COUNTY ADMINISTRATION OFFICE- R. ESPINOSA

Adopt Resolution approving salary adjustment of 5%, and Approve the reorganization of the GIS Department with the County Assessor and Recognition of the County Assessor as Williamson Act Administrator.   

SBC FILE NUMBER: 119

RESOLUTION NO: 2022-3

As part of our continuing review of county departments for opportunities to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs, the Administrative Office tentatively transferred the GIS department staffing, program and budgetary responsibilities to the County Assessor back in October 2020. The reorganization transferred the current stand-alone department with only one key employee to the organizational structure of the County Assessor. This reorganization offers numerous opportunities for enhanced collaboration among related and dependent program/services pertaining to Assessor mapping and the County GIS Base Map. The Assessor’s Office is constantly challenged to improve assessments. Assessors must also “prove” that they can locate and describe each parcel of land. This allows taxpayers to be confident that their tax bills are linked to their properties.

This reorganization integrates the tools that will enable the transition of mapping services built on AutoCAD (computer-aided design) technology to the digital technologies of GIS (geographic information systems). The use of GIS technology in the Assessor’s Office goes a step beyond cadastral maps and focuses on the information behind maps. GIS provides answers to how information forms a database and how the assessor can use it.

While this reorganization will likely not provide savings in the short run, it is highly likely that the cost of providing Assessor services will be reduced in the intermediate future, after the assessor maps are fully converted to GIS. At this point, the Assessor maps will be drawn in ESRI GIS and will automatically update the County GIS Base Map through a 1 step process. Currently, there is a 2 step process whereby the Assessor maps are drawn in AutoCAD and then converted & updated to the County GIS Base Map. There will be time, resources, and cost savings associated with the 1 step process. The GIS technology improves productivity significantly for each of our current permanent and temporary five (5) positions dedicated to computer mapping. Dependent upon future parcel growth, the number of positions dedicated to computer mapping services may be reduced naturally via attrition or sufficient to fulfill the demand for assessor mapping services.

This reorganization adds to the additional responsibilities that this County’s Assessor has compared to all the rest of the 58 California counties. No other County Assessor in the State is charged with administering the many duties and responsibilities associated with Williamson Act administration. The Williamson Act program is a vital part in conserving California’s irreplaceable agricultural lands. County Williamson Act administrators must stay informed and vigilant in their charge to protect California’s agricultural land and promote sustainable growth.

The Williamson Act, also known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, enables local governments to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agricultural or related open space use.  In return, landowners receive property tax assessments which are much lower than normal because they are based upon farming and open space uses as opposed to full market values or Prop.13 values. Participating counties and cities are required to establish their own rules and regulations regarding implementation of the Act within their jurisdiction. These rules include but are not limited to: enrollment guidelines, acreage and income minimums, enforcement procedures, allowable uses, compatible uses, divisions, lot line adjustments, non-renewals and cancellations. While San Benito County has established these rules and guidelines, administration of the Williamson Act requires the focused attention of the Assessor. This additional program responsibility on the County Assessor, unique to this County, has been largely unrecognized by the County.

Request for a 5% salary adjustment to the County Assessor in recognition of the additional duties placed on the Assessor as the Williamson Act Administrator and for the increased responsibility from this reorganization.