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Kern County introduces $75 assessment-appeal filing fee with low-income waiver; board approves ordinance introduction
Summary
The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 (one member absent) to introduce an ordinance establishing a $75 filing fee for property tax assessment appeals and a waiver for eligible low-income filers; staff said the fee would recover part of processing costs and that counties typically charge similar fees.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors on its July agenda introduced an ordinance to add section 2.44.0.05 to the county code that establishes a $75 filing fee for property tax assessment appeals and a fee-waiver process for eligible low-income applicants. The board voted to introduce the ordinance, waive its reading and approve related findings under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by a 4–0 vote, with one supervisor absent.
Chief Clerk of the Board Cathy Kraus told the board that the California Constitution permits counties to charge a reasonable fee for filing assessment appeal applications and that the Revenue and Taxation Code requires the clerk of the board to receive and process those appeals. Kraus said county staff cost analysis shows the county spends an average of $104 to process each application and that 43 of California’s 58 counties charge a filing fee. “We are requesting a $75 per application filing fee,” Kraus said, adding staff included a fee-waiver provision for low-income property owners and recipients of state or federal aid.
Kraus presented data showing nearly 38,000 assessment-appeal applications were filed in Kern County between 2007 and 2023, and that historically a small share of filings go to a hearing (about 5% overall; in the last five years the share going to hearing was under 0.5%). She and the assessor’s liaison recommended taxpayers first use the assessor’s informal review process before filing a formal appeal.
Rick Musselman, who identified himself as a member of the Kern County Assessment Appeals Board, spoke in favor of a filing fee to recover county costs, saying many appeal filers do not follow through with required documentation and that incomplete filings increase costs for county taxpayers. “Filing an appeal and not following through is costing Kern County property taxpayers…Charging an appeal filing fee is necessary to help recover county costs for uncompleted filings,” Musselman said.
Supervisor David Couch said he favored full cost recovery in principle and referenced the $104 average cost; other supervisors supported a $75 fee with waiver provisions for those who qualify. Assessor liaison Christina Miller explained that large properties made up of multiple parcels (for example, an economic unit such as a wind farm or oil field) still require separate processing for each parcel and therefore each application incurs processing work; those combined hearings can take significantly longer than single-family residential cases.
The board made the CEQA finding recommended in staff materials, approved the fee and introduced the ordinance for first reading; the motion passed 4 ayes, 1 absent. Staff said the ordinance would create a fee process and a waiver for eligible applicants and that further administrative details would be included in implementing rules.
