Following a public outcry over sharp increases in 2024 assessed property valuations, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors has rescinded a 2012 resolution that made it possible to adjust property values without notifying individual owners by mail. The 2012 resolution allowed the assessor’s office to announce changes solely by posting property values on the county website.
In the future, the assessor’s office is required to notify property owners by mail if the assessed value of their property increases significantly over the previous year. The assessor’s office will continue to post higher assessments on the Plumas County website, the supervisors decided.
Public response to property value increases
Appraisals in 2024 increased dramatically over the previous year on around 22% of the county’s 27,000 privately-owned parcels. The shock and subsequent rage was over the combination of higher taxes and notifications that came as a complete surprise. In most cases homeowners learned of tax increases as much as 70% just weeks before the payment deadline.
Citizens vented their frustration at three separate meetings in November and December 2024, and during the public comment period at every county board meeting since then. They packed the board room Jan. 21, leaving standing room only.
The supervisors got the message. Their unanimous decision rescinds Code 619, which allowed the county assessor to announce reassessments on the county website, and allowed skipping the extra step of sending individual mailed notices.
That resolution is no longer in effect. Plumas County Assessor Cynthia Froggatt summed up the supervisors’ action: “The resolution to rescind is stating that we will mail but we will also post to the internet.”
Notices will be sent by postcard to the current address on file with her office, she said. “The address we have on file is what our property owners give us,” Froggatt said.
After the motion, which passed unanimously, Supervisor Mimi Hall asked Froggatt if she would also consider posting a notification in a newspaper. Froggatt said she would work with The Plumas Sun to increase public visibility of increased property assessments.
Exasperation continues
The board’s decision addressed frustration over past scant public notification of tax increases but it did little to quell public anger.
Froggatt reported 43 appeals from homeowners, who objected to the assessed value her office assigned to their property. She has addressed 14 of them, she said. Froggatt also extended the deadline for decline in value appeals to Jan. 31, 2025.
Those unhappy with her office’s decisions on their appeals have another recourse. Supervisor Jeff Engel reminded the public that the county board of supervisors also serves as a local agent for the California Board of Equalization. If the assessor and the property owner cannot agree on a valuation, the issue can go to the county board of supervisors, acting as an appeals board.
“If you can’t come to an agreement with the assessor, the board of supervisors is an appeals body. We’ll hear your case,” Engel said.
“I’m really pissed, and so I’m going to fight you tooth and nail.”
Mike Gardner, Portola resident
That did not satisfy some attending the meeting. Mike Gardner, of Portola, spoke for many when he vented sheer frustration for a property owner who “all of a sudden gets bumped 60% to 70% within three or four weeks of having to pay the <tax> bill.
“And then having your appraiser tell you… that’s your fault because you’re not managing your money correctly. I mean, I flipped out on that one. I’m really pissed, and so I’m going to fight you tooth and nail,” Gardner said.
Ted Stout, an Indian Valley property owner, made a plea for more data under California’s Public Records Act. Information has been spotty and unclear, he said. “I think we need clarity,” said Stout.
After listening to taxpayers’ complaints for 30 minutes, Goss drew the conversation to an end. The board’s action requiring notification of property value increases by mail will “hopefully help with communication,” he said.
“Our goal is to not have this happen again,” he said.
