Bill's Tax Bytes is a periodic electronic newsletter from the office of Bill Postmus, Assessor for the County of San Bernardino. You are currently subscribed to Bill's Tax Bytes. If you would like to no longer receive it, Click Here to Unsubscribe.

Tax Tip of the Month

Homeowners' Exemption

Property owners may file an application for a Homeowners' Exemption on a residence that is both owned and occupied as the principal place of residence as of 12:01 a.m. on January 1. The exemption reduces the assessed value by $7,000 and reduces the property tax bill. This translates to a savings of over $70 per year. For more information please contact our office toll-free at 1-877-885-7654

Where in San Bernardino was Assessor Postmus?

Assessor Bill Postmus sent his Taxpayer Advocates to Montclair this month to assist taxpayers at an event Supervisor Gary Ovitt sponsored for senior citizens. The event was held at the civic center in Montclair. There were brochures handed out to assist taxpayers and questions were fielded for tax assessment purposes.

Streamlining Update

Bill Postmus is committed to higher efficiency standards for his entire team. But to be more efficient, the cooperation of all cities is essential. Intergovernmental Relations Officer Rex Gutierrez has been meeting with local cities and Assessor District Supervisors to get a handle on the daunting task of accessing city information more efficiently. Cities must recognize that the sooner new projects get on the tax roll, the sooner tax revenue will flow to cities. In other words, if cities could deliver mandatory data to the assessor in a more efficient, timely manner, then needed revenue would flow into those cities all the more quicker.

Cities will be encouraged to scan building permits and blueprints sooner, and make them available to the county online. The elimination of paper and constant trips to city building departments will be priorities of the assessor's department. Exacting information from some cities is very cumbersome. And other cities provide incomplete or very late information. Sometimes county assessor staff come upon city projects in the field entirely by happenstance, having never received data through proper channels. These are some of the challenges the Assessor faces in the ongoing effort to streamline the way cities deliver pertinent information to the county.

Representatives from Assessor Bill Postmus' staff have also sought advice from outside the county. Staff has met with representatives of San Diego County and the City of Sacramento to discuss ways to share data with cities. The County of San Diego requires tentative maps, final maps, and improvement plans to be submitted in digital format. This requirement is in addition to hardcopy submission standards. San Bernardino County is analyzing the standards being implemented by other counties to determine whether they can be implemented here.

Intergovernmental Relations Officer Rex Gutierrez will be resuming his city and district office visits during the second half of June and early July. He will report his findings and offer solutions to Assessor Bill Postmus at the end of July.