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HomeMy WebLinkAbout66-086..;.;. . ` RESOLUTION-NO, 66-86 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, GOUN'IY OF BUTTE .STATE OF CALIFORNIA RESOLUTION ADOPTING RULES TO Ba FOLLOWED BY THE BOARD. OF SUPERVISORS OF '1'diE COUNTY OF BUTTE SITTING AS A BOARD OF EQUALIZATION IN THE v_EAR I966 _ (Article %III Section 9 of the Constitution of the State_of Cal ifornia) 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 aiopt rules of procedure to govern its conduct in .its affairsa and WHEREAS,,it is necessary that appropriate-rules .of procedure be adopted for the conduct of proceedings before the Butte County Board of Equalization so that such proceedings .may be conducted efficiently and in sufficient time to meet statutory deadliness NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD4.OF S'UPER~TiSORS •QF T1KE C+DUNTY OF BUTTE, STATE OF CALIFORNIA,.as follows: la That the following rules of procedure shall govern County Equalization hearings conducted by the Board of Supervisors-of the County of Butte,.in session as the County Board of Equalization-for the County.of Butte, State of Ca-l iferr_ia, for the fiscal year commencing July,1, 1966 : RULES OF PROCEDURE PURPOSE: The purpose of these rules is to provide a guide (1) for persor_s applying to the Board of Equalization-for a reduction :in property assessment and (2) for persons whose property assessment is proposed to be changed on the initiative-of the Board .of Equalization. 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 equalization: DEFINITIONS (1) "Applicant" is a person who ,has filed a verified, written application for reduction in an assessment on property order these rulesa (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 Butte. (L,.) "Auditor" is the Auditor of the County of Butte . (y) "Board" is the Board of Equalization of the County of Butte. (6) "Chairman" is the Chairman (actual or acting) of the Board of Equalization of the County of Butte. (7} "Clerk" is the Clerk of the Board of Equalization of the County of Butte (8) "County" is the County of Butte. (q) "Vocal Roll" is the "local roll" as that term is defined in Section 109 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California. (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. - 2 - RULE 1. MEETTNG 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 for that purpose, from time to time, between said date and five o°clock P.M. on the third Monday in July, until the business of equalization is finished. (a) Extension of Time.- Provided, however, that if the Board cannot complete such business within the time prescribed it shad apply for an extension of time from the State Board of Equalization in accordance with Section 155 of the Revenue & Taxation Code. (b) Extra_ Meatin~s. At any regular meeting, the Board of Supervisors, on the request of the Assessor or any taxpayer, sha13 sit as the County Board of Equalization to equalize any-assessments made by the Assessor outside the regular assessment period £or 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 neither raise nor lower the entire local roll. RULE 2. DELIVERY OF LOCAL ROLL TO CLERK BY ASSESSOR As soon as the Assessor completes the local roll, he shall deliver it to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, who is ex-officio Clerk of the County Board of Equalization. RULE 3• PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF BOARD MEETING When the Board receives the local roll from the Assessor, the Clerk shall give notice, by publication in a newspaper of general calculation in the County, of the completion of the local roll and of the time when the Board will meet to equalize assessments. -3- R[jI~ ~.. LOCATION OF LOCAL RCI,L FOR iNSPECTIOFT Until the equalization if finished, the local roll shall remain in the Clerk's office far the inspection of all persons interested. RULE 5. 9PPLICATION FOR REDTJCTION IN ASSESSMENT No reduction in an assessment on the local roll shall be made unless the applicant or his agent files a verified, written application as follows: (s) Filing Reouired. The applicant or his agent shall make and file s verified, written application for a reduction with the clerk upon forms provided by the Clerk. Said application to be filed in triplicate. (b) Contents. 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 reduction is sought sufficiently to identify the property on the local roll. (3) The valuation at which the property was assessed. (!~) The uses to which the property is be}ng put. (5) The value of the property the applicant contends is proper and the bases for such valuation. (c) Filine Time. The applicant or his agent shall file this application in proper form before y o'clock P.M, on the Tuesday immediate7~y preceding the third Monday in July. 2n the event that the State Board of Equaliza-~ion 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 P.M. five (5) calendar days before the extended closing date. (d) Copy of Application to„.A_ssASSOx, The Clerk shall. submit to the Assessor a copy of all applications for reduced assessment received in proper -4- form and a reasonable time shall be allowed before hearing for the Assessor to present information relative to the property and the assessment thereof. RULE 6. SETTTNG AN APPLICATION FOR REDDCTICN IN.9SSESSMENT k'CR HEARING Upon the filing, in proper form, of an application for reduction in an assessment the Clerk shall immediately Set the matter for 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 mailed. Notice to the applicant shall be deemed to have been effected when a letter or postcard containing 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 allowed by law. (b) Time-for. Hearin No hearing shall be held less than five days after notice therefore has been given to the applicant in accordance with these rules. Unless an extension of time has beam obtained as provided in Rule 1, no hearing shall be set for any date beyond the third Monday in Judy, If an extension of time has been obtained, no hearing shall be set for any date beyond the last day of the pexiod of extension. (c) •Notice to Assessor: Answer by Assessor. The Clerk shall notify the Assessor of the date, hour and place of such hearing. The Assessor may file a written answer to the application for reduction in an assessment with the Clerk at any time before the hearing date. R_7. BCARD OF EQUALIZATION HEARINGS. AlI hearings before the Board shall be .conducted in the following manner: -5- (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 3s reasonable and necessary. In addition to other duties he shall rule on the admissibility of evidence and shall order a party to yield the flour when his 811otted time has been consumed, (b) uorum: Number of Votes Necessary. No hearing before the Board sha11 be held unless at least three (3) members are present. No determinat}on and order sha11. be made by the Board by less than three-fifths (3/5ths) 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. (e) Commencement of Hearin~on_Annlicati.on 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 paxticular hearing, shall be commenced in the following manner: (1) The Glerk.shall xead the written application and the written answer of the Assessor, if any has been filed. (2) ThQ Chairman sha]1 then determine if the applicant,'or his agent, is present. 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 t$e Clerk if fu11 compliance with Ruts 6 herein has been made. (3) If the applicant or his agent is present, the Chairman shall then inquire of the Assessor, un7.ess the Assessor has included such matters in his answer, what porticos of the application are not conceded by the Assessor to be true. ,6r. (/~.) 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 axe not conceded to be true by the Assessor, (5) The Cha~.rman shall then require the applicant or his agent to present his case to the Board first. (d) Examination of Applicant or Aeent on Oath. No reduction in an assessment on the local roll shall be made unless 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 ox agent attends the hearing and answers all questions pertinent to the inquiry. (e) Appearance by Owner or Agent. The owner of the property for which the application is made shall appear personally at the hearing on the matter, and not through sn 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 property owner 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 3f requested to do so by the Board or Assessor and shall answer each question asked hi m. which is relevant to the inquiry. (f) .Presence of Assessor. During the session of the Boards the Assessor and any deputy whose testimony is needed shall be present and may make any statement or produce evidence on matters before the Bosrd. (g} Use of Affidavits by Arorolicant and Assessor, An Applicant may support his application by the affidavits of his witnesses in lieu of direct testimony by them provided he attaches such affidavits, together with copies for -'7- 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 exoss-examination. The Assessor may foLtow a like proced~ra if the Applicant has done so. If the Assessor files affidavits, he sha11 likewise serve copies upon the Applicant and the County Counsel in advance of the hearing. (h) Representation by Counsel. Any applicant, person interested and the Assessor sha11 be entitled to be represented by legal counsel at any hearing before the Board. (i) Burden of Proof on A~nlicsnt. The applicant has the burden of proof and must comrince the Board by s preponderance of the evidence that the assessment in question should be reduced. 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 behalf. {j) Formal. Rules of Evidence not AnAlicable_,i, Tha formal rules of evidence applicable to an action at law shall not apply to hearings before the Board. The only rule that sha11 govern the admissibility or the reception of offered evidence is the requirement that the evidence shall be relevant to the matter before the Board and be for the purpose of explaining and supporting the contentions of the applicant or person interested, or the fairness of the assessment. (k) Limitation of Time: Order of Proceedine. Evidence and argument of any applicant, parson interested and the Assessor at any hearing before the Board shall be limited to a reasonable time that shall be set by the Chairman. Such limitation of time shall not be exceeded by reason of cross- examining witnesses. Except as provided herein the order of the presentation of evidence and argument shall be determined by the Chairman. (1) Board Subpoena Witnesses: Sttoplemantal Evidence. The Board may subpoena witnesses and take evidence inaelation to the inquiry, The Chairman may request the applicant, person interested at tl~e hearing, or the Assessor to ~~ supplement the evidence taken by further evidence in writing, duly verified, and by maps or photographs or by further testimony.' Such additional evidence: or argumQnt shall be permitted only if these is adequate time prior to ad- journment for reply by the applicant or Assessor. 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 1. Any assessment referred to the Assessor by the Bcard for checking and reporting shall be returned to the Board at the time specified by the Board. (m) 5tenoEranhic Reporter. A stenographic reporter will not be used on hearings before the Board unless the applicant, person interested, Assessor or Chairman requests the presence and use of such a stenographic reporter. Tf 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 for reporting. When the Chairman requests that all proceedings of the Board be reported, the cost thereof sha11 be paid by the County. A transcript of hearing shall be furnished..orLly upon the request and at the expanse of the applicant, his agent,. or person interested. The stenographic reporter requested sha11 be selected•by the Clerk and must be qualified and competent as a stenographic reporter. (n) Time_for Reconsideration. 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 made. (o) Petition for Re-hearinE. 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 for ~ re-hearing constitutes a majority of the entire.Board. -g_ . RULE 8. RECORD OF BOARD CHANGES: CHANGE ON LOCAL ROLL. The Clerk shal]. record, in a book kept for that purpose, all changes and orders made by the Board and, during its session or as 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,. DELNERY OF CORRECTED LOGAL ROLL TO AUDITOR: AFFIDAVIT On the third day after adjournment of the Board the Clerk shall deliver the corrected local roll to the Auditor with sn affixed affidavit, subscribed by the clerk, as follows: "I, ......, swear that, as C],erk 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 s machine-prepared roll, shal]. 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, ......, 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 altera- tions 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 10. POSTING OF THESE RDLES OF PROCEDURE The Clerk shall make available these Rules of Procedure at the Board of Supervisors Room, and at the County Clerk's office, =10- RULE 11. RULES REMAIN TN 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 Equalization. RULE 12. OTHER MATTERS AFFECTING THE LOCAL ROLL: CHANGES TN LOCAL ROLL INITIATED BY BOARD : 'PERSONS INTERESTID" The Board may direct the Assessor to: (1) Assess any taxable property other than State property that has escaped assessment. (2) Change the amount, 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 him is deemed by the board so incomplete as to render doubtful the collection of the tax. 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 held. This notice shall contain a statement of the purpose of the hearing and the date, hour and place of such hearing. (b) Procedure for Givin Notice of Hearin Notice to persons 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 s letter or postcard containing the required information properly addressed to the last =11- known address of .such person ~.ntezested is placed in any regular mailbox .or otherwise deposited for delivery in due course of the mails. (c) Date of Hearing> No hearing shall be held less than five days after notice therefore ,is given to the persons interested in. aocordance raith these rule a. Unless an extension of time. has .'been obtained as provided in Rule 1, no hearing shall be set for any date beyond the third Mor!day in 3uly, 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 Protest. Persons interested appearing before the Board under this Rule shall proceed in conformity with, and be subject to,-Rules 5, $, and 7 where applicable, and all other applicable Rules herein. 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 hearir_g direct the Assessor to proceed in accordance with the purpose stated in the notice. The foregoing resolution was duly adopted and passed at a regular-open meeting ,of said Board held on the 14th day of ,7une,.196 6, on roll call by the following votee AYES: Supervisors Howsden, Maxon, McKillop, Pryde and Chairman Giles NOES: None ABSENT: None Chairma of_the Board of Supervisors of ,the County of Butte, State of`California. ATTEST: .7ESSIE ROGERS Butte County Glerk and ex~officio Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By ` ~ X ~_~ Deputy Cler -12m