Property tax funds rise as market falls

"It surprises people," he said, "but in some cases in L.A. County, there is no downward price move."

Several cities saw significant increases in their property tax bases over the last year:

* Beverly Hills, long a pricey address, had an 11.8% increase.

* Santa Monica, where new development included hospital construction, rose 10.8%.

* Pasadena, where several mixed-use housing-commercial complexes opened, had a 10.2% increase.

* San Gabriel, where there was new downtown construction, had a 10.2% increase.

* Seal Beach, where there was new retail development, had a 9.89% rise.

Much of Southern California has been battered by falling home values.

State law allows homeowners who believe their property values have dropped below their assessed value to have those values reconsidered, and thousands have done so. Over the last few months, county officials have been reviewing properties in their jurisdictions that were purchased after 2004, which are most likely to have lower values than the purchase price.

Los Angeles County reviewed 318,000 residences and lowered the assessments of 128,000, Auerbach said.

Ventura County reviewed 43,000 residences and reduced the values on about 34,000. Orange County looked at 170,000 and lowered the value on 127,100. San Bernardino County reduced the value of 84,000.

The numbers are starkest in Riverside County. Larry Ward, the county's assessor, clerk and recorder, said that the property tax base in the county nearly doubled during a construction boom from 2003 to 2007, climbing from $125 billion to $240 billion. Last year, he said, the county posted a 17% increase.

Ward said that county officials reviewed 270,000 properties purchased since 2004 and determined that the owners of about 200,000 homes will see a reduction in their tax bills.

"It comes with the territory," said Ward. "We were one of the fastest-growing counties, not in the state but the country. And now, we've kind of given some back."

Proposition 13 severely restricted the state's ability to raise property tax rates and is blamed for drastic cuts in some government services.

Although officials agree that they are seeing its stabilizing effect, many critics maintain that the measure continues to stymie the state's ability to provide services and fix its aging infrastructure. Without Proposition 13, they argue, governments would be taking in more property tax revenues.