BOE highlights staffing, training and taxpayer services as it closes 2025 appeals season
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Summary
Executive director and department chiefs reported staff appreciation events, ongoing modernization and recruitment, training expansion (virtual classes), and taxpayer rights office caseloads; SAPD said 19 unitary petitions were adjudicated this appeals season and audits will follow in 2026.
SACRAMENTO — At Tuesday’s Board of Equalization meeting agency leaders summarized operational progress on recruitment, training, taxpayer services and technology as the board closed its 2025 appeals season.
Executive Director Yvette Stowers congratulated incoming leadership and thanked staff for an annual staff appreciation event. Chief Deputy Lisa Renotti reported active recruitment and workforce planning to address an aging employee population and noted the agency had reduced large vacancy levels from earlier in the board’s term. "When I first got here... it was difficult," Renotti said; she added the department has filled many positions and is prepared for upcoming technology projects.
Lauren Keach, chief of the County Assessed Properties Division, reported that the agency issued 40 letters to assessors (LTAs) in calendar year 2025 and that BOE‑taught appraisal courses were converted into virtual offerings to expand access. Keach said BOE scheduled about 40 classes and two webinars for the 2025–26 fiscal year and moved examination processes from hard copy to an electronic format.
Lisa Thompson, chief of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate (TRA) office, briefed the board on caseloads: 34 completed cases in November 2025, with 25 valuation matters and nine administrative matters; District 2 accounted for 17 of November’s cases. Thompson noted valuation topics included change in ownership and exclusions for reassessment.
Jack McCool, chief of SAPD, said the appeals season concluded with 19 petitions heard by the board in 2025 and previewed that SAPD would bring property tax audits to the board in early 2026. Staff are finalizing updated property statement forms and instructions that will be posted and mailed ahead of the March 1, 2026 filing deadline.
Why it matters: The operational updates signal efforts to modernize BOE workflow, expand training access for county assessor staff, and provide taxpayer protections and casework services. Staff progress on forms, training and audits frames implementation tasks for the coming year.
Next steps: Staff will continue recruitment and succession planning, finalize technology projects, post updated forms and begin audit presentations in the early months of 2026. The executive director said she will present the agency strategic plan for 2026–2030 in the January 2026 meeting.
Key numbers from the meeting: 40 LTAs issued in 2025 (as of the memo date), ~40 scheduled training classes in FY 2025–26, 34 TRA completed cases in November 2025, and 19 petitions adjudicated by SAPD during the 2025 appeals season.
Board reaction: Members thanked staff for reductions in vacancies and for expanding training and virtual accessibility. "You've helped guide the ship," one member said.
