Luring Retirees With Tax Incentives Too Costly To County, Temecula's Supervisor Says

Riverside County supervisors today scheduled a July 30 public hearing for a final discussion of whether to implement incentives intended to draw more retirees to the area by allowing them to transfer their property tax assessment from a home in another county to one in Riverside County.

Supervisors John Benoit and Kevin Jeffries introduced the proposed ordinance in May and received 4-1 approval during today's Board of Supervisors meeting to set a time for a public hearing, during which a final vote is expected on the matter.

Supervisor Jeff Stone was the sole opponent to moving ahead with it.

Under the ordinance, Riverside County would adopt provisions laid out in Proposition 90, approved by California voters in 1988, and Proposition 110, approved by voters two years later.

Prop 90 permits homeowners 55 years and over to retain, when they move, the "factored base year" assessment that determines how much they pay annually in property taxes. According to the law, a property owner can relocate to another county, purchase a house there and pay the same amount of annual property taxes he or she was paying on the home sold in the original county.

Prop 110 affords the same treatment, only it applies exclusively to disabled homeowners.

"This provides mobility for senior citizens," Paul Herrera, with the Inland Valley Association of Realtors, told the board. "People who had an interest in this region but didn't want to come here because of additional taxes, especially when they're working off a small nest egg, will reconsider now."

Only eight counties in the state have ordinances that provide for inter- county transfers of property taxes. Riverside County had such an ordinance in place until 1995, when it was rescinded because of concerns over property tax losses.

Stone raised that issue during the board's May 21 meeting, arguing that the county stood to lose more than it might gain by not making some home purchasers pay taxes that reflect the actual market value of their properties.

But Benoit and Jeffries stood by the proposal, saying the financial halo effect of having a larger number of retirees spending money on goods and services throughout the county would more than make up for any property tax losses.

Assessor-Clerk-Recorder Larry Ward also saw more positive than negative in the concept.

The county's property tax roll has declined over the last five years. It is now at $205 billion. Ward is anticipating the roll will increase in the current fiscal year by 3 percent.

The latest assessment figures will be released next month. --City News Service