Customer Service and Efficiency
In addition to its primary function, the Assessor’s Office also provides a range of services to the residents of the County. These public services are paid for by the budget of the office and include (but are not limited to):
Notifying owners of changes to the assessed value of their property
Managing the appeals process allowing challenges to property assessments
Administering the Homeowners Exemption program
Administering historic properties under Mills Act designation
Administering agricultural properties under Williamson Act designation
Administering qualified transfers of property assessments
Providing temporary reduction of assessed value under certain circumstances
Auditing assessable business property records for accuracy
The first-time homeowner is generally unaware of the ways in which the Assessor’s Office can provide benefits or services with regard to how their property’s assessment and resultant tax bill are managed. This is especially true for first-time buyers who come from backgrounds where property ownership is not a standard practice. Most people do not even know they can request to meet with a certified appraiser to discuss forms and guidelines for addressing various types of property issues, whether it be challenging an assessment, programs that qualify certain properties for reduced taxes, or how new construction or demolitions can impact assessed values. Presently the burden of knowledge falls upon the individual and their own research.
Additionally, there is no established culture of customer service to the broader Santa Clara County community in the current Assessor’s Office. Despite claims of high customer satisfaction with the office, many property owners have reported frustration in dealing with the office in general - especially those who have dealt with the present appeals process - feeling that their concerns are an inconvenience or annoyance to the bureaucracy. Satisfaction can be subjective. It is easy to manipulate and cherry-pick data, especially when there is no independent review of that data to ensure it is true and representative. How many of us have filled out a satisfaction survey that simply asks you to pick a number for how well your needs were met, when the relevant question would be asking how easy was it to have your needs met? Not to mention the surveys do not include those residents who require the services the Assessor’s Office provides who don’t know this office even exists. Dealing with the Assessor’s Office should be both easy and convenient, and we know that change follows the tone at the top. As Assessor, I will make sure both the customer and the employees will be respected and valued, because we know real comprehensive customer service comes naturally from employees who are valued for providing excellent service.
The office needs to explore innovations that can better serve its public and its employees. The pandemic has shown us that working from home is just as productive as physical presence in the office, if not moreso. Moving forward, the office has an opportunity to embrace the model of hybrid work. This is even more valuable when working in the office has the chance of passing disease to fellow employees when essential functions can be accomplished at home, even if suffering from nothing more serious than a case of the sniffles. In the same mode, the Assessor’s Office has the potential to innovate by using online technology to bring customer service into the 2020s. By offering online meetings for transacting business with the Assessor’s Office to those who have difficulty getting to the county buildings, whether because of physical limitations, lack of transit, or other causes. The Assessor’s Office has the opportunity to both innovate and set an example for other agencies.
Another area where the Office is currently lagging is its woefully out-of-date database. This relic from circa 1980 was supposed to be updated decades ago, but has yet to be successfully upgraded. The current Assessor brags about how he has “saved” the office money during his tenure by, among other things, not investing in this necessary database upgrade. But this false economy will cost taxpayers approximately $2 for every $1 he gave back to the County General Fund during his 28 years in office. Database technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and has made so much more efficiency available. Modernization will not only increase functionality and ease the ability to export data for analysis, it will be able to provide this data service and storage at a decreased long-term storage cost.
And finally, the Assessor’s Office has an opportunity to make available all legally disclosable data contained in its records at a rate commensurate with other counties within the State of California. Currently, Santa Clara County charges $47,195.00 - the highest price in the nation by an order of magnitude - for the Assessor’s “Property Characteristics File,” which contains the data most relevant to analyzing the housing crisis. A price that is far beyond the budget of many nonprofit organizations, and certainly does not serve the common interest. In the 21st century, data is power, and making this data available to stakeholders would yield powerful insights into the housing crisis and the barriers preventing home ownership in this county.
Santa Clara County is the home of Silicon Valley, the global center of innovation. We have the opportunity to innovate to serve the residents of the county now and in the future. Shouldn’t we take it?
