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Tulare County assessment roll grows 4%; assessor and recorder to relocate to Government Plaza
Summary
County staff told the Assessment Appeals Board the 2026 net assessment roll rose about 4% (roughly $2 billion), putting net assessed value just over $55 billion; staff also outlined plans to move the assessor and clerk-recorder offices to Government Plaza and said the project is on time and under budget.
The Chair of the Assessment Appeals Board opened the meeting and heard a presentation from a department communications official on behalf of Assessor Tara Freitas about the county’s 2026 assessment roll and an upcoming office relocation.
The presenter said "the net roll grew by 4% this year, an increase of about $2,000,000,000," bringing the net roll to "just over $55,000,000,000 after exemptions." The presenter clarified that "assessed value isn't the same thing as revenue," and noted that under Proposition 13 tax revenue is roughly 1% of assessed value — which the presenter said would equate to about $550,000,000 in countywide tax revenue on the reported roll.
The presentation placed Tulare County's 4% growth in a statewide context using California Taxpayers Association data, saying most counties reported growth between about 3.5% and just under 5%. The presenter also broke the roll down by property type, saying residential properties made up the largest share (about 57%), commercial and industrial roughly 20%, and agricultural properties about 13%, with residential values rising the most (just under 7%) while commercial rose about 3.5% and agricultural assessments were essentially flat.
On appeals and filings, staff reported that qualifying assessment-appeal applications declined 14% in 2025 to 180 filings, the lowest total in three years and below a 10-year average of 195. The recorder's office saw more than 3,000 additional documents filed last year; grant deeds rose about 6% and deeds of trust about 12%, which staff said may indicate refinancing activity. The business property division received just under 6,000 online filings, an increase of nearly 700 filings (about 13%), which staff said is reducing manual processing time.
Staff also previewed a planned relocation of the assessor and clerk-recorder offices to Government Plaza, reusing roughly 21,000 square feet vacated by other county operations. The presenter said the move will colocate the assessor and clerk-recorder counters in a single public lobby, improve parking and wayfinding, eliminate the need for members of the public to pass through courthouse security or jury lines to access services, add self-service kiosks, and enable curbside pickup for some documents. The project "remains on time and under budget," staff said, and moves are scheduled to begin next month with an open house planned after Labor Day.
During questions, the Chair asked whether the Government Plaza location would use the permit center's kiosk and appointment software. The presenter said the new office will be adjacent to the permit center and that the office may adopt the appointment-setting software in the future but is focused now on completing the move of about 100 employees.
On routine business, the board moved and approved postponing application numbers 202400142 and 202400144 to the October 22 meeting; those motions were approved by voice vote with the board answering "aye" and the chair stating the motion carries. The withdrawal calendar was also moved, seconded and accepted by voice vote. The meeting was then adjourned.
The presentation and routine calendar actions were the meeting's primary outcomes; no final policy changes or formal changes to tax law were taken at the session.
