NR# 64-A
Date: December 26, 2000
Customer and Taxpayer Services Division

Dean Andal, Chairman, State Board of Equalization announced today the release of an assessment practices survey report on Kern County.

Approximately once every five years, the BOE conducts a review of each county's assessment functions. Issued as "Assessment Practices Surveys," these reports make recommendations to strengthen or improve local property tax assessment programs.

The current report provides some recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the assessor's operations. The recommendations include:

• Develop a comprehensive appraisal program for review of properties that experience a decline in value.



• Properly account for abandonment costs in the analysis of petroleum producing properties.



• Annually assess all manufactured homes at the lower of factored base year value or current market value.




The BOE's County Property Tax Division conducted the review of the assessor's operation to ensure that properties are being assessed properly and efficiently. The review focused on the quality of the 1999-2000 Kern County local assessment roll, which contained 376,805 assessments with an enrolled taxable value of $40,295,934,000.

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