October 31, 2001
This Bulletin Was Written By Elise
Rogerson.
This Week's Meeting
President Melissa Blackburn called the meeting to order and asked Bob Plumb, visiting from the Coronado Rotary Club, to lead the pledge. Sig Weitzman delivered an invocation inspired by General Douglas MacArthur’s farewell address to West Point cadets. Sig’s invocation was followed by the group’s rousing rendition of "She’ll be Riding on a Broomstick,” guided by Songstress Pauline Getz.
The usual contingent of guests from Club 33 and other sources were introduced.
Anouncements
Ø Colette Murray took the microphone to thank Nancy Vaughan for being the Rotarian of the month last April. She also announced that 29 members of our club have signed up to attend the Paul Harris Foundation dinner on Friday, November 2, 2001, at the Hotel del Coronado. There is one spot available at the club’s table; interested persons should call Colette.
Ø Melissa mentioned that our club contributed a “goodie basket” to the Paul Harris dinner. Thanks to Zack Romaya, who donated some fabulous wine, and the University Club, which donated a dinner out, our club’s basket should be a winner at the Silent Auction.
Ø Alan Talbot announced that the fundraising committee will be conducting site inspections and meeting afterwards to evaluate them. Members interested in participating on the committee should contact Alan.
Ø Gary Sirota announced that Responsibility’s annual dinner will take place on November 10, 2001, at the Downtown Marriott. Tickets are $125 per person.
Ø
Important Announcement: Next week’s meeting will
take place OFF-SITE at the Horton Grand Hotel, 311 Island Avenue. After breakfast, we will take a walking
tour of Downtown. Comfortable
shoes are recommended!
Sgt-At-Arms
Sergeant-at-Arms Frank de Francesco was not at the meeting, probably hot on the trail of some embarrassing story about one or more club members.
This Week’s Speaker
Dave Donnelly introduced Greg Smith, San Diego County Tax Assessor since 1983. In June, 1994, Greg assumed the additional responsibilities as County Recorder and County Clerk. Greg, who appears to have a potential second career as a stand-up comic, threatened reassessment to those who attempted to sneak out as he began his talk.
Greg’s job as Assessor/Clerk/Recorder require him to wear an amazing number of hats. First, as Recorder, he is responsible for recording 42,000 pages of documents daily. The daily recordings are scanned in some fashion, and then appear on the website by the next business day. As County Clerk, Greg is in charge of issuing birth and death certificates, filing fictitious business name certificates, and issuing marriage licenses. His department has devised a number of services that are peddled to newlyweds, including “Weddings on the Web”, a service that permits out-of-town relatives to observe a wedding ceremony in real time.
Most of us are familiar with Greg’s job as County Assessor. The county annually assesses 900,000 individual parcels and 125,000 businesses. (Businesses, not individuals, must pay property taxes on business personal property). The office also assesses boats (50,000 of them) and airplanes (5,000 of them). Two-thirds of property taxes collected are allocated to schools; the balance is allocated between county government, fire districts, and various other special districts and agencies.
Greg’s talk touched on the operation of Proposition 13, and the various exclusions from reappraisal, including the interspousal transfer exclusion, the parent-child transfer exclusion, and a special exclusion that permits seniors (persons 55 or over) to transfer their existing assessed value to a new home that is purchased for equal or lesser value.
Greg also offered some philosophical thoughts on issues facing the county. He believes that continued increases in the cost of housing and rental rates are inevitable because there is insufficient supply available. The number one issue facing the county is the lack of affordable housing, which is pricing the younger generation and certain segments of society out of the housing market. This critical issue must be addressed by policymakers.
Greg’s talk was lively and informative.
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