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The San Mateo Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) is seeking well-qualified candidates for the position of Management Analyst. This position will serve an integral role in analysis, policy planning, regulatory and other functions of LAFCo.

Under general direction of the LAFCo Executive Officer, the Management Analyst will provide a wide variety of administrative, research, analytical, and work-flow support and other related tasks in support of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) of San Mateo County; a variety of specialized studies of local government involving data collection and analysis, report preparation and public contact; develops, summarizes, and maintains administrative and fiscal records; foster cooperative working relationships County, cities and special districts and acts as liaison with various community, public, and regulatory agencies; and performs related work as required.

About LAFCo

LAFCo is an independent commission with jurisdiction over the boundaries of cities and special districts in San Mateo County. The Commission contracts with the County of San Mateo for staff services including the Executive Officer, Management Analyst, Clerk and Legal Counsel. The Management Analyst will work closely with County personnel in a variety of departments as well as city and special district personnel and the public. Examples of projects include processing city and special district annexation applications, preparing municipal service reviews and sphere of influence updates for cities and special districts and assisting property owners in the annexation application process. For more information please visit www.sanmateolafco.org

The Ideal Candidate should have the knowledge, skills and ability to and of:

• Knowledgeable of advanced principles and practices of public administration and program management.
• A politically astute, strategic thinker and planner.
• Able to analyze complex problems accurately, develop practical recommendations, and take appropriate action to resolve them.
• Able to develop and persuasively communicate to diverse audiences an innovative vision and to motivate others to achieve that vision.
• Open minded, creative, and comfortable with change.
• Firm, fair, and a responsive consensus builder.
• A quick learner that is able to work independently and as part of a small team.
• Basic principles and practices of local government administration and organization.
• Sources and availability of information; methods of report presentation as it relates to assigned work unit.
• Principles of financial administration, including public budgeting and reporting.
• Principles and practices of organizational analysis, performance reviews, and human resource planning.
• California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
• Analyze a wide variety of moderate to complex administrative/operational problems and make effective operational and/or procedural recommendations.
• Prepare clear and compelling staff reports and make presentations.
• Perform the full range of the assigned duties under minimal supervision.

Qualifications

Education and Experience: Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

Equivalent to graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in business administration, public administration, urban planning or a related field. At least one year of professional administrative experience is typically required at the Associate Management Analyst level, and at least 3 years for the Management Analyst level.

TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE

Final Filing Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024, 11:59 PM PST

Application Screening: Week of April 22 - 25, 2024

Civil Service Panel Interview: May 8 and/or 9, 2024

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