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East County News Service
February 20, 2024 (San Diego) --On Tuesday, San Diego County Supervisors voted unanimously in support of a proposal that Shane Harris, President of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates, brought forth. Harris issued it to county supervisors on January 25th just three days after the San Diego floods that decimated several neighborhoods throughout southeastern San Diego, Southcrest and Barrio Logan as well.
The proposal requested that County Assessor and Supervisors establish a countywide ordinance that would defer the April 10th property tax delinquent deadline for flood victims, which would further support unincorporated areas like Spring Valley. Property taxes are usually due by April 10th before a delinquent notice is issued.
During the January 25th press conference at the headquarters of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates, several residents, business owners and impacted families of the floods spoke and urged government officials to make Harris’s proposal policy. Several reports say that over one thousand families have been displaced due to the floods.
“Businesses, families and residents across our region deserve to have the tax clock paused for a moment as they focus on rebuilding their lives and livelihoods” Harris said Tuesday, urging them all to vote in support of the proposal. San Diego County Chairwoman Nora Vargas and County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, in partnership with San Diego County Assessor Jordan Marks, agendized Harris’s proposal for Supervisors to vote on.
Marks toured neighborhoods with Harris.
“I smelled the mold and I saw the damage which inspired me to work with Shane to figure out how my office could do more,” Marks said. Marks then started the process of looking into how the county and his office could make Harris’s proposal a county policy, and after Governor Gavin Newsom issued the State of Emergency, it opened the door for that.
President Joe Biden then issued a presidential ‘Major Disaster Declaration’ on February 19th for those impacted by floods in San Diego County January 21-13, which further opened the door for the property tax relief policy.
Marks, the County Assessor, and Harris the President of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates, secured their board letter on the Tuesday Feb. 27th agenda.
Tuesday’s action voted on unanimously by County Supervisors does not yet make the tax deferral policy active, but it establishes policy directing county staff to establish an ordinance that will come back to Supervisors for its final reading on Tuesday March 12th.
If Supervisors approve it on March 12th , then the ordinance will go into effect countywide and allow for businesses, homeowners and others who own properties to apply for a deferral of their property taxes through the county assessor’s office.
Residents seeking a deferral are encouraged to visit https://www.sdarcc.gov/ for more information or call (619) 236-3771.
The IRS has also just issued a federal tax deferral for those impacted by San Diego’s severe storms since January 21, allowing tax payments to be deferred until June 17. Read more about the IRS tax deferral here.
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