully performing our essential functions.Through it all, my office has continued to provide on-lineand telephone customer service to taxpayers, along withlimited in-person appointments.Despite these challenges, I continue to receive countlessletters, emails, and personal anecdotal stories fromproperty owners and taxpayers complimenting my staffon their professionalism and knowledge, promptness inresponding, politeness, and willingness to listen and taketime to explain complex assessment issues.The results of our efforts are noteworthy, and the followingare a few of our most significant accomplishments in2020.AccomplishmentsFor the 25th consecutive year, completed the annualassessment roll by the state-mandated July 1, 2020 deadline.• Completed 99.6 percent of real property assessments.• Completed 99 percent of business personal propertyassessments.• Completed 805 audits of companies mandated bystate law.• Processed 100 percent of recorded deeds.• Completed all exemption claims filed by eligiblenon-profit organizations, homeowners and veterans.• Processed 66,010 business accounts.• Processed 65,397 title documents.• Successfully defended assessed values before theAssessment Appeals Board, retaining 91 percent ofthe assessed value in dispute.• Resolved 1,786 assessment appeals.Fiscal Management and Customer ServiceIn response to the Covid-19 crisis, we quickly transitionedto a remote working environment, utilizing telecommunicationtools to maximize productivity:• Deployed a myriad of protocols to ensure the assessor’sworkplace is safe for employees and taxpayersTen-Year Ten History: Year History: Two Largest Two Largest Factors Causing Changes to to the the Assessment Roll (2010-2020) Roll (2010-2020)$20,000,000,000$15,000,000,000DECADE10 YEARSIN R E V I E WNew Construction Change in Ownership$10,000,000,000$5,000,000,000$02010- 11 2011- 12 2012- 13 2013- 14 2014- 15 2015- 16 2016- 17 2017- 18 2018- 19 2019- 20 2020- 214Santa Clara County Annual Report 2020
• Returned $2.6 million of the assessor’s budget to theCounty General Fund. During my nearly 26-year tenureas Assessor, I have returned, unspent, $20.2 million tothe County General Fund. During this same period, theassessment roll has more than quadrupled and staffinghas increased by just 10 percent.• Administered an annual budget based entirely on servicelevels, including measurable increases in productivity.• Assisted 12,103 taxpayers who contacted the office bytelephone, and an additional 14,861 taxpayers who visitedthe public service counter.• Completed 4,438 hours of professional training, including3045 hours of State Board of Equalization (BOE)training, in addition to County initiated leadershipclasses.• Achieved a department-wide customer satisfaction ratingof 96% percent from an independent survey of taxpayerswho contacted the Assessor’s Office for assistance.• Continued our commitment to a first-class work environment,upgrading office facilities, desktop computers,software, laptops, servers, and printers.• Scanned 405,745 documents into our document managementsystem consistent with our commitment to apaperless work environment.• Over 532,427 “visitors” accessed the assessor’s website,totaling 1.47 million page views.• Continued major upgrades and streamlining initiatives toimprove customer service and increase efficiency.• Levied penalties totaling $286,869 businesses withunrecorded changes of ownership, and recovered anadditional $97 million from businesses who had failed tofile their annual business property statement.• Utilizing business license information, discovered morethan 1,484 businesses not on the assessment roll, resultingin over $100 million in new value added to theassessment roll.Leadership and LegislativeTogether, with the California Assessors’ Association, wecontinue to provide leadership on critical State legislationand Board of Equalization rules and regulations.Challenges AheadIn the short term, maintaining high productivity in the eraof Covid-19 remains our greatest challenge. In addition,we anticipate that the economic fallout from Covid-19 willrequire a significant redeployment of staff to provide, wherewarranted, reductions in assessed value to reflect decliningreal estate market values.professional talent is a serious challenge. As the appraisalprofession continues to contract since the early1990’s, recruiting experienced, qualified appraisers hasbeen increasingly difficult. In the coming year, we willaggressively pursue new channels of communicationdirected toward related real estate professions to attractqualified candidates to apply for available appraiser andauditor positions.Trends and Future GoalsThe Assessor’s Office continues to be a model foraccountability, strong management controls, transparency,and high ethical standards. We continue to focuson developing creative solutions to improve efficiency,enhance productivity, and increase performance.As County Assessor, I remain committed to the fullimplementation of a performance-based budgeting andmanagement system that ties mission and goals directlyto the budget, identifies and rewards superior performance,and focuses resources on continuous improvementinitiatives based on quality, service, innovation,and accountability.The Assessor’s Office employs a group of people I believeare among the most talented, ethical, and dedicatedanywhere in government. It is our primary objectiveto treat all property owners and taxpayers with thehighest degree of courtesy and professionalism.For 26 years, it has been my honor to serve the taxpayers,property owners, and public agencies in Santa ClaraCounty. It is my privilege to continue managing animportant county function that renders fair and accurateassessments, and provides the highest level of publicservice.The work of dedicated assessment professionals iscritical not only for schools and cities, but also for fundingessential first-responders and healthcare workers intheir effort to defeat Covid-19.Lawrence E. StoneAssessorLong term, our biggest challenge is the replacement of ouraging legacy computer system, especially as the volume andcomplexity of our work increases. We continue to make significantstrides toward mitigating our technical and staffingrisks related to our antiquated system, eliminating the risk ofcatastrophic hardware failure.Like companies in Silicon Valley, identifying and retainingSanta Clara County Annual Report 20205
Page 2 and 3: TABLE OF CONTENTSMessage from Lawre
Page 6 and 7: How Tax Bills Are CalculatedAfter t
Page 8 and 9: What Are Supplemental Assessments?S
Page 10 and 11: Assessment Information by CityWhile
Page 12 and 13: Proposition 13Passed by the voters
Page 14 and 15: ASSESSED VALUE$14,000,000,000$12,00
Page 16 and 17: Major New ConstructionMajor New Con
Page 18 and 19: Top 10 Changes in Ownership 2020-20
Page 20 and 21: What is Proposition 8?Proposition 8
Page 22 and 23: Business Personal PropertyAssessed
Page 24 and 25: Assessment Appeals ProcessIn Santa
Page 26 and 27: Customer ServiceIn 2020 the Assesso
Page 28 and 29: Explanation of Terms*Ad Valorem Pro
Page 30 and 31: City Agricultural &miscellaneous202
Page 32 and 33: 2020-2021 Net Assessed Value (AV) a
Page 34 and 35: Property Assessment Monthly Calenda
Page 36: Office of the County AssessorLawren

Annual Report 2020 -2021

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