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Stephanie Levings, Treasurer-Tax Collector
WELCOME TO THE TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR'S OFFICE
Sierra County Treasurer-Tax Collector
100 Courthouse Square, Suite 14
P. O. Box 376
Downieville, CA 95936
(530) 289-3286 phone
(530) 289-2829 fax
Email:
collector@sierracounty.ws
2010-11 Property Tax Deadlines
Unsecured Property Tax
(business equipment, mining claims and equipment, boats, etc.)
Secured Property Tax
(homes, real estate, commercial property, etc.)
- Bills were mailed on September 23, 2009
- Pay 1st installment by December 10, 2009
- Pay 2nd installment by April 10, 2010
Supplemental Property Tax
(reappraisal due to new construction or a change in ownership
including the location of a mining claim)
Please call or email us for a copy if you have not received
your tax bill within 10 days of the billing dates above.
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Functions of the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office
Tax Collection
Property Taxes
The property tax cycle begins with the Assessor's Office appraising
property for taxation purposes. Once the Assessor has completed his
process, the assessment roll is electronically transferred to the Auditor who calculates the bills based upon the tax rates and special
assessments such as the solid waste fee and water district fees.
The Tax Collector receives the tax roll and bills the owner of the
property being taxed. This office collects all property taxes for real
estate, homes,commercial property, boats, mining claims and
business equipment. The 2009-10 total collected in current and
delinquent taxes was $6,965,003. The breakdown follows:
- 2009-10 Secured taxes: $6,274,604 - 95.47% collection rate
- 2009-10 Unsecured taxes: $386,956 - 95.36% collection rate
- 2009-10 Supplemental taxes: $79,404 - 94.23% collection rate
- Prior Year Secured Taxes: $217,581
- Prior Year Unsecured Taxes: $6,458
As payments are made, the Tax Collector keeps track of the payments
and whether the payments are made on time. If the taxes are not
paid for five years on secured property (property with land included),
the Tax Collector must conduct a public auction to sell the property
and recover the taxes that are due. This is not a fun part of the job
but sometimes people abandon property when they are unable to pay
the taxes and this is a way to get the property back into productive
ownership. The public auction of real estate is conducted on the
Internet. Some of the properties have high tax delinquencies and, for
that reason, we have felt the need to publicize the sale on the
internet. If you're interested in the tax sale, please click on Tax
Auction FAQs.
We always try to work with people to prevent the loss of their
property by offering payment plans and working with lenders to clear
up the delinquencies.
Transient Occupancy Tax
Transient Occupancy Tax, also known as "Bed Tax", Is a voter approved
tax collected from tourists and other people visiting from
out of the area when they rent a motel room, campsite or RV space in
the county for 30 days or less. The tax is 10% of the total bill for
lodging and assists in paying for county services such as law
enforcement, ambulances, parks and promotion of tourism. $300,206
was collected in 2008-09.
Treasury
The Treasurer is the banker, investor and cash manager for the county and many
of the special districts including the schools. Responsibilities include depositing
the revenue from all sources into the bank, keeping accurate daily records of
the fund balances and paying the checks that are written by the Auditor. The funds
are pooled for investment purposes and interest is apportioned quarterly on the
basis of those average daily fund balances. Many people focus on the investment
function as the most time consuming aspect of the Treasurer's Office. While it
certainly holds the most risk and requires the most expertise, the banking and
accounting functions take much more time. The pooled funds not used immediately
for payment of checks issued by the Auditor are invested in the money market.
California Government Code determines aliowable investments and the Sierra County
Investment Policy further limits the types of investments that are appropriate
for the County Investment Pool. The guiding principles of the investment policy
are always in this order: Safety, Liquidity and Yield. This is the public's money
being invested so safety (low-risk) is the first consideration and, therefore,
funds cannot be invested in the stock market. The second consideration is availability
of funds when needed to cover disbursements (liquidity). After the first two criteria
are met, the yield (interest earnings) on investments is the focus. An independent
investment advisor provides investment expertise and reporting services to assist
in keeping up on market conditions and opportunities. The gross interest earned
in 2008-09 was $333,396 for a average annual gross yield of 3%.
Central Collections
The Treasurer-Tax Collector's Central Collections division also collects public defender costs, some court and probation costs, drug court fees and parking tickets. Other types of collections are occasionally referred to this division by county departments as necessary. The office recovered over $22,800 in county costs during 2008-09.
Qualifications for the Office of Treasurer-Tax Collector
The qualifications for the office of Treasurer-Tax Collector are
specified in state law and have been adopted by Sierra County:
bachelor's degree in a finance or business related area; or be a
Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst or Certified
Cash Manager; or work experience 3 years in senior management
capacity of public agency in the finance area.
The Treasurer-Tax Collector is an elective office, independent of the
Board of Supervisors. This independence is part of the checks and
balances built into the system of county government in 51 of the 58
California counties. The intent of this arrangement is to avoid
manipulation of investments and tax enforcement for political
purposes In addition to being a check on the Auditor and the Assessor.
The officeholder is answerable directly to the constituents through the elective process and is not dependent on the goodwill of three
Supervisors to keep the job.
Stephanie Levings was appointed to fill the unexpired term upon the
retirement of Cindy Ellsmore as Treasurer-Tax Collector and took
office on December 31,2008. The Treasurer-Tax Collector's base
salary is $84,204 per year. The staff members are Docia Bostrom,
Assistant TTC, and Jenny Varn, Account Technician. The expenses for
operation of the office in 2008-09 were $355,650.
Print View 
Updated on 2010-08-05 11:33:16 by Collector
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