12-20-02 Los Angeles County Districts Share in Delinquent Property Taxes

Volume 15 For Publication Date: December 20, 2002 No. 25

Los Angeles County Districts
Share in Delinquent Property Taxes

For the past two and a half years, a group of dedicated Chief Business Officials have been working on a way for districts in Los Angeles County to share in revenues from interest and penalties on property tax delinquencies. Last Friday, December 13, 2002 , their efforts paid off and more than $7 million was distributed to school agencies in Los Angeles County .

This transaction was possible because, some years ago when counties could decide whether to maintain status quo or to go under a “Teeter plan” for distribution of taxes, the Los Angeles County government decided not to become a “Teeter plan” county. As a result, revenues from collection of delinquent property taxes, but not penalties and interest, have been passed on to school agencies and counted against the revenue limit.

Recent legislation allowed school agencies to form a joint powers authority for collecting the agencies’ share of delinquencies and for the school agencies to benefit from the penalties and interest on them without offset to the revenue limit. School Services was pleased to assist in the creation of the JPA, which is led by the following CBOs:

Dr. Joe Zeronian, Los Angeles Unified School District , Chair

Mr.Tomio Nishimura, Long Beach Unified School District

Dr. Don Zimring, Las Virgenes Unified School District

Dr. Steve Hodgson, Glendale Unified School District

Dr. Gary Orsinger, Downey Unified School District

This mechanism does not yet work in every county, but in Los Angeles it was very beneficial. A total of 91 school agencies, including K-12, community colleges, and the county office of education were able to receive their share of the revenues. We are privileged to have leaders as persistent as the five listed above; the goal was elusive, but worthwhile in the end.

—Ron Bennett and Paul Goldfinger