Property Tax

A Sacramento County Superior Court judge Wednesday ruled against a group of California cities in their battle with the state over hundreds of millions of property tax dollars that used to flow to local redevelopment agencies. Judge Timothy M. Frawley said he would not grant the request from Glendale, Pasadena, Huntington Beach and other cities for an injunction that would have prevented the payout of property taxes on Friday to schools and counties. Cities believe some of the money belongs to them and should be used to pay for such projects as parks, affordable housing and freeway intersections that had been agreed upon before Gov. Jerry Brown won his battle to eliminate California's 400 municipal redevelopment agencies late last year.

Fearful of an U.S.-style real estate collapse, China has doused the country's sizzling housing market with new rules aimed at cooling property speculation. The measures, which include raising minimum down payments and restricting purchases of second homes, are already forcing investors to the sidelines. May home sales in Beijing and Shanghai plunged 70% compared with April, while transactions in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen were down 62% over the same period, according to government statistics.

The Chicago City Council, facing a budget shortfall that Mayor Harold Washington said would force him to lay off 11,000 city workers, approved an $80-million property tax increase Wednesday. The tax measure had been narrowly defeated earlier this month, prompting Washington to make the layoff threat. It would have involved 5,000 police officers, as well as firefighters, garbage collectors and other city employees.

Today is the deadline for the second installment of this year's Ventura County property taxes. The treasurer-tax collector's office asks taxpayers to mail the second installment payment stub with their check. Payments postmarked on or before today will be considered on time. A certificate of mailing will be accepted as proof of timely submission. State law imposes a 10% penalty for late payments.

Obviously Mr. Ackerman is not one of those "any rational person(s)" to whom he refers. Mr. Ackerman does not present any support whatsoever for his contention that property taxes should be based on current market value. Why should they? Taxes are levied to pay for the costs of providing our city and county services. Mr. Ackerman, therefore, seems to be suggesting that these costs rise (and fall?) in concert with the changes in market value of one's home or other real property.

Today is the deadline for Orange County homeowners to pay the second installment on their annual property tax bills. Payments must be mailed with today's postmark or a late penalty of 10% of the bill plus $10 will be charged. Taxpayers also can pay in person at the tax collector's public information office in Room G-58 of the Hall of Records and Finance, 12 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana. The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

About 720,000 homes and businesses across the county will be receiving property tax bills in the next few days. For the first time in years, taxpayers will not be writing their checks to Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron, who resigned in the wake of Orange County's bankruptcy. Nor will the checks be made out to Citron's successor, John M.W. Moorlach, officials said Monday. Instead, they should be written to "Orange County Tax Collector." "That decision was made when Mr.

With the April 10 delinquency date looming for the second installment of property taxes, it's too late to receive a substitute bill by mail. The Los Angeles County Tax Assessor's office suggests going online to find the installment payment due on your property. Visit the treasurer-tax collector's site at: ttax.co.la.ca.us/main.htm. For information about property taxes in other counties, visit: * www.oc.ca.gov/treas/ * www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/treasurer/ * riverside.ca.ezgov.

Homeowners have until Monday to pay the second installment of their property tax bills. Property owners have several options to meet the deadline: They can pay with a credit card at the county treasurer's website, www.oc.ca.gov/treas/, pay at the treasurer's Santa Ana office, or pay by mail, as long as envelopes are postmarked by Monday. The Santa Ana post office at 3101 W. Sunflower Ave. will accept mail payments until 11:30 p.m. Monday. From a Times Staff Writer

Saying their community is too small to be divided, members of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council voted unanimously in favor of abolishing the community's three property tax zones. The action, which must be ratified by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, would ensure that all Oak Park residents pay equal levels of taxes for community services.