1 BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION 2 450 N STREET 3 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 4 5 6 REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT 7 DECEMBER 13, 2018 8 9 10 11 12 ANNUAL BOARD MEETING 13 WITH COUNTY ASSESSORS 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 REPORTED BY: Jillian M. Sumner 28 CSR NO. 13619 1 1 P R E S E N T 2 For the Board Equalization: 3 Honorable George Runner Chair 4 Honorable Diane L. Harkey 5 Fourth District 6 Yvette Stowers Appearing for Betty T. 7 Yee, State Controller (per Government Code 8 Section 7.9) 9 Joann Richmond Chief 10 Board Proceedings Division 11 12 Public Comments: Chuck Leonhardt President 13 California Assessors' Assocation 14 Leslie Davis 15 President-Elect California Assessors' 16 Association 17 John Tuteur Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk 18 Napa County 19 20 ---oOo--- 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 1 450 N STREET 2 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 3 DECEMBER 13, 2018 4 ---oOo--- 5 MR. RUNNER: Okay. We're going to call our 6 meeting to order. We were in recess. 7 I think we have guests here, our 8 Members-Elect. I'm going to ask if our Members-Elect 9 can find their way to the front row here for some 10 time of introduction that we're going to do shortly. 11 We're going to call our meeting back to 12 order. A couple of things we're going to start 13 with -- let me just let you know how we're going to 14 flow here. We're going to go ahead and have some 15 comments by Members, outgoing Members who want to 16 make some comments. This is actually our last 17 meeting here. And so we're going to go ahead and 18 take the privilege to do that. 19 We'll then introduce the Members-Elect, and 20 so they can identify themselves. 21 We're then going to go ahead and move into 22 our assessors' portion of the meeting and have 23 comments from the assessors, and comments from the 24 Members, at that point, on the assessors gathering. 25 And then we will adjourn. 26 What we're going to do, though, in the 27 adjournment is I'm going to put you guys in corners. 28 You know, if you're in the first district, you'll be 3 1 in that corner; second district, here; third district 2 and fourth district -- and that way the Member-Elect 3 can go ahead and find you. And you can at least find 4 the assessors that match up with your district. And 5 at least you can exchange business cards or something 6 in that order. 7 So that's how we're going to, then, conclude 8 our time. 9 I'd like to go ahead and first, in terms of 10 the order, ask Member Harkey to give some comment. 11 MS. HARKEY: Well, thank you for showing up. 12 Thanks to all the county assessors. I really -- this 13 is my "swan song" on the Board. And I have really 14 appreciated working with you. 15 Our schedules have been very indifferent. 16 We've done a variety of administrative issues 17 together. And we took care of one big issue 18 yesterday. And I thank you very much for all the 19 cooperation we had from your county assessors group 20 as well as the individual assessors for all the 21 input. 22 I'm -- you're highly regarded, you're 23 elected officials, and you all have a tough job to do 24 under restricted budgets. And I really appreciate 25 the time and effort you've put into getting it right 26 and to communicating it to us, the issues you've been 27 having, and working together. 28 My own county assessor, Mr. Parrish is not 4 1 available. But I thank him very much. He's always 2 been loyal and supportive. 3 Mr. Ernie Dronenburg, just fabulous to work 4 with. A great resource for Board issues having 5 served on this Board for 20 years.nd now as a county assessor in San Diego. 6 Rob Menvielle, I love Imperial. We had so 7 much fun in cattle call, and all the issues that go 8 on there in the ag. community. And we were able to 9 set up an additional office in El Centro so that it 10 would be a satellite of San Diego. So they had some 11 consideration for their issues. 12 They had one person at that office once on 13 the board. And so when that person would leave to go 14 on break or take a lunch or just not be in, there was 15 no one to help that community. And that's a long 16 haul to go to San Diego from Imperial. 17 If you haven't been, you should try it 18 sometime going across Highway 8. If there's nothing 19 out there -- there's nothing out there that's good, 20 so never open a window or stop. Stay hard. Anyway 21 -- and fog comes in. But it's quite a trek. It's a 22 beautiful community, beautiful people. And we had a 23 lot of fun. 24 And last but definitely not least, I really 25 appreciate working with Peter. He was always fair 26 and good to us, and, you know, we had very few 27 issues. He runs a good shop, and they all have run 28 really, really good shops. 5 1 At the Board of Equalization, before it was 2 split, I really enjoyed working with Brent Calhoun, 3 who was the district -- or the Administrator, as well 4 as Angela Lealuga of Irvine. Brent is out of 5 Riverside. And those two always tried to help where 6 they could, and they took responsibility for what 7 they did. There was never a blame-game going on or 8 anything else. They were always adults about it. 9 And I think that's what you need when you're 10 in management. You need to protect your staff, 11 protect your issues, and go forward and take 12 responsibility. And they did that marvelously. And 13 we had a great relationship. 14 On this Board, of course, Dean Kinnee, who 15 is retiring. He's been a soldier on the field, 16 coming in when we really needed help, and we needed 17 him to step up. It wasn't a preferred position for 18 him. He didn't necessarily want to be our Chief 19 Executive. But he stepped in and got it right for 20 the staff's sake. 21 Because everybody was flailing about what 22 their job would be. We were down staff. We were 23 carved apart. Trying to make those departments whole 24 were really tough. And he took that on and did it. 25 And Henry Nanjo coming in as the Chief 26 Counsel in this time, I really appreciate his 27 expertise, his calmness, and most of all his 28 laughing -- he was laughing. So was Dean. They like 6 1 what they do. And that makes such a difference when 2 you're working with somebody who likes what they do. 3 Because they're happy about it. They realize they're 4 there because they choose to be, and they make the 5 best of everything. And that's so important in any 6 management team. 7 Brenda Fleming, the same way. She will be 8 coming in as acting Director, and she's just been 9 marvelous to work with on the big Board, as well as 10 this one. 11 So, Brenda, good luck to you. I know you're 12 going to do a stellar job. 13 And Mark Durham -- Leg. -- we had Leg. 14 issues. Just a super stellar guy. Do not ignore 15 this gentleman. He is -- he will work his hardest to 16 get you what you need and how you need it, and within 17 the legal framework that we are allowed. 18 So I just want to thank you all for my time 19 here. Thank you for the great experience. 20 And as I say goodbye to Sacramento briefly, 21 I did do my jog around the capitol today. I really 22 enjoyed it. It pumped me up. But, you know, I'll be 23 back. 24 Thank you. 25 MR. RUNNER: Thank you, Diane. 26 We have -- Jerome Horton can't be here 27 today. So for Jerome, we have Jean Nakano, who would 28 like to say a few words for Mr. Horton. 7 1 MS. NAKANO: Yes. Thank you, Chairman 2 Runner. And thank you all Board Members. 3 My name is Jean Nakano, and I'm the 4 Associate Governmental Program Analyst in the office 5 of Member Horton. And as you've stated, he is unable 6 to attend today. But he asked that I share some 7 thoughts. 8 It has been his honor to serve as the 9 elected Board Member for nine years, and as Chair for 10 over five. 11 He would like to acknowledge and thank his 12 colleagues on the Board, all of you, and also 13 Controller Yee, who is not with us today. 14 He would also like to thank all of the 15 assessors as he has had very major interest in 16 working with the assessors over time and especially 17 in his final term. 18 Lastly, he would like -- oh, excuse me. 19 I wanted to say a few words. 20 Assessors Dan Goodwin and Dutton. I know 21 that Mr. Horton appreciates you very much and has 22 appreciated your hard work and the service to all the 23 people of California. 24 Lastly, he would like to express his 25 gratitude to the BOE Executive Office team, and to 26 all of the BOE employees for their dedication and 27 hard work as civil servants. 28 And, finally, as he has often said, the 8 1 great exercise for the heart is bending down and 2 lifting up another. And that is what I believe that, 3 as servants of the state of California, we all do. 4 Thank you very much. 5 MR. RUNNER: Thank you. Thank you very 6 much. 7 I'll share a couple of my thoughts. 8 First of all, let me thank the assessors for 9 your time. It's been good to come and visit. I 10 think I got to most of you. There's a bunch of you 11 in the First District. And we've enjoyed being able 12 to share and deal with issues that we have common 13 interest in. And I've enjoyed that time up there, 14 and also understanding your role and how it is that 15 you serve your constituents so faithfully. 16 I'm going to say most of my remarks are more 17 in general, since this will be the last time I can 18 share them. 19 Let me just, first of all, thank fellow 20 Board Members, Betty Yee and Yvette for their time 21 and service with me; Diane for her time and service; 22 Jerome; and also Fiona Ma has been a great time. 23 We've been able to share in some very important 24 issues. 25 I tell people this job was the best job that 26 I've been able to share in for at least seven years. 27 The last year, not so much. And I'm disappointed 28 with that. Obviously, we live by what the 9 1 Legislature does. I was a part of that for a number 2 of years doing that to other people, so I guess it's 3 only fair that I take my turn. 4 But I think one of the things that concerns 5 me the most, and that is in this process I know what 6 our office was able to do for taxpayers, individuals, 7 corporate, business owners, in some very real ways 8 helping very real people kind of fight the tax dragon 9 of California. And, you know, we did that 10 faithfully. 11 I had a great staff who rolled up their 12 sleeves and helped people through a very complicated 13 process. So we were able to do that, and we enjoyed 14 that in a lot of ways for the time that we were able 15 to do that. 16 With me today, the last remaining staff that 17 I have, I want to thank here publicly. 18 To Shawn, my Chief Deputy, has served with 19 me the whole time. And so much appreciate Shawn's 20 faithfulness in leadership, not only in my office, 21 but I think throughout the whole BOE at times in that 22 process. 23 Mai Harvill -- where's Mai? 24 Mai has been a faithful process in terms of 25 my office. She predates a lot of us, because 26 obviously she was with Member Leonard before me. And 27 we are excited about her future in continuing to be 28 consistent in helping Members of the Board. 10 1 Tanya is here. Tanya has been in my office 2 for, again, a long time, both in the Legislature at 3 times and here. But we appreciate her leadership in 4 my office. 5 Where is Lee? Is Lee back there? 6 Lee, again, was one that came to my office 7 from Bill's office, Member Leonard's office. And, 8 again, was a consistent technician for us, understood 9 issues that we don't understand and that he helped us 10 to understand. And we appreciated that. 11 David is here too, I think. Where's David? 12 He was here. 13 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: He's manning the 14 phones. 15 MR. RUNNER: Okay. Somebody's got to answer 16 the phones apparently. I don't know why. 17 But David has been a great communicator for 18 us in getting our messages out. Obviously 19 constituent issues have been very important to us, 20 dealing with those, helping people through 21 challenges. 22 Barb down in our Southern California office 23 has been key to doing that. We appreciate her 24 service and help to constituents. 25 Melissa has been a helpful, friendly face 26 when people came to our office. So we appreciate her 27 great work, too. 28 Again, it's been an honor to be a part of 11 1 this time. And I, like Dean, I'm going to go off 2 into the sunset. 3 I first came to Sacramento in 1996. And so 4 it's -- I think I've done -- when I see people, I 5 tell people, "I served my time." It makes it sound 6 like I punched into the penitentiary or something. 7 But, anyhow, we've got exciting plans for the future. 8 As far as the BOE is concerned, Dean has 9 been, I think, stellar in his transition for us as we 10 moved -- as the BOE changed. Stepped up and played 11 an important part in that in playing that transition. 12 Wish him great luck and opportunity as he moves on. 13 And, Brenda, we're excited for what the 14 opportunities are for you. Brenda has come into the 15 organization. We're glad to see her come in. She's 16 been a faithful and successful administrator and 17 manager in the organization. And I think that the 18 interim process, everything is in good hands. So 19 we're excited about that. 20 So, anyhow, we appreciate our time. And let 21 me also now introduce you to the new class of people 22 that will be sharing this dais in the future. 23 District One is Ted Gaines. 24 Ted, why don't you grab a -- 25 Ted is going to be replacing my position. 26 And Ted will be doing that. 27 I don't think we have Malia here -- no. 28 And Tony -- Tony Vazquez? Is Tony here? 12 1 No? 2 Okay. And then we have Mike Schaefer. Mike 3 is going to be from the Southernmost California 4 District down there. And he'll be playing that role. 5 Thank you. 6 And so, like I said, at least for those at 7 the end of our time with the assessors, I'll kind 8 of -- these guys will be in separate areas, and you 9 can go and introduce yourselves and meet them if you 10 haven't done that yet. At that point, I'd like to go 11 ahead and ask our assessors -- 12 MS. HARKEY: May I? I have one more quick 13 thing. 14 MR. RUNNER: Yes. Yes. 15 MS. HARKEY: You know, George reminded 16 me -- and I apologize, but my staff is sitting out 17 here, too. And I was thinking about everyone else 18 and jotting names. 19 So Lisa Renati, please stand up, say hi. 20 She took over and has stayed with me through thick 21 and thin. Thirty years with the BOE, superstar 22 auditor. We save lives and businesses daily. 23 Gino Folchi. He was with me in the 24 assembly. Gino is just the go-to guy for absolutely 25 everything and communicating. 26 Sue, you're there. She's going to be 27 remaining in District Four. 28 Michelle, are you still around? 13 1 And Sherry Hodges is in the back there. 2 She's the District Director, and she'll be leaving, 3 too. She's actually retiring again. So thank you 4 for your service. 5 MR. RUNNER: Okay. I'm going to ask the 6 President and President-Elect of the Assessors' 7 Association, Chuck and Leslie, to come on up. 8 MR. LEONHARDT: Choose your side. 9 MR. RUNNER: Makes no difference to us. 10 MR. LEONHARDT: At the appropriate 11 transition, we'll trade chairs. 12 MR. RUNNER: And I'll turn the speaking time 13 over to Chuck. 14 MR. LEONHARDT: Okay. 15 Honorable Chairman Runner and Honorable 16 Board Members, it's a pleasure to have the 17 opportunity to appear before you today. 18 The California Assessors' Association was 19 organized in 1902. Some of the principle purposes of 20 the association are to promote cooperation between 21 assessors in California, to promote the improvement 22 of assessment procedures for the public good, to 23 promote the improvement of assessment laws in 24 California for the public good, and to collaborate 25 with the State Board of Equalization. 26 This year CAA and the Board have 27 collaborated on a number of projects, which include, 28 yesterday -- okay -- moving forward with Property Tax 14 1 Rules 302, 305, 305.1, 305.2 and 323. 2 And I think, as we all know in this room, 3 that was an arduous process. And so I think that 4 we -- I am pleased that we were able to have some 5 success in that. I think that we have other areas 6 we're going to need to work with in the future there. 7 Also, BOE staff and CAA have made 8 significant progress in the use of a 365-day 9 representative period. And as I shared with you 10 yesterday, I haven't seen as much documentation on 11 that progress as I would like to see. I do have some 12 confidence that the parties are moving forward. And 13 I feel that that issue has moved forward this year. 14 And I am hopeful that -- I had some spirited 15 conversation with the airlines yesterday after your 16 meeting -- that we will be working together to 17 continue to move that forward. 18 So I, again, am optimistic that -- that the 19 group, the association, and BOE can continue to be a 20 part of a good solution for that. 21 We made significant progress in the 22 development of Board-prescribed form advising 23 taxpayers of their rights and responsibilities under 24 441(d) requests. And, again, you got a report on 25 that yesterday afternoon. I would anticipate that 26 that would probably come to fruition early in the new 27 year. 28 The passage of SB 1498, which means the 15 1 mandatory audit provision and statute, which will 2 provide more flexibility for individual assessor's 3 offices by hopefully removing reoccurring assessment 4 practices survey recommendations. 5 This was a result of interaction, again, of 6 BOE and CAA and the BOE Survey Committee. And this 7 was something we just identified was a continuing 8 problem, went forward, the legislation was produced, 9 it was passed. 10 And now I think that we're going to see 11 efficiencies both for the local assessors and also 12 for the survey teams as they go out and try to 13 produce any full reports. 14 It was really a situation where I think when 15 the original law was drafted, there just wasn't 16 enough thought put into what it was going to take to 17 implement it. So that's an improvement we can be 18 proud of. 19 Continue to work with Board staff in 20 developing guidance for the assessment of community 21 land trust properties. While the Board did not 22 ultimately adopt that guidance, the subject matter 23 was vetted. And with the exception of one item that 24 requires legislation, I think we came to an 25 agreement. 26 And I think that's an issue that -- between 27 the land trust folks -- are going to have to develop 28 further on their own or through some collaboration. 16 1 But the process did work up to that point. 2 CAA has worked with Board staff on guidance 3 in the area of rescissions. And the first interested 4 parties meeting on that topic will be, I believe, on 5 December 18th. 6 But the assessor community provided input to 7 staff. They've created the matrix. And I think that 8 dialogue will hopefully be, you know, fruitful in 9 coming up with a final letter to assessors. 10 While not specifically a collaboration with 11 the Board, CAA, as a result of the interested parties 12 process on assessment appeals, supported legislation 13 which updated Revenue and Taxation 441(d) to allow 14 information from taxpayers to be submitted 15 electronically. 16 It has helped update the code to reflect 17 modern conditions and practices. And that -- that's 18 a situation where, for the most part, taxpayers and 19 assessors have been using electronic methods forever. 20 But the code was still antiquated in the fact that it 21 didn't anticipate fax machines and e-mails. And so 22 I'm pleased to report that we have moved that ball 23 forward a bit. 24 In addition to AB 1498 regarding mandatory 25 audits, CAA continues to engage with BOE staff to 26 seek solutions regarding survey recommendations. 27 These efforts have resulted in a number of 28 legislative options to be considered in 2019. One of 17 1 those may have to do with very small possessory 2 interests on street vendors and other interesting 3 things like that. 4 So I think there are some opportunities 5 where we can, again, make the process more efficient 6 as we go forward. Those aren't completely vetted 7 yet, but I think that it's been my pleasure to be a 8 part of the committee that's been working with staff 9 on those things. 10 Board staff and CAA, through the CAA 11 education committee and the CAA affiliated 12 organizations, work on an ongoing basis to identify 13 training needs and pull resources with BOE to deliver 14 the necessary training on a timely basis and on 15 relevant topics at a reasonable cost. 16 This past year CAA's cost affiliate has 17 facilitated eight WebEx trainings. And I don't know 18 what the numbers are now, but it's phenomenal how 19 much people are taking advantage of that training. 20 And oftentimes that's partly facilitated by 21 BOE staff. They're some of the trainers. And it's 22 just been a very efficient way to move the ball 23 forward in the training area. 24 CAA and BOE staff have also been 25 collaborating on developing testing for the advanced 26 assessment analysis certification. And I think that 27 that's moving forward through the process very well. 28 BOE staff are in -- BOE have entered into 18 1 interagency training efforts between BOE Los Angeles, 2 Sacramento and Butte Counties, and they've been very 3 effective. 4 Monterey County, San Francisco County and 5 Santa Clara County have also recently entered into 6 those agreements. Again, another method for us to 7 pull resources and provide necessary training in the 8 cost-effective manners. 9 Board staff recently released the first 10 draft of a handbook on exemptions. Other than 11 welfare exemptions, that project is moving forward. 12 It hasn't come to fruition yet, but I think it's 13 another outstanding opportunity for us to 14 collaborate. 15 I suspect my list is far from complete, but 16 it should illustrate the diverse number of areas 17 where our organizations intersect. I hear our CAA 18 President has been quite busy. 19 I would like to take the opportunity to 20 thank you, Board Members, for being available, making 21 your staff available, and able to discuss the topics 22 of the day. 23 I've shared with you on many occasions my 24 admiration for BOE staff under the capable leadership 25 of Dean Kinnee. 26 And, likewise, I would like to acknowledge 27 Henry Nanjo in his outstanding leadership this year 28 in some very difficult issues that really could have 19 1 led to litigation. And, fortunately, we worked 2 through those issues and came out with positive 3 resolutions. 4 Finally, I'd also like to thank my fellow -- 5 thank my fellow assessors. As the assessor of a very 6 small county, I'm only able to perform this function 7 based on the resources that the organization provides 8 me. And the folks that have stepped up to help this 9 year are just too many to name. But I -- I truly 10 have gratitude for them, and I'm truly honored to 11 have had the opportunity to represent them with you 12 this year. 13 I look forward to continuing -- continuing 14 the opportunity to work with Yvette Stowers, as she 15 represents Controller Yee. I've come to admire her 16 commitment to understanding the topics of the day, 17 and look forward to interacting with that interaction 18 going forward. 19 And I think you were at every interested 20 parties meeting that I was at this year. And I -- 21 MS. STOWERS: It's been a hard year. 22 MR. LEONHARDT: It's been a long year. But 23 it's been a positive year. And I really appreciate 24 your engagement. 25 MS. STOWERS: Thank you. 26 MR. LEONHARDT: As for the balance of you 27 that are moving on to new chapters of your life, I 28 wish you all well. And I'd like to thank you for 20 1 your service to the great state of California. 2 MR. RUNNER: Thank you. Thank you, Chuck. 3 Leslie. 4 MS. DAVIS: Mr. Chairman. 5 In starting, I'd simply like to cut off a 6 couple minutes of comments and say that I completely 7 agree with Chuck in so many of the comments he made 8 about working with Board Members and continued 9 relationships. 10 Chuck has had an active year as President. 11 From rule-change proposals, to the ever present 12 representative period for airline valuation, there 13 has been one constant throughout this year that I 14 hope we can continue with the new Board and into the 15 new year, and that is that everyone worked in the 16 best interest of our collective constituents, the 17 taxpayers and voters of California. 18 In 2019, we will face new challenges, and 19 some that are not so new. Like you, we are losing 20 institutional knowledge, and our office's key staff 21 are reaching retirement age, and recruiting new staff 22 is increasingly difficult. 23 At CAA we are losing 10 assessors, including 24 Ron Thompson and Rich Benson, both of whom are past 25 Presidents of the association. 26 And your announcement yesterday that 27 Dean Kinnee is retiring will leave a void at BOE. On 28 a personal and professional level, I will miss Dean. 21 1 Our working relationship has spanned more years than 2 I care to quantify in public. I have come to rely on 3 him and on Rose Marie when dealing with tricky issues 4 that need a perspective born of years of experience. 5 And while I'm happy for him, I am sad for us. 6 Those voids create opportunities. Most 7 importantly, they create a real need for all of us to 8 share knowledge and collaborate. A theme that I 9 heard as Chuck was making his comments. Fortunately, 10 we already have the groundwork in place for that 11 collaboration. 12 As your staffing levels declined, CAA and 13 its affiliates have stepped up and now provide 14 additional continuing education for our staff and 15 yours. We have been able to develop subject matter 16 experts who are working in our organization to 17 improve our skills and establish standards for fair 18 and accurate assessments. And we have a number of 19 committees that work with your staff on areas of 20 mutual concern, such as surveys, assessments, analyst 21 certification and disaster relief. 22 With four new Members-Elect and a new 23 Executive Director coming on Board, this is an ideal 24 time to expand those training sessions to include 25 areas of interest to Board Members. 26 And I've already made the offer to your 27 staff and talked to Ms. Stowers about coming before 28 that Board to talk about the role of the CAA and the 22 1 role of assessors. 2 In the spirit of collaboration, I would 3 encourage the Members-Elect to contact me with any 4 question they may have, just as you contacted 5 assessors this past year. If I do not have the 6 answer, I will find someone who does. 7 I encourage the Members-Elect to attend our 8 conferences and to reach out to assessors in their 9 district. They will find they are a great resource. 10 We stand ready to help the new Board succeed. 11 2019 will bring challenges for those of us 12 who administer California property taxes. With luck, 13 we will see the resolution of the airline 14 representative period. 15 I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge 16 the proposal to eliminate the Board of Equalization. 17 But that's all I'm going to do is acknowledge that 18 it's out there. 19 I would also hope up -- hope that we wrap up 20 some of the outstanding work that began this year. 21 Although the tendency for an incoming President or a 22 Member-Elect, perhaps, is to want to leave a mark or 23 a legacy, I'd like to see us complete what has 24 already been started. 25 The California Assessors' Association 26 operates well. Our members step up and do a lot of 27 heavy lifting. And as Chuck mentioned, our thanks 28 are to every assessor across the state, and to their 23 1 staff for helping with so many of the issues that 2 we've been facing in the past few years. 3 But we do not have unlimited resources, 4 because our staff has suffered just as yours have. 5 And those unlimited resources are what we need if we 6 are going to assist with dozens of new projects, no 7 matter how beneficial they may be. 8 When too many projects are in the pipeline, 9 attention is too easily distracted, mistakes are 10 made, and delays are inevitable. The end result; 11 everyone loses credibility. 12 So my goals for the coming years are more 13 modest than lofty. They are to be realistic about 14 our resources; to complete the tasks that we have 15 started or promised to complete; and to develop 16 working relationships based on respect for the 17 strengths that everyone brings to the table. I'm 18 committed to working with the Board and Board staff 19 in 2019 to that end. 20 To the Members-Elect, I would say welcome. 21 We look forward to working with you. You're lucky to 22 have a very good staff. We are lucky to have a very 23 good relationship with that staff. 24 Finally, I'd like to take a moment to thank 25 your Board for the courtesy that you've shown CAA 26 members and staff this year. Whether the issue was 27 contentious or just confusing, I appreciate the fact 28 that you listened, you asked questions, and you 24 1 weighed the various opinions that were expressed as 2 you rendered a decision. 3 I want to wish each and every one of you the 4 best in your future endeavors, whether you're moving 5 on to retirement or another line of work. It bears 6 saying to you what you said to so many retirees 7 yesterday, thank you all for your service on the 8 Board. 9 We could continue for another 20 minutes 10 like the Academy Awards "thank you" people for 11 everything they did, but I know that the high point 12 of this particular meeting is the breakout session 13 and the ability to talk one on one. So I will leave 14 it at that. 15 MR. RUNNER: Thank you, Leslie. 16 We do have a -- we do have an assessor who 17 has turned in a speaker card, and it's John Tuteur 18 from Napa. 19 John, are you still the dean of the 20 assessors? 21 MR. TUTEUR: That's a nice word for it. 22 MR. RUNNER: When were you first elected? 23 MR. TUTEUR: '87. 24 MR. RUNNER: Yeah. 25 MR. TUTEUR: So, Senator Runner, Members of 26 the Board. I am the dean of the assessors in terms 27 of seniority. I've just completed my 32nd year in 28 office and heading for the next 16. Because I have 25 1 to serve for as long as the assessor in Sierra 2 County, who was elected in 1907 and was defeated in 3 1963. I don't want to go out the way he did. 4 MR. RUNNER: Yeah, that's -- 5 MR. TUTEUR: I've got to tie that 56-year 6 record. 7 MR. RUNNER: Well, in Sierra County you only 8 need to find a few people that -- 9 MR. TUTEUR: So just briefly I just wanted 10 to give you the perspective of someone who has been 11 around a long time. And there's two pieces of that 12 that I just wanted to mention. One was, I've had my 13 ups and downs with the Board -- not the current 14 Board. But in the past, as you know, there were some 15 pretty contentious times between me and one or more 16 Board Members, maybe 15, 20 years ago. But the -- 17 and that has not been the case in recent years. 18 But I did want to say the one constant here 19 has been the quality and the care and the concern of 20 the staff of this organization. They have been our 21 support, our help. Have kept us, in many cases, from 22 going the wrong direction. And I can't think of a 23 better coordination that we have between this State 24 agency and its staff and the 58 of us out there on 25 the frontlines in the Property Tax Department. 26 So I just wanted to make sure, and I want to 27 let the new incoming Members-Elect know -- and 28 Ms. Stowers already reached out to me, I appreciate 26 1 that -- that I'm available for whatever I have from 2 an institutional knowledge to be available to talk, 3 and talk about the past and the future. 4 So thank you very much. 5 MR. RUNNER: Yeah. Thank you. 6 Members, comments? 7 Yvette? Member Stowers? 8 What'd you break a mic? 9 MS. STOWERS: Good morning, everybody. 10 Is this one muted? 11 MR. RUNNER: It's being turned on right now. 12 Okay. You're good. 13 MS. STOWERS: Okay. Good morning. 14 On behalf of Controller Yee, I'd like to 15 welcome the new Board Members-Elect. We are looking 16 forward to working with everyone the next four years. 17 To the assessors, hello. Many of you guys I 18 do reach out to via e-mail or phone just to touch 19 basis on some of the issues. And I will continue to 20 do that over the next year or two. 21 To Member Runner, Ms. Harkey, it's been a 22 pleasure, you know -- 23 MS. HARKEY: It's been fun. 24 MS. STOWERS: It's been -- is it 25 ducky/bucky? 26 MS. HARKEY: Ducky/bunny. 27 MS. STOWERS: Ducky/bunny. 28 MS. HARKEY: That, it has not been. 27 1 MS. STOWERS: No, it hasn't. 2 MR. LEONHARDT: Is that going to be in the 3 handbook? 4 MS. HARKEY: Ducky/bunny is when you want 5 something explained simply. Ducky/bunny. But this 6 has not been -- a couple years -- 7 MS. STOWERS: It has not been that. 8 Assessor Davis, I'm looking forward to 9 working with you more directly and furthering our 10 partnership. 11 And to all the assessors as well. I know 12 there's a laundry list of things that need to be 13 done. And, yes, we have to manage our resources. We 14 can't do everything at once. And there are some 15 outstanding issues that we need to take care of 16 before moving forward. 17 To Mr. Kinnee, whatever. 18 To Henry Nanjo, Ms. Fleming, of course we 19 will continue our partnership working hand by hand. 20 And I will continue to bug you almost every day. 21 That's it. 22 MR. RUNNER: Member Harkey, any comment? 23 MS. HARKEY: No. 24 MR. RUNNER: Okay. Again, that concludes 25 our time here. 26 And, you know, whenever you go through a 27 list of people, you always get embarrassed because 28 you usually forget somebody or a couple. And I 28 1 forgot to mention on my staff, Drew Mercy. 2 Drew works out of my Southern California 3 office. I should not forget Drew. He first joined 4 my office as an intern some 20 years ago, and has 5 been faithful in lots of different roles for myself 6 and for my wife Sharon when she was in Legislature. 7 But he will be sorely missed because he was 8 on the frontline with many of our taxpayers in 9 dealing with issues for them. 10 So upon that, we will go ahead and adjourn 11 today's meeting. 12 And if I could have those of you who are in 13 District One, why don't you go to this corner or this 14 side over here. 15 And those of you in District Four, you have 16 a Member-Elect over here. You can meet on this side, 17 and you can go ahead and take some time to greet one 18 another. 19 Okay. Thank you very much. 20 ---o0o--- 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE 10 11 State of California ) 12 ) ss 13 County of Sacramento ) 14 15 I, Jillian Sumner, Hearing Reporter for 16 the California State Board of Equalization, certify 17 that on December 13, 2018 I recorded verbatim, in 18 shorthand, to the best of my ability, the 19 proceedings in the above-entitled hearing; that I 20 transcribed the shorthand writing into typewriting; 21 and that the preceding pages 1 through 30 22 constitute a complete and accurate transcription of 23 the shorthand writing. 24 25 Dated: January 18, 2019 26 27 28 ____________________________ 30 1 JILLIAN SUMNER, CSR #13619 2 Hearing Reporter 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31