The Los Angeles County assessor's office announced that it has reduced assessments for 333,000 county homeowners, leading property tax revenue to drop for the first time in recent years. As a result, the county expects to lose about $440 million in property tax revenue, a 1% decrease that county officials had anticipated.
Orange County officials also expect about a 1% decrease, with about a third of the 300,000 homes reviewed receiving reductions, according to Shaw Lin, the assessor's management services manager.
Neighboring counties hard hit by the housing slump face far steeper decreases in property assessments. In Ventura County, officials said property tax revenue is expected to drop 5%; in San Bernardino County, nearly 8%; and in Riverside County, up to 11%.
Riverside County officials described the drop in property tax revenue as the largest in 20 years, spurred by building booms that went bust in places such as Murrieta, Menifee and Desert Hot Springs.
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