Political Philosophy for James S. "Jim" Bone

JIM BONE: UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO BE ORANGE COUNTY ASSESSOR:

The assessor's job is an extremely technical, professional task that should be done by a highly qualified individual who is a property tax professional. The assessor's office appraises over 1,000,000 properties each year with a value of over $200 billion. The assessor's values cost Orange County taxpayers over $2 billion per year. Orange County taxpayers deserve the best, most qualified, ethical assessor.

The assessor's job is not a political job, to be given out by Republican power brokers to their candidate, Bruce Peotter, just to create a platform for their Conservative Republican Agenda and a springboard to a 'better' job.

Neither is it simply a management job, measured by how many units of production get done. Mr. Guillory is proud of his record. I am angry that Orange County has the highest error rate and worst training of all urban counties. We desperately need a change away from business as usual.

ABOUT THE JOB:

The job is very simple: appraise every property fairly, without bending to special interests, and assure everyone that they are paying the right tax according to California law.

The best assessor is one who follows the Constitution and the Revenue & Taxation Code, fairly values all the property in the county, and communicates information to the public and to other government agencies. A good assessor must have a good understanding of the disciplines of law, appraisal, accounting, real estate, finance, economics, government, management, and communications. Since the job involves directing a staff of 300, the assessor must also have proven leadership and management skills.

JIM BONE'S QUALIFICATIONS:

I am uniquely qualified to be the assessor, with over 30 years of management and professional experience. I bring a combination of business, government, and tax experience that none of the other candidates has. I am the only candidate that has been qualified as an expert on California assessment and appeals. For the past two years, I have maintained a public-service home page entitled California Property Tax Resources

My background as an arbitrator, administrative law judge, (and even high-level soccer referee), all demonstrate my ethical approach to decision making.

I am honest, ethical, and experienced, all of which are vital to good government.

I formed my CPA business in Mission Viejo in 1976, and since that time I have provided professional, quality business and tax services to Orange County residents. Since 1990, I have also provided consulting services in property taxation to businesses, property owners, and government.

My new book: PROPERTY TAX CALIFORNIA STYLE

I have written two books on California property taxes and how they work. My second book has been described as a book on how an assessor's office should do it's job. See information and a chapter from Property Tax California Style by clicking on the text.)

GOOD, MINIMUM GOVERNMENT:

I believe in good, minimum government, which is important because the assessor's tax roll costs Orange County property owners over $2 billion in property taxes each year. A 1% error in the appraised/assessed value of that property is more than the entire budget of the assessor's office for a year.

PROBLEMS TO CORRECT:

The present assessor has isolated his department from the public, from county government, and from the assessment community throughout the state. I will immediately reverse that postion, create internet access to the department, and change the office from a private, confidential one to an information source for the public portion of the data that the assessor's office creates and maintains.

MY COMMITTMENT:

We will get the right value, the first time, on every assessment.

We will discuss every assessment with the taxpayer.

We will communicate with taxpayers, including the internet and community outreach. We will change the office from a black hole of information to an information source for taxpayers and government.

We will quit wasting money.

We will be professional, and become a part of the statewide assessment community once again.