The Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Chief Elections Officer is seeking well-qualified candidates for the position of Principal Appraiser. Principal Appraisers must have thorough knowledge of Property Tax and the Revenue and Taxation Code as it relates to Real Property Valuation, Change in Ownership reassessment or exclusion requirements, New Construction valuation, Decline in Value valuation, Property Classification, etc.
The department currently has two vacancies in the areas of Residential and Commercial real property appraisal and assessment.
The Principal Appraisers share a critical role in assisting the Chief Appraiser and Deputy Assessor in the completion of the Office's mission to determine the assessed value of all taxable property located in San Mateo County, the creation of the official record of taxable property (approximately 240,000 assessments each year in the local assessment roll), and the sharing of this information with the County Controller and Tax Collector and making it publicly available.
This is an exciting time for seasoned Principal Appraisers to join our dynamic team of Appraisal professionals. The Assessor's Office is currently involved in several major projects, including the development of a new Assessor's Property Assessment System (APAS), and the appraisal and assessment of several large-scale new generation commercial, manufacturing, research and development, and mixed-use developments being built throughout San Mateo County. Principal Appraisers may be called upon to provide subject matter expertise in the development of the Assessor's Property Assessment System.
- Examples Of Duties
The technically-savvy and experienced individuals hired for these positions will have the responsibility to supervise appraisal and exemption staff in the timely collection, processing, and analysis of valuation data for real, personal, tangible, and intangible property for tax assessment purposes, and to manage the impact of the new regulations.
Additional responsibilities and duties of these Principal Appraisers will include (but are not limited to):
- Planning, organizing, training, supervising, reviewing, and evaluating the work of appraisal staff
- Providing advanced support in the most difficult, specialized, or high-value or high-risk appraisals
- Fostering professional growth and effective working relationships
- Managing, analyzing, and evaluating special projects
- Providing subject matter expert (SME) advice to IT analysts/team in the development of the new Assessor Property Assessment System
The ideal candidates will possess:- Knowledge of supervisory principles and practices including work planning, scheduling, assignment, and review, and employee training, evaluation, and corrective action
- Technical and professional knowledge of appraisal procedures for real, personal, and intangible property
- Understanding of California Property Tax laws, State Board of Equalization guidelines, and Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice; and the ability to read, interpret, and apply these rules, policies, and procedures
- Familiarity with systems, technology, and desktop applications
- Ability to appraise and assess complex property interests as per California statutes and Property Tax Rules and Regulations
- Skill in analyzing information and using sound independent judgment to make decisions and determine appropriate courses of action, including recommending legal actions
- Effective communication skills in both oral and written formats, including formal presentations
- Capability to be adaptable and resourceful
- Team building skills and effective ways of motivating and leading others to meet the challenges of a changing work environment
- Leadership skills, the ability to be a team player, and the ability to build strong interpersonal relationships
- Training experience to train new staff and develop appraisal and property tax assessment skills in all employees
- Ability to manage a heavy workload, including reviewing hundreds of appraisals and assessments per week and providing the appropriate feedback to staff
THE DEPARTMENT AND DIVISION
The mission of the Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Chief Elections Officer is to ensure equitable treatment of County property owners by accurate and fair valuation of land, improvements, and businesses; to create an accurate public record of recorded transactions relating to people and property within San Mateo County; and to register County citizens to vote and efficiently conduct honest elections.
The Department is responsible for:
- The maintenance of 240,000 assessments and a local property tax roll of over $238 billion.
- The maintenance of County birth, death, and marriage records.
- The maintenance of over 3,000,000 recorded land records.
- The facilitation of local elections.
- The maintenance of the voter registration rolls representing over 330,000 County voters.
The Department is also responsible for a budget of $20 million, election billing to all jurisdictions, and 15 governmental trust funds.
- Qualifications
Licensure/Certification: Acquisition within one year of appointment of a permanent Property Tax Appraiser Certificate issued by the California State Board of Equalization.
Education and Experience: Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying.
The preferred qualifications include:
- A Bachelor's degree, and
- Six years of experience performing a full range of appraisals of tangible and taxable property, of which three years are for tax assessment purposes preferably with an Assessor's Office in California, and
- Experience appraising and assessing at least 3,000 or more residential properties, and
- Three years of experience with Assessment Appeals
Additional preferred qualifications include:
- Previous completion of advanced level courses offered by the California Board of Equalization and/or the Appraisal Institute
- Advanced Appraiser Certification issued by the State Board of Equalization.
Three years of experience as a Sr. Appraiser with San Mateo County Assessor's Office is considered qualifying experience.
The preferred and most highly qualified candidates will have experience in both the commercial and residential areas.
Specialized knowledge of Property Tax Rules and Regulations and Revenue and Taxation Code as they relate to Change in Ownership, Transfers, Assessments, etc., is a plus.
Knowledge of:
- Supervisory principles and practices, including work planning, scheduling, assignment, and review, and employee training and corrective action
- Technical and professional knowledge of appraisal procedures for real, personal, and intangible property
- Principles, methods, and techniques of effective interviewing, negotiating, and case management
- Training methods, procedures, and requirements
- California Property Tax statues and Rules and Regulations
- California State Board of Equalization guidelines
- Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice
- Court decisions affecting assessment procedures
- Methods to appraise typical real property, personal property, and Possessory interests
- Methods to appraise Special Properties like Ag and Timber Preserves, Historical Mining, etc.
- Policies and procedures related to the department
- Business arithmetic and statistical measures
- Correct English usage, including spelling, grammar, and punctuation
- Record keeping principles and procedures
Skill/Ability to:
- Plan, assign, supervise, review, and evaluate the work of others
- Train others in work procedures
- Appraise complex property interests
- Analyze information and situations and use sound independent judgment to make decisions and determine appropriate courses of action, including recommending legal actions
- Organize, manage, and monitor cases and maintain accurate files, records, and statistics
- Select and make appropriate adjustments to property
- Read, interpret, and apply rules, policies, and procedures
- Accurately determine historic, reproduction, and replacement costs
- Accurately identify and measure depreciation and obsolescence
- Measure income-producing characteristics of property and appropriately capitalize the income stream into value
- Identify and classify various types of land, sites, buildings, structures, manufactured homes, vessels, aircraft, trade fixtures, and personal property interests in an accurate and uniform manner
- Travel to a variety of geographic locations throughout the County according to regular schedules as well as on demand
- Produce effective presentations
- Maintain complete and accurate records
- Prepare written appraisal reports
- Operate standard office equipment, including departmental applications
- Use initiative and sound independent judgment within established guidelines
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work
- Application/Examination
Open and Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, Confidential and Management extra-help/limited term, and SEIU or AFSCME represented extra help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.
Responses to the supplemental questionnaire, in addition to our regular employment application form, must be submitted in order to be included in this recruitment.
The first phase of the examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail). Those who pass the application screening will be invited to the second phase of the examination process, the panel interview, which could include the evaluation of a brief written and/or performance exercise given immediately preceding the interview. In order to be considered for the position, applicants will have to successfully pass the interview.
Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or a screening committee may select those applicants whose education and/or experience appear to best meet the needs of the position. Qualified applicants will be notified of the date, time and place of the test(s).
IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to http://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before 11:59 p.m. on the final filing date.
This is a continuous recruitment which may close at any time. The final filing date will be posted 5 days in advance in the County of San Mateo Human Resources Department. Apply immediately. This recruitment is open on a continuous basis and selections may be made at any time within the process.
TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE
Final Filing Date: Continuous
