Career Opportunity

Principal Tax Auditor-Appraiser - Office of the Assessor-Recorder (4224) - (133552)

Recruitment: RTF0133551-01136811

Published: March 31, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

• Application Opening: Friday, March 31, 2023
• Application Deadline: Friday, April 14, 2023
• Compensation Range: $126,178 - $165,100 annually
• Recruitment ID: RTF0133551-01136811/PBT-4224-133552

Our Office

The Office of the Assessor-Recorder is responsible for carrying out property tax-related functions governed by the State Constitution and State and local laws. Our core responsibilities include locating all taxable property in the City and County of San Francisco, identifying ownership, establishing a taxable value, and applying all legal exemptions. Property broadly includes both real property and personal property owned by businesses. The Office of the Assessor-Recorder is also responsible for recording documents and maintaining those public records. Over 400 different types of documents are recorded annually, including deeds of trust, reconveyances, liens, and public marriage licenses. The Office is also responsible for collecting any transfer tax due upon a change in property ownership. The Office of the Assessor-Recorder strives to conduct our work with the core principals of professionalism and integrity.

What We Do

We’re proud of our work to ensure the financial stability of San Francisco. This past year, our Office successfully enrolled property cumulatively valued at over $328 billion generating over $3.7 billion dollars in property tax revenue. This revenue is the single largest source of the City’s General Fund, representing a contribution of over $2.4 billion or nearly one-third in Fiscal Year 2020-21. These funds pay for crucial services ranging from public safety and education to neighborhood improvements and health and family support services.

Our success is a product of the Office’s continued focus and investment in our people, systems, services, and engagement. In recent years, we have taken significant steps toward modernizing our operations, including helping to lead a cross-departmental effort to modernize city-wide Property Assessment & Taxation Systems (Project SMART), that will replace the legacy property assessment system we currently depend on to manage the City’s assessed property value, providing increased security, efficiency and service, including greater integration with other City systems like those managed by our sister finance departments at the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector and the City Controller's Office.

Role description

Under general direction, the Principal Tax Auditor-Appraiser is responsible for organizing and supervising business property audits, appeals, adjustments, and taxpayer statements processing; leading audits of the more complex accounts and carrying out specialized auditing, assessment, and valuation assignments. We are seeking candidates with the following strengths: technical proficiency of State of California’s Property Taxes Law Guide for Revenue and Taxation Code and Rules of Business Personal Property; technical proficiency of our specialized property tax assessment system; leadership and supervisory skills; the ability to achieve production results and streamline processes.

Examples of essential duties may include, but are not limited to:

1. Reviews, approves, and enrolls account transactions in a specialized property assessment tax system and provides recommendations on changes.
2. Runs queries and reports to adjust, reconcile and validate data within the specialized property assessment tax system.
3. Performs valuation assessments of taxpayer accounts and related business personal property assets within the specialized property assessment tax system.
4. Manages systems upgrades/enhancements and special projects.
5. Interprets and applies the California Revenue & Taxation Codes and Property Tax Rules for Business Personal Property assets.
6. Researches and evaluates (by consulting with subject matter experts from other counties when necessary) the proper forms and applications of the California Revenue & Taxation Codes & Property Tax Rules for Business Personal Property. 
7. Stays current on changing rules and technical requirements of the California Revenue & Taxation Codes and Property Tax Rules pertaining to Business Personal Property assets.
8. Assigns, reviews, and approves taxpayer statement processing, audits, and valuation adjustments.
9. Supervises auditors and coaches’ clerical staff on questions, progress and results.
10. Develops strategies and manages the execution of addressing taxpayer filed appeals in order to arrive at an agreed upon asset valuation assessment.
11. Represents the Business Personal Property Division and makes presentations before the Assessment Appeals Board and other hearings.
12. Tracks targets of weekly workflow production and related time spent.
13. Develops new methods of process improvements for audits, appeals, adjustments and statement processing.
14. Identifies and addresses inefficiencies and bottlenecks found in processes.
15. Provides corrective action solutions
16. Achieves production goals by producing on time, quality, and compliant results.
17. May include additional duties as assigned.

How to qualify

These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification.  Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

Education: 

Requires possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in accounting, including at least twenty-four (24) semester units or thirty-six (36) quarter units of accounting and/or auditing courses.

Experience: 

Four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in accounting, auditing business taxes and appraisal of personal property and fixtures which must have included two (2) years of experience performing accounting, auditing and appraisal of large commercial and industrial, firms or the administration of payroll and business taxes equivalent to the duties of class 4222 Senior Tax Auditor-Appraiser; AND, 

Twelve (12) months of experience in the specialized property tax assessment system, AS/400.

License and Certification:

Positions at the Assessor/Recorder’s Office require eligibility for certification from the California State Board of Equalization as an appraiser for property tax purposes. In accordance with the California State Board of Equalization, appointees to this class must possess or obtain permanent certification as an appraiser for property tax purposes within one (1) year of appointment, and must maintain certification as a condition of continued employment.

Substitution:

Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education; however, no substitution is allowed for the twenty-four (24) semester units or thirty-six (36) quarter units of Accounting and/or Auditing courses. One (1) year of experience is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units.

Six (6) years of professional–level progressively responsible experience as a financial auditor or accountant preparing financial statements and managerial reports, which must have included three (3) years of auditing experience reviewing and preparing audited financial statements and tax returns, may be substituted for the required experience.

Note: The twelve (12) months of experience in specialized property tax assessment system, AS/400 cannot be substituted.

Special Condition: The above minimum qualifications reflect special conditions associated with the position(s) to be filled. They may differ from the standard minimum qualifications associated with this class code.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Verification of Education and Experience:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures:

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ)
Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Supervisory Test Battery (STB) - Weight: 40%

Candidates will be invited to participate in a computer-based examination designed to measure competencies in job-related areas which may include but not be limited to: Problem Solving; Leadership; Decision Making; Interpersonal skill; Human Resources Management; Team Building; Communication & Conflict Management. For more information about this Supervisory Test (and a suggested reading list) please visit: http://www.sfdhr.org/index.aspx?page=325

A passing score must be achieved on the Supervisory Test Battery in order to continue in the selection process. This is a standardized examination, and, therefore, test questions and answers are not available for public inspection or review.

Scores attained on the Supervisory Test Battery will be valid and "banked" for three years, starting from the date of the examination. This means that, during this three-year time period, you will not be required to take the Supervisory Test Battery. The Supervisory Test Battery may be used for many other classes; therefore your test score may be applied to one or more of these classes if you choose to apply to future recruitments. If the selection process for the future announcement is held within one year of the date of this examination and it includes the Supervisory Test Battery, your score will be automatically applied to that announcement, However, after one year, you have the option to either (a) apply your test score to the other announcement or (b) re-take the Supervisory Test Battery. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the examination and only in association with your eligibility for another announcement for which the Supervisory Test Battery is used. Please note that, should you re-test, your re-test score would become your official score since it is the most recent.

Scored Essay Questionnaire - Weight: 60%

*PLEASE NOTE: The Scored Essay Questionnaire will be distributed via email after the job ad closes, and only to those candidates who meet the minimum qualification of this position.*

The Scored Essay Questionnaire has been designed to measure knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas, which may include but not be limited to: Knowledge of State of California’s Property Taxes Law Guide for Revenue and Taxation Code and Rules of Business Personal Property; Knowledge of the specialized property tax assessment system, A/S400; Knowledge of general accounting and auditing principles and procedures; Skill to articulate and present complex types of business personal property appraisals, especially for appeals and hearings; Ability and Skill to lead teams to achieve objectives and goals; Ability and Skill to collaborate and communicate with stakeholders in a manner that is clear, concise, and complete; Ability and Skill to innovate and think out of the box; and, Ability and Skill to analyze systems and processes, considering the end-to-end and 360 impacts.

All responses to the Scored Essay Questionnaire are subject to verification and must be consistent with the information provided in your employment application.

A passing score must be achieved in all test components listed above in order to be placed on the Eligible List/Score Report. Candidates will be placed on the Eligible List/Score Report in rank order according to their final score. The department may administer additional position-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions.

What else should I know?

Eligible List/Score Report:

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of 6 months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and- Department-FY-2021-22.pdf.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Kimberly Gibney at kimberly.gibney@sfgov.org.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.