Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout65-063RESOLUTION NOo 65-63 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY' OF BUTTE STATE OF CALIFORNIA RESOLUTION ADOPTING RULES TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF BUTTE SITTING AS A BOARD OF EQUALIZATION IN THE YEAR 19 (Article XIII Section 9 of the Constitution of the State of California) WHEREAS, the State Constitution and Section 1605 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California authorize the County Board of Equalization to adopt rules of procedure to govern its conduct in its affairs; and WHEREAS, it is necessary that appropriate rules of procedure be adopted for the conduct of proceedings before the Butte County $oard of Equalization so that such proceedings may be conducted efficiently and in sufficient time to meet statutory deadlines; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF BUTTE, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, as follows: to That the following rules of procedure shall govern County Equalization hearings conducted by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte, State of California, far the fiscal year commencing July 1, 19 RULES OF PROCEDURE PURPOSE: The purpose of these rules is to provide a guide {1) for persons applying to the Board of Equalization for a reductign in property assessment and (2) for persons whose property assessment is proposed to be changed on the initiative of the Board of Equalizations These rules provide an outline of the procedures in' effect for the Board of Equalization and are to be used together with all applicable sections of the Revenue and Taxation Code that relate to assessment and/or equalizationo (1) "Applicant" is a person who has filed a verified9 written application for reduction in an assessment on property under these rules, (2) "Application" is a verified, written application for reduction in an assessment on property filed under these rules, (3) "Assessor" is the Assessor of the County of Butted (4) "'Auditor" is the Auditor of the County of Butted _ (5) "$oard" is the Board of Equalization of the County of Butted (6) "Chairman" is the Chairman (actual or acting) of the Board of Equalization of the County of Buttes (7) "Clerk" is the Clerk of the Board of Equalization of the County of Butted (8) "County",is the County of Butte (9) "Local Roll" is the "local roll" as that term is defined in Section 109 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California, -2- (10) "Person Interested'' is a person appearing before the Board in a matter initiated by the Board but not involving request and application for a reduction in an assessment, _3_ RULE to MEETING DATE OF THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION On the first Monday in July of each year the Board shall meet to equalize the assessment of property on the local roll in the Board of Supervisors Room in the County Courthouse, or such other place within the County as the Board may designate, and shall continue in session £or that purpose, from time to time, between said date and five o'clock Porto on the third Monday in July, until the business of equalization is finished, (a) Extension of Timeo Provided, however, that if the Board cannot complete such business within the time prescribed it shall apply for an extension of time from the State Board of Equalization in accordance with Section 155 of the Revenue & Taxation Code< (b) Extra Meetings, At any regular meeting, the Board of Supervisors, on the request of the Assessor or any taxpayer, shall sit as the County Board of Equalization to equalize any assessments made by the Assessor outside the regular assessment period for such assessments and during the calendar month preceding the month in which such meeting is held, (c) Entire Roll Not to be Raised or Lowered, The Board shall y~either raise nor lower the entire local rollo RULE 2, DELIVERY OF LOCAL ROLL TO CLERK BY ASSESSOR As soon as the Assessor completes the local roll, he shall deliver ~.t to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, who is -4- ex-officio Clerk of the County Board of Equalizations RULE 3, PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF BOARD 1~ETING When the Board received the local roll-from the Assessor, the Clerk shall give notice, by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the County, of the completion of the local roll and of the time when the Board will meet to equalize assessmentsa RULE 4o LOCAT20N OF LOCAL ROLL FOR INSPECTION Until the equalization is finished, the local roll shall remain in the Clerk's office for the inspection of all persons interested, RULE 5, APPLICATION FOR REDUCTION IN ASSESSMENT No reduction in an assessment on the local roll shall be made unless the applicant or his agent files a verified9 written application as follows: (a) Filing Required, The applicant or his agent shall make and file a verified, written application for a reduction with the clerk upon forms provided by the Clerks Said application to be filed in triplicates (b) Contentso The application shall show the facts claimed to require the reduction and, in addition to such other matter indicated on the form as the Board may require in furtherance of its duties, shall show: (1) The name and address of the applicant, (2) A description of the property for which a -5- reduction is sought sufficiently to identify the property on the local rollo (3) The valuation at which the property was assessedo {4) The uses to which the property is being Auto (5) The value of the property the applicant. contends is proper and the basis for such valuations {c) Filing Timeo The applicant or his agent shall file this application in proper £orm before 5 o'clock Pablo on the Tuesday immediately preceding the third Monday in Julys In the event that the State Bosrd of Equalization grants an extension of time for completion of equalization hearings as provided in Rule 1 herein, the application deadline shall also be extended to 5 o'clock PaM, five (5) calendar days before the extended closing dates (d) Copy of Application to Assessor, The Clerk shall submit to the Assessor a copy of all applications for reduced assessment received in proper form and a reasonable time shall be allowed before hearing for the Assessor to present information relative to the property and the assessment thereofo RULE bo SETTING AN APPLICATION FOR REDUCTION IN ASSESSMENT FOR HEARING Upon the filing, in proper form, of an application for reduction in an assessment the Clerk shall immediately set the matter for _s_ hearing before the Board, (a) Notice to Applicant, The Clerk shall notify the applicant of the date, hour and place of such hearing, Provided, however, if notice is waived in writing, or the party attends the hearing, such notice need not be served or maileda Notice to the applicant shall be deemed to have been effected when a letter or postcard cor~~aining the required information is properly addressed to the address contained in the written application and is placed in any regular mailbox or is otherwise deposited for delivery in due course of the mails, The time allowed for hearing each individual application shall be set by the Clerk in such manner as to permit the hearing of all applications within the time allowedo by law, (b) Time for Hearin~o No hearing shall be held less than five days after notice therefore has been given to the applicant in accordance with these rules, iJnless an extension of time has been obtained as provided in Rule 1, no hearing shall be set for any date beyond the third Monday in July, If an extension of time has been obtained, no hearing shall be set for any date beyond the last day of the period of extension, (c) Notice to Assessor; Answer by Assessors The Clerk shall notify the Assessor of the date, hour and place of such hearingo The Assessor may file a written answer to the application for reduction in an assessment with the Clerk at any time before -7- the hearing date. RULE 7. BOARD 0~' EQUALIZATION HEARINGS, Ali hearings before the Board shall be conducted in the .following manner: (a) Presiding Officer. The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors shall act as Chairman of the Board of Equalization and shall preside over all hearings under these rules, He shall exercise such control over the proceedings as is reasonable and necessary. In addition to other duties he shall rule on the admissibility of evidence and shall order a party to yield the floor when his allotted time has been consumed. (b) orum: Number of Votes Necessar~t. No hearing before the Board shall be held unless at least three (3) members are present, No determination and order shall be made by the Board by less than three-fifths (3/Sths) vote of the Board, The same members must be in attendance throughout the hearing, and only those members who have been in attendance throughout the hearing may vote thereon. (c) Commencement of Hearing on Application for Reduction, All hearings on an application for a reduction in an assessment, unless the Chairman rules that it is not necessary to so proceed in a particular hearing, shall be commenced in the following manner: (1~ The Clerk shall read the written application and the written answer of the Assessor, if any -g_ has been filedo (2) The Chairman shall then determine if the applicant, or his agent, is presents If no person or persons respond to the request to support the application, the application shall be dismissed, Before dismissing any application under this rule the Chairman shall ascertain from the Clerk if full compliance with itule 6 herein has been madeo (3) If the applicant or his agent is present,_the Chairman shall then inquire of the Assessors unless the Assessor has included such matter-s in his answers what portions of the application are not conceded by the Assessor to be trues" (4) Thereafter, unless a member of the Board present at the hearing otherwise requests the Chairman, the hearing shall be limited ,to a. consideration of the matters which are not conceded to be true by the Assessoro (5) 'The Chairman shall then require the applicant or his agent to present his case to the Board firsto (d) Examination of Applicant or Agent on Oatho No reduction in an assessment, on the local roll ~~a11 be made unless -9- the Board examines, on oath, the applicant or his agent, touching the value of the property. A reduction shall not be made unless the applicant or agent attends the hearing and answers all questions pertinent to the inquiry. (e) A earance b Owner or ent. The owner of the property for which the application is made shall appear personally at the hearing on the matter, and not through an agent, unless at the time set for the hearing the owner is either absent from the County or by reason of his health is unable to appear, If the owner is out of the County or by reason of his health is unable to appear at such time, he shall cause an agent to appear for him, A person purporting to act as agent of the propertycwner must file written authority so to act from the owner, with the Clerk. At the hearing the owner, unless his absence is excused as aforesaid. and in which case his agent shall stand in the position of the owner for this purpose, shall submit to examination under oath if requested to do sa by the Board or Assessor and shall answer each question asked him which is relevant to the inquiry. (f) Presence. of Assessor. ]luring the session of the Board, the Assessor and any deputy whose testimony is needed shall be present and may make any statement or produce evidence on matters before the Board, (g) Use of Affidavits by Applicant and Assessd~. An Applicant may support his application by the affidavits of his -10- witnesses in lieu of direct testimony by them provided he attaches such affidavits, together with copies for the Assessor and the County Counsel to the application at the time of filing, The affiant witnesses shall be present at the hearing on the application and subject to cross-examinations The Assessor may follow a like procedure if the Applicant has done soa If the Assessor files affidavits, he shall likewise serve copies upon the Applicant and the County Counsel in advance of the hearing, Ch) Representation by Counsel,, Any applicant, person interested and the Assessor shall be entitled to be represented by legal counsel at any hearing before the Board, (i) Burden of Proof on Applicant, The applicant has the burden of proof and must convince the Board by a preponderance of the evidence that the assessment in question should be reduped, After the applicant has presented his case, the Assessor shall then make his report to the Board and may cross examine the applicant or any witnesses appearing on his behalfo (j) Formal Rules of Evidence not Applicable, The formal rules of evidence applicable to an action at law shall not apply to hearings before the Board, The only rule that shall goveXn the admissibility or the reception of offered evidence is thQ requirement that the evidence shall be relevent to the matter before the Board and be for the purpose of explaining and supporting the contentions of the applicant or person interested, -11- or the fairness of the assessmento (k) Limitation of Time: Order of Proceedings Evidence and argument of any applicant, person interested and the Assessor at any hearing before the Board shall be limited to a reasonable time that shall be set by the Chairmari, Such limitation of time shall not be exceeded by reason of cross-examining witnesseso Except as provided herein the order of the presentation of evidence and argument shall be determined by the Chairmane {1) Board Subpoena W~ nesses: Supplemental Evidences The Board may subpoena witnesses and take evidence in relation to the inquirya The Chairman may request the applicants person interested at the hearing, or the Assessor to supplement the evidence taken by further evidence in writing, duly verified, and by maps or photographs or by further testimonyo Such additional evidence or argument shall be permitted only if there is adequate time prior to adjournment for reply by the applicant or Assessoro For the purpose of taking such additional evidence the hearing may be continued for a further hearing in the matter on some date before the adjournment of the Board on the third Monday in July or before the end of the period of extension if any extension of time has been obtained as provided in Rule Io Any assessment referred to the Assessor by .the Board for checking and reporting shall be returned to the Board at the time specified by the Board, (m) 5tenographic_Reportero A stenographic reporter -12- will not be used on hearings before the Board unless the applicantfl person interested, Assessor or Chairman requests the presence and use of such a stenographic reportero If the request is by an applicant or person interested it must be made at least one day in advance of the hearing and the applicant or interested party who makes such request shall pay the fees fDr reportingo 'When the Chairman requests that all proceedings of the Board be reported, the cost thereof shall be paid by the Countyo A transcript of hearing shall be furnished only upon the request and at the expense of the applicant, his agent, or person interested, The stenographic reporter requested shall be selected by the Clerk and must be qualified and competent as a stenographic reporter, (n) Time for Reconsider~tione The. Board's determination and order upon any hearing is subject to reconsideration only before adjournment of the day's session in which it was madeo (o) Petition for Rehearing, A petition for rehearing shall be granted only upon motion for rehearing which is acted upon affirmatively by the Board members who heard the original petition and when such affirmative vote fora rehearing constitutes a majority of the entire Board, RULE 8o RECORD Off' BOARD CHANGES; CHANGE ON LOCAL ROLLo The Clerk shall record, in a book kept for that purpose9 all changes and orders made by the Board, and during its session or as -13® soon as possible after its adjournment, shall enter on the local roll all changes made by the Board, or on a separate statement if the roll is machine prepared, RULE 9, DELIVERY OF CORRECTED LOCAL ROLL TO AUDITOR: AFFIDAVITo On the third day after adjournment of the Board the Clerk shall deliver the corrected local roll to the Auditor with an affixed affidavit, subscribed by the Clerk, as follows: '*I, oooooo, swear that, as Clerk of the Board of Equalization of Butte County, I have kept correct minutes of all the acts of the Board touching alterations in the assessment roll, that all alterations agreed to or directed to be made have been made in the roll, and that no alterations have been made except those authorized," or, if the roll is a machine-prepared roll, shall deliver the assessment roll and a separate statement of all changes made by the county board to the auditor with an affixed affidavit, subscribed by her, as follows: "I, ooPOOO, swear that, as Clerk of the. Board of Equalization of Butte County, I have kept correct minutes of all the acts of the Board touching alterations in the assessment roll, that all alterations agreed to or directed to be made have been included in the attached statement and that no other alterations are included therein," RULE loo POSTING OF THESE RULES OF PROCEDURE, The Clerk shall make available these Rules of Procedure at the -1~- Board of Supervisors Room, and at the County Clerk's offices RUZE llo RULES REMAIN IN EFFECT, The foregoing Rules of Procedure shall remain in effect until further order modifying or repealing the same by the Board of Supervisors of the County in session as the County Board of Equal- izationo RULE 12o OTHER MATTERS AFFECTING THE LOCAL ROLL: CHANGES IN LOCAL ROLL INITIATED BY BOARD: "PERSONS INTERESTED"o The Board may direct the Assessor to: (1) Assess any taxable property other than State property that has escaped assessment, (2) Change the amounts number, quantity, or description of property on the local roll, (3) Make and enter new assessments, at the same time cancelling previous entries, when any assessment made by his is deemed by the Board so incomplete as to render doubtful the collection of the taxo No such direction shall be given by the Board unless the following procedure has been followed: (a) Notice of Hearing to Persons Interested, The Clerk shall give notice to all persons interested that a hearing in the matter will be heldo This notice shall contain a statem¢nt of the purpose of the hearing and the date, hour and place of such hearingo (b) Procedure for Giving Notice of Hearingo Notice to persons -15- interested shall be deemed to have been given when a bulletin containing the required information is posted in a conspicuous place in the office of the Clerk or is posted in a conspicuous place on the property involved, Notice to a particular person interested shall be deemed to have been given when a letter or postcard containing the. required information properly addressed to the last known address of such person interested is placed in any regular mailbox 'or otherwise deposited for delivery in due course of the mailse (c) bate of Hearing, No hearing shall be held less than five days after notice therefore is given to the persons interested in accordance with these rules, Unless an extension of time has been obtained as prov¢ded in Rule 1, no hearing shall be set for any date beyond the third Monday in July, If an extension of time has been obtained, no hearing shall be set for any date beyond the last day of the period of the extension, (d) Hearings: Lack of Protesto Persons interested appearing before the Board under this Rule shall proceed in conformity with, and be subject to, Rules 5, 6 and 7 where applicable, and all other applicable Rules herein.a Whenever it appears that no person interested is present at a Board hearing on a matter arising under this Rule, at the date, time and place noticed for hearing on the matter, the Board may summarily without any hearing direct the Assessor to proceed in accordance with the purpose stated in the -16- notice. The foregoing Resolution was duly adopted and passed at a regular open meeting of said Board-held on the 8th day of June, 19 6 5 on roll call by the following'~vote: AYES: ,S"tTT'~~~VTSf~FiS GTLES~ HOi~'S~~N~ A'JA~ON! McKTLI+O~'a and CHAIA.iV Pk?3?UE ~, . NOES: NONE ABSENT : PdOI~tE Chairman of he o d of Supervisors of the County of Butte, State of - ~ California. ATTEST: JESSTE ROGERS, County Clerk and ex-officio clerk of the Board of Supervisors' By Deputy -17-