By B.J. Coleman
San Diego County’s Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister is making the pre-holiday rounds. He’s not visiting for parties and cheer — he’s traveling the circuit of local agencies with reminder messages. And for a man who spends his time crunching numbers and issuing bills, he can deliver a surprisingly amusing account of the duties and responsibilities of his office.
McAllister stopped by the Normal Heights Community Planning Group’s Dec. 2 meeting to discuss property taxes with the group, one of the organizations throughout the county receiving indirect funding from the taxes McAllister collects. For one thing, McAllister made oblique, humorous references to the holiday season. He noted wryly that property tax payments are due twice yearly — at the “two seasons of giving,” as McAllister called them, for roughly coinciding with the winter holidays and with April 15th’s Income Tax Day. (To avoid payment penalties, San Diego County property taxes must be paid by Dec. 10 and April 10.) McAllister also made self-deprecating mention of the Bible’s sorry outlook toward tax collectors as being among the “least favored people.”
McAllister is seeking to enlist the aid of organizations like the NHCPG to remind homeowners and business property owners that the December installments of their taxes are due, and if not paid, will be levied a 10 percent late fee in addition to the unpaid balance.
Not that McAllister is too concerned: With a collections rate of over 99 percent, his countywide jurisdiction is among the best performing around the nation. In contrast, he cited payment rates in hurricane-ravaged areas of Florida, where only about 60 percent of property owners pay up, and tax collectors are compelled to offer discounted early payments as incentives to boost compliance. Moreover, McAllister informed the community planning board members that countywide economic development is clearly picking up, with over 3,000 taxable parcels added to his rolls this past year. His office intake is $5.1 billion annually.
McAllister further described his tenure. Improvements he’s fostered have included staff training in greater cultural sensitivity and awareness. He noted that other cultures may shun taxation of property, so new homeowners may not know about this responsibility here. As another example, he described how the Chula Vista branch office had no bilingual speakers before but now has staffers who can communicate in English, Spanish and Tagalog.
McAllister also outlined his handling of money for local schools and agencies, recalling the disastrous performance not long ago of his Orange County counterpart, which resulted in the infamous Orange County bankruptcy. (According to McAllister, the OC treasurer dabbled too heavily in risky investments, which then failed.) McAllister stated that he invests funds on behalf of public agencies with capital preservation in mind, so as to guarantee the money is there when the community services need it.
Pay your property taxes and learn more about the San Diego Tax Collector’s office at sdtreastax.com.
—Contact B.J. Coleman at [email protected].
