opinion

by phil ting

Finding the money

WHEN I WAS selected to lead the Assessor-Recorder's Office, I knew it was going to be a challenge.

For years I had read the Bay Guardian's reporting on the office. I had heard horror stories from neighbors lost in bureaucracy and delays. And I knew that we had a history of electing politicians, not professionals, to run this vital office.

I knew it was bad.

But it's worse than I thought.

While the city of San Francisco closed clinics and cut other vital services, the Assessor-Recorder's Office was failing to identify millions of dollars in assessments. While we struggled to keep up with the demands on our social services, the office was falling behind in technology and management. While big property owners armed themselves with batteries of lawyers and experts to appeal their assessments, the office failed to meet this growing threat with aggressive efforts to counter these appeals.

So the bad news is that the troubles in the Assessor-Recorder's office run deep – perhaps even deeper than the Bay Guardian's reporting has shown.

The good news is we are already taking steps to make this office work better, collect more revenue, and treat every San Franciscan fairly.

Just this last week, we adopted a simple rule-change on billboard assessments that will bring in at least $2.1 million every year in new revenue. That means giant billboard companies will now pay us the same rate they were paying in neighboring counties.

Two weeks ago we launched a data-sharing program that will help us clear a four-year backlog in new-property assessments. This backlog cost us more than $2 million in lost revenue last year alone.

One of my first actions in office was to stand up to Sutter Health Care and require them to demonstrate that they are entitled to nonprofit status, when published reports show they could be making more than the 10 percent profit threshold.

We are looking at ways to recapture lost revenue from appeals, by bringing in additional litigation and assessment expertise from other city and state agencies.

In the coming weeks and months, we will keep reforming this office to make sure that everyone is paying a fair share. We are taking a hard look at assessment standards that seemingly subsidize luxury construction. And we are going to make sure that when companies change ownership, they don't escape reassessment.

I agree with Ted Gullicksen, who wrote last week in the Bay Guardian that there is much more the Assessor-Recorder's Office can do to fight real estate speculation and to protect tenants.

As the former head of a nonprofit that worked to protect tenants and other vulnerable San Franciscans, I know just how acute the problems are.

We can do more by making sure big business is paying a fair share. We can do more by taking on predatory lenders who are preying on our poorer neighborhoods. We can do more by quickly reassessing properties sold by real estate speculators, so they are reassessed right away, rather than waiting for reassessments.

My work background includes evaluating multimillion-dollar properties. I have professional training in reforming and streamlining large organizations – in both the private and public sector.

But it was my work as a nonprofit leader that informs and motivates me every day in this new task. I understand just how important every single dollar is to the city services and organizations that support children, the elderly, renters, and other communities under economic pressure.

After just two months on the job, I'm learning that the money is there to protect these communities. I'm proud and gratified that in my new job, I can go get it for them. Phil Ting is the assessor-recorder for the city and county of San Francisco. For more information go to www.philting.com.