Dear Friends,
It has been an honor to serve Los Angeles County as your 27th Assessor. In my over 25 years of public service, I have worked to be an effective and innovative leader in local government as Mayor, Councilmember, public administration professional, and Assessor.
My primary goal as your Assessor has been to build an administration which values the residents we serve and the property we assess by assembling the most professionally-staffed, technologically-advanced, and customer-friendly property assessment agency in the nation.
The LA County Office of the Assessor is the largest local public assessment agency in the nation, with more than 1,400 employees and an annual budget of $200 million. As the foundation for the County’s property tax system, it is responsible for establishing the value for over 2.4 million taxable parcels and nearly 300,000 business assessments, with a total roll value of $2 trillion.
In an era when the public has seemingly lost faith in many elected officials and government in general, I am very proud to report that I have accomplished the goals that I have set for my administration and that I pledged to do in my last election. Allow me to share with you some of those achievements.
- My office responded early and aggressively to provide support for the victims of the recent wildfires. My team and I were on the ground early letting property owners know that their assessments and accompanying property taxes would be reduced proactively to reflect the damage to their property. We have attended dozens of community meetings and hosted numerous information sessions to let people know what programs are available to assist them during the rebuilding effort. Moreover, we have proactively identified restrictive provisions in the law that would limit our ability to extend maximum relief and have sponsored legislation to address those limitations.
- When I first campaigned for this office, I highlighted the antiquated technology system that was still in use in the department. And, that the 2.5 million property files were still maintained in paper form. Within my first two years as Assessor, we digitized our property files – comprising hundreds of millions of pages of documents and maps. In August 2024, we retired our legacy main frame technology platform and shifted to our new cloud based technology platform. Importantly, we made this conversion without a hiccup unlike many other major government agencies when they implemented a new technology overhaul.
- My office has aggressively promoted property tax savings programs for disabled veterans, homeowners, seniors, nonprofit and religious institutions. Indeed, in 2024 we helped property owners save $850 million.
- My office launched a workforce development program working with local community colleges to create a college to employment pipeline for skilled positions within the Office of the Assessor that has trained dozens of new employees.
- And finally, if I may take a moment to boast, my office was awarded the highest award that can be granted to a public assessment agency. The International Association of Assessing Officers, our national trade association, granted us the Certificate of Excellence in Assessment Administration for the second time during my tenure. We are the only county in California to ever be so recognized and one of fewer than 100 out of 2200 agencies to ever receive this distinguished recognition.
I am very proud of the work that we have done during my time as Assessor. My administration has demonstrated innovation, competence, and unprecedented levels of public service. I believe that we continue to bring high value and high-quality service to the people of Los Angeles County and I respectfully ask for your support so that I may continue to do so.
I thank you for your continued support and friendship.
Sincerely,
JEFF PRANG
Assessor, County of Los Angeles
