Is the Piedmont School District Following the Law?

For the third consecutive year, the Alameda County Auditor has unlawfully exempted dozens of otherwise taxable parcels from paying the Piedmont School Support Tax (Measure A), resulting in a loss to date of over $400,000 in District revenue.  Over the eight-year life of Measure A, the District’s loss will be more than one million dollars at a time of costly pension obligations and the apparent need for major facility improvements.

This needless loss should not have been allowed to happen.

Measure A (mistakenly called “School Measure B” on tax bills) required that as of July 1, 2013, each assessor’s parcel wholly or partially within the boundaries of the District pay the annual school tax, now at $2,503 per parcel. The one and only exception was for owners of parcels receiving Social Security Income (SSI). The District’s own attorney has said all other exemptions are “forbidden”. 

Measure A is a special assessment not based on the assessed value of the property. Hence, the Auditor and not the Assessor made the exemptions, most as a continuation of past practices but seven have been made since the passage of Measure A. One tiny sliver of unimproved land on my street has been routinely exempted for over 25 years. Many are small parcels ancillary to a larger parcel that have been exempted by owners in order to avoid paying the tax twice. A few are church parcels, exempt from the ad valorem portion but not the special assessment portion of their tax bills. And, ten are Oakland lots partially in Piedmont (including Mount View Cemetery) that have never been taxed.

Failure of the District to collect the tax from Oakland parcels may be a simple matter of negligence.  But allowing the Piedmont exemptions to continue and even grow over three years is inexplicable.

To date, no one has taken responsibility. The Auditor’s office said the current exemptions are based on a list provided by NBS, the tax-consulting firm retained by the District. NBS has said it has taken no action, formal or informal, to exempt any parcel. The District has said it has taken no action to selectively exempt property from its parcel tax, except for the two parcels that qualified for the SSI exemption. 

Whoever is responsible, there has been an appalling breakdown of communication between the District, NBS, and Alameda County. The Auditor correctly applied the uniform tax rate of Measure A to every Piedmont parcel except for those on the list provided by NBS. Over a period of three years, he has evidently not been told these exemptions are illegal.

The Measure A Resolution “authorized members of the Board, the Superintendent and officers of the District to do all things necessary or advisable to effectuate the purposes of the Resolution.” Although the District staff was apprised of the problem more than six months ago, it has yet to recommend the actions necessary to rescind the unlawful exemptions — and in the process enhance the school’s revenue.

Measure A is the law and every public official, appointed or elected, must obey the law, however onerous that may be.

William Blackwell, Piedmont Resident

Editors’ Note:  Opinions expressed are those of the author.

The Piedmont City / School Liaison Committee will consider topical subjects impacting both the City and School District.  Consensus is frequently reached in an open exchange of information. Decisions are not finalized during the meeting, as they must be referred to the appropriate elected body for action.  Individuals interested in the subjects can participate at the meeting.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

4:00 p.m.

City Hall Conference Room, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA

The meeting is open to the public.  The meeting will not be broadcast or recorded for future viewing. Agenda:

• 1. Update on the PUSD Facilities Master Planning Process
•  2. Discussion of City Parcel Tax on the June 7 Presidential Primary Election Ballot
•   3. Discussion of Pick-Up / Drop-Off Zone at High School and Middle School
•   4. Discussion of Plans for Full Day Kindergarten and its Impact to Schoolmates and Opportunities for Cooperation 

Materials for the meeting have not been publicly disseminated, however they can be obtained at the meeting or prior to the meeting through the City or the Piedmont Unified School District.

The Piedmont Park Commission will meet on Wednesday, February 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.

The Commission will discuss the issue of the Dracena Park off-leash dog area and make a recommendation to the City Council.  To date there have been differing opinions on how the upper grassy area and redwood dell of Dracena Park should be used.

The public is invited to contribute to the discussion.

February 3 Agenda:

Public Hearing on Dracena Park off-leash dog area

Update on Crocker Park Garage Pool Equipment Relocation

Update on Hampton Park, Brick Donation Fund Raising

Update on Crocker Park Garage

Update on Highland Garden Walk

The meeting will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 27 and via the City of Piedmont website. < click

Read detailed Dracena Park staff report and history here. 

Read previous article on Dracena Park off-leash dog area here.

Read GUIDELINES FOR ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF SUCCESSFUL OFF-LEASH DOG EXERCISE AREAS here.