If you own a home in California, chances are the assessed value of your property just dropped.

County assessors statewide are releasing this year’s property tax rolls – the total assessed value of all properties in a given county – and most are lower than last year.

The falling values represent good news for many homeowners, who will see lower property tax bills this October.

However, the second straight year of shrinking tax rolls is another blow to local governments that rely on property tax revenue to fund programs and services. The counties need money for funding of schools, clinics, street repair and more.

If there is not enough funds , this means people losing their jobs. It takes people to deliver services.

Last year marked the first time most counties saw property tax rolls drop since voters approved Proposition 13 in 1978. That’s because the market value of many properties dropped below the assessed value. In such cases Proposition 8 – a tax measure passed as a companion to Proposition 13 – requires assessors to temporarily lower the taxable value of properties until the market value climbs again.

Market values have continued to plummet, and as a result, most county assessors have continued to lower the taxable value of properties in their region.

Under state law, counties are allowed to raise property taxes by up to 2 percent a year as long as the overall cost of goods and services is rising – in other words, during periods of inflation. In a time of deflation – when the costs of goods and services are falling – they are required to lower property taxes.

For the first time since 1978, that is happening. So even homeowners whose property is still worth more than when they bought it will see a quarter percent decrease from last year in its assessed value. That should amount to $2.60 less in taxes per $100,000 of assessed value, according to the State Board of Equalization.

“It’s the first time ever since Proposition 13 and probably the last time in our lifetime.

Homeowners should see the impact of the newly assessed values in their October tax bills. But not everyone will see a decrease in what they owe. That’s because many residents are in areas with special assessments or levies that will increase this year. Also, the figures are based on the value of a property as of Jan. 1.   This means any drop in market value since that date won’t be reflected. For details go to the Orange County Website by clicking on the link here:

http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov