Is Compton City Hall against Measure S

Back to business as usual?  Now that the dust has settled, the Compton city council has resumed meetings for the Compton Gaming and Housing Development Commissions.  As par the course, both agendas prepared for the regular Tuesday, October 13, 2015, council meeting lacks substance.  Another item up for discussion is authorizing the city manager to send out a campaign mailer, directly addressing the upcoming Compton Unified School District $350 million dollar bond measure, to upgrade Compton High School.  The median income in Compton is $43,157 and current property tax assessment is 1.53%.  Can residents afford to increase the property taxes further?

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The school site, in question, began operating as a one room school-house in 1896 and added a community college to the campus in 1927.  Due to an earthquake in 1933, the administration building was destroyed and rebuilt in 1935.  There has since been no additional improvements and/or upgrades.

Related article:  County’s highest property taxes are in its poorest cities

Struggling to balance their budgets with meager tax bases, some of Los Angeles County’s poorest cities charge their residents the highest property tax rates.

Working-class cities such as Compton, San Fernando, Maywood, Huntington Park and Inglewood have among the highest property tax rates, while several upper-class cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and South Bay have among the lowest rates, records from the L.A. County auditor-controller show.

For example, a home assessed at $1 million and taxed at 1% would generate $10,000 in annual revenue while a property assessed at $220,000 taxed at 1.25% raises $2,750. (LA Times August 2010)

According to RealtyTrac property value in Compton is not stable.

 There are currently 407 properties in Compton, CA that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank owned) while the number of homes listed for sale on RealtyTrac is 721.

In August, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in Compton, CA was 8% lower than the previous month and 4% lower than the same time last year.

Home sales for July 2015 were down 71% compared with the previous month, and down 88%compared with a year ago. The median sales price of a non-distressed home was $285,000. The median sales price of a foreclosure home was $250,000, or 12% lower than non-distressed home sales.

Related article:  Paying too much? Comparing property tax rates for L.A. County cities

With property tax value tied directly to the state of the local school district, it will be interesting to see if the city manager is authorized to create and mail campaign literature, at taxpayers’ expense, and further if the mailer is designed to persuade voters to vote against it.  It is well-known the mayor is gearing up to ask voters, to increase the sales tax, by either $0.01 or 1%.

A recent L.A. Times article discusses Compton residents are paying the third highest property taxes in LA County, before passing Measure S.

All county property owners pay 1% general property tax, along with special or direct assessments levied by their municipalities. The countywide average of all tax rates is 1.16%, or $11.60 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

The school board election will take place Tuesday, November 3, 2015 where voters will select three board trustees and whether or not to pass Measure S.

What will a $350 million dollar bond, really cost homeowners, when the last payment is made?  Stay tuned…