Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 21-001161
MEETING DATE:	01/25/22
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	Assessor Department (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Claude Parrish (714) 834-2734
	Neil Shah (714) 834-2733

Subject: Extra Help Working Retiree - Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

No Legal Objection

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost: $25,000

Annual Cost: FY 2022-23 $65,000

Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: N/A

County Audit in last 3 years: No

Prior Board Action: N/A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve the appointment of Michael Hannah as an Extra Help Working Retiree, Administrative Manager III, to act as a subject matter expert for the Assessor Department's Real Property Division pursuant to Section 7522.56 (f) of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the appointment of the Extra Help Retiree Administrative Manager III, Real Property Division, will allow the continuation of the Assessor Department's Real Property Change in Ownership and New Construction valuation process, as well as Assessment Appeals review and resolution.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Assessor Department requests the Board of Supervisors (Board) approval to appoint Extra Help Working Retiree staff to the Assessor Department.

Mr. Hannah, who recently announced he is retiring on February 10, 2022, is the manager of the Real Property Division and a direct report to the Assessor. His retirement comes when there is heavy demand on the Real Property Division regarding year-end closing deadlines for release of the Roll to the Auditor Controller and Tax Collector for bill processing. It also comes when the Assessor Department in general and Real Property Appraisal in particular are at all-time staffing lows. Training a new State Certified Appraiser is a 12-month process after the hiring process is complete.

Mr. Hannah’s duties include:

Overseeing the assessment of 961,387 secured parcels that produce the $654.9 billion Orange County Secured Assessment Roll.

Overseeing the completion of four Supplemental Assessment Rolls that add value to the total Assessment Roll throughout the year.

Managing a staff of approximately 90 State licensed, professional appraisers.

Managing the Real Property Change in Ownership and New Construction valuation processes, as well as Assessment Appeals review and resolution.

Managing the review, interpretation and valuation of Proposition 19, 58, 60, 90, 110 and Section 68 claims, review and valuation.

Overseeing Parcel Cuts, Combinations and Segregations of value.

Overseeing the interpretation and enforcement of various sections of the California Constitution, Revenue & Taxation code and Health and Safety code as well as State Board of Equalization letters, case law and legal annotations.

Mr. Hannah is designated “person of greatest knowledge”, who is qualified, and gets called to testify as an expert witness on behalf of the Assessor on Annual and Supplemental Roll records and valuation issues.

Without the expertise of Mr. Hannah, the department will not be able to meet all Assessment Roll deadlines. For example, Mr. Hannah has managed 100% of the Tyler Commercial Valuation System since its inception four years ago. Without his leadership, commercial appeals and valuations will not be completed and the roll value will be in jeopardy. He is also the primary lead for identifying changes needed to our Computer System, Policies and Procedures required since the passage of Proposition 19, as well as the subsequent changes to the law that are currently under discussion in the California legislature. Mr. Hannah is also the main contact between Assessor Parrish and Real Property, the Division responsible for the entire Secured Assessment Roll. In addition, he is the Assessor’s primary contact with the California Assessor Association for annual meetings and conferences.

Mr. Hannah has 32 years of experience with the County of Orange Assessor Department. He has a total of 36 years’ of experience in California property tax and valuation.

A recruitment to replace Mr. Hannah is scheduled; however, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Real Property Division has lost five key managers with a total of 158 years of experience, in addition, half of the Departments Administrative Manager III’s have retired or have been severely limited by illness. For the cohesive transition of Real Property Division management and Assessor management in general, it is imperative that Mr. Hannah be available at least until the FY 2022-23 Roll is delivered to the Auditor-Controller. Therefore, the Assessor Department is requesting to appoint Mr. Hannah as an Extra Help Working Retiree.

Because Mr. Hannah will be retired from his position less than 180 days from the proposed start date of February 11, 2022, his appointment as Extra Help Retiree Administrative Manager III will require Board approval in order to comply with the Working Retiree Reemployment Policy. Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-25-20 and Executive Order N-35-20 suspended Government Code Section 7522.56 (f), which requires the County to certify the necessity of the appointment and have the appointment approved by the governing body of the employer. The County’s Working Retiree Policy still requires the appointment of a retiree with less than 180 days of separation from the County to be approved by the Board of Supervisors at a public meeting.

Upon Board approval of this appointment, Mr. Hannah’s term of employment will be governed by the County’s Working Retirement Policy that limits assignments to no more than 960 hours per fiscal year at an hourly rate not to exceed 80 percent of the hourly rate that the employee earned at the time of retirement, or Step 1 of the salary range if 80 percent is less than Step 1.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Appropriations for this cost is included in the Assessor Department's FY 2021-22 Budget,

Fund 100/Budget Control 002, and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Government Code Section 7522.56 (f)
Attachment B - Working Retiree Reemployment Policy
Attachment C - Executive Order