In our last report we highlighted the State Auditor’s finding that Mendo had failed to collect taxes due in the amount of at least $30.5 million. We think the number is substantially higher than that when uncollected penalties and interest are added. But whatever it is, Mendo has allowed tens of million in taxes due to go uncollected and the problem has been accelerating over the last five years.
Although combined a few years ago, the Treasurer-Tax Collector is still listed as a separate organization in the County’s budget. According to the latest CEO report, the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s (TTC) office budget is just over $1 million per year with “regular employees” budgeted at $830k, plus $270k for retirement. That’s equivalent to about just five or six full-time people. Unfortunately, like many Mendo offices, the TTC office has a series of negative budget line items (e.g., office revenue from business licenses) making the total office budget misleading.
The companion Auditor-Controller’s office budgets about $1 million for “regular employees” plus $325k for retirement. After discounting about $420k in interest and fee revenue, the Auditor’s office has a net budget of about $1.4 million.
For comparison, the Supervisors themselves are budgeted at $970k with five “regular employees” budgeted about $500k, plus retirement at $$160k, and a variety of other expenses, but no revenue.
In other words, the Tax Collector’s office is small, not much bigger than the Supervisors, yet this critical county function is staffed by maybe half a dozen people, one or two of whom are probably administrative.
Despite their small staff, we are not aware of any staffing requests from Auditor-Controller Chamise Cubbison under the County’s budget-balancing hiring freeze. And despite claiming to have known that millions in taxes due are going uncollected for several years, the Supervisors have not asked about staffing in the Tax Collector’s office.
In their recent report, the State Auditor recommended, “To recoup unpaid property tax payments to the degree possible, the ACTTC [Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector] should continue to take steps to resume holding regular default tax property auctions by October 2026. If the ACTTC’s Office needs external assistance to hold the auction on time, it should obtain such assistance.”
Note the slo-mo phrasing: “…take steps to resume holding regular tax property auctions by October 2026.”
A few months ago, ACTTC Chamise Cubbison told the Board that her office had begun to issue letters to some delinquent taxpayers telling them they were at risk of a tax lien sale if they didn’t pay their delinquent taxes. But isn’t even the slightest sense of urgency from the ACTTC or the CEO/Supervisors.
In response to the State Auditor’s recommendation, the County replied: “The Board of Supervisors over the last several years has expressed concerns about the lapse of an auction and has offered support to move the process along. The Board of Supervisors and Executive Office look forward to collaborating with the department to help ensure the recommendation is addressed.”
“…expressed concerns”? Prove it. If so, it was so casual as to have been ignored. Nobody ever asked ACTTC Cubbison for a tax collection plan, a monthly report of tax collection status, a listing of the highest value delinquencies, or anything else that would have addressed any “expressed concerns.”
Now, in the wimpiest language possible they say they “look forward to collaborating with the department to help ensure the recommendation is addressed.”
For her part, ACTTC Cubbison replied, “The California State Auditor (CSA) makes the statement that Mendocino has not collected property tax revenue in a timely manner. The CSA does not define timely in the version of the report provided to ACTTC. The ACTTC acknowledges that the Mendocino collection rate has declined recently. Two factors that may have contributed to a reduction in the collection rate and the current balance of defaulted tax bills are: 1. the recent increase in the number of correction bills being sent out that had previously been held up by processing issues in Aumentum and, 2. the sharp decline over the last few years in the local cannabis market which may have impacted the collection of tax for properties that were involved in the cannabis trades.”
Translation: The problem is the County’s financial software — acquired ten years ago yet still blamed for tax billing delays — and the collapse of the pot market under the weight of the Supervisors’ uniquely unworkable and unmanageable pot program which has made tax collection harder.
ACTTC Cubbison continues, getting a little closer to the true problem, although tactfully avoiding pointing any fingers:
“The [state auditor] did briefly mention some of the changes the ACTTC Office has experienced over the last five years. However, it is not possible to truly appreciate the challenges encountered and the magnitude of the dedication and effort of staff to persevere during very challenging times within the ACTTC Office. While the ACTTC Office was able to fill two positions in the last year, the Office was understaffed for most of the reviewed period and experienced several changes in leadership, the loss of decades of institutional knowledge and changes in leadership styles and priorities. The Property Tax System upgrade, conversion, and after conversion issues resulted in key staff being assigned significant additional work on top of routine duties, with that increased workload lasting well beyond the initial conversion process. There are four positions that are currently regularly working in excess of regular full-time hours in order to maintain the level of service that has been achieved during these difficult times.”
Ah yes, the office has experienced “changes in leadership…”
The Supervisors rashly consolidated the Tax Collector’s office with the Auditor’s office under pressure from District Attorney David Eyster who was annoyed by the Auditor’s questioning of his asset forfeiture expenses, causing Mendo’s two most experienced Tax Collection officials — Shari Schapmire and Julie Forrester — to retire prematurely. Then they put an auditor with no tax collection experience in charge of the office. After she was elected to the position they suspended that auditor without pay for reasons that were later shown to be entirely without merit and temporarily put an inexperienced Deputy CEO in the position for an open-ended period. Then, 17 long months later, the vindicated Auditor awkwardly returned to her position in charge of several new senior staffers hired by the temporary official, not the elected Auditor/Tax Collector.
Or, in bland Mendo-speak: “changes in leadership.”
ACTTC Cubbison concludes by saying she “agrees with this recommendation and is actively working towards this goal. ACTTC has informed the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors that some contract services will be required to complete the auction process.”
Remember: the Supervisors (falsely) claim to have “expressed concerns” “over the last several years,” despite no evidence. The Board and the CEO estimate that next year’s budget deficit will be as much as $16 million and more cuts are anticipated on top of this year’s large staff cuts.
No RFP for tax collection services has been mentioned much less prepared. The Supervisors have not asked about it, how much it might cost, how long it might take or what it might involve.
Yet the best they can do is to tell the State Auditor that they will “help ensure” that “steps [will be taken] to resume holding regular tax property auctions by October 2026” — a target date so vague and wishy-washy that no one could be held to it if they wanted to.
Meanwhile, when the Supervisors asked the Mendocino Council of Governments (the County’s transportation planning agency) to survey the public’s level of support for a county-wide road taxm the unsurprising results were: The Supervisors have a dismal approval rating of 30%.
Be First to Comment