CAPE-represented professional employees use historical data and cost & income analysis to accurately assess property.
The Los Angeles County Assessor's Office is the agency responsible for putting a dollar figure on every piece of real and taxable personal property in the County. In recent years, that countywide figure was more than a trillion dollars - that's $1,000,000,000,000.
CAPE members from the "Special Commercial Properties"section of the County Assessor's office appraise many of the high-value and unique commercial properties in Los Angeles County.
Principal Appraiser Ron Arison works with his team in the Assessor's Office to valuate high-profile, often world famous commercial properties. Some of the properties assessed by Arison's crew in the last few years include the Hollywood & Highland Center, the Americana at Brand in Glendale, Hollywood Park, and Santa Anita Racetrack, along with many malls, hotels and iconic Los Angeles shopping centers.
Arison's group recently completed a comprehensive appraisal of the NBC/Universal Studios complex. The studio complex, which covers nearly all of the unincorporated land in the Cahuenga Pass, includes virtually every type of commercial property, including: retail, industrial, hotel, the famous amusement park and related attractions, and the iconic Gibson Amphitheatre.
The NBC/Universal Studios appraisal effort required several years of work, the examination of historical data, actual cost / revenue estimates and countless exchanges with the property owner's representatives to make sure the extraordinarily complex appraisal was fair to both the county and the property owner.
Arison explains that fair appraisals require his staff to accurately valuate a property, and then have the proof necessary to defend the result, to county officials and the property owners. If the appraisal is too low, County taxpayers lose resources; if the appraisal is too high, the property owners justifiably appeal the assessment.
Appraisers and Supervisory Appraisers working at the Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor are represented by the California Association of Professional Employees - CAPE, AFL-CIO. The expertise required to accurately and quickly appraise the County's multitude of real and personal property is possible only because of the dedication of more than 700 County professional employees represented by CAPE.
CAPE MEMBER INTEREST PROGRAM
From ensuring the safety of roads, buildings, and bridges, to mapping out future housing and infrastructure needs, CAPE-members perform a wide variety of vital public services that support the nearly 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Unfortunately, our members' dedication and contributions too often go unnoticed or are mischaracterized by the popular media.
Just as we serve as your voice in the workplace, the California Association of Professional Employees is dedicated to programs that strengthen the image of public service professionals and foster stronger relationships for you with opinion leaders and elected officials.