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LOS ANGELES – In an effort to provide Los Angeles County residents a convenient, secure and efficient way to continue to attend assessment appeals hearings during the COVID pandemic, the Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board has gone virtual and is now providing services online.
On October 19, the Assessment Appeals Board kicked off its first virtual hearing comprised of a web conferencing platform and an online document management portal where residents were able to electronically submit and upload hearing evidence prior to the hearing date. The new virtual hearing process allows the applicant, the Assessor and Board Members to simultaneously view the hearing evidence presented live.
“Transitioning to a virtual platform aligns with the Executive Office’s mission to deliver first-class customer service utilizing new technologies to support the Board of Supervisors in serving our constituents,” said Jennifer Tran, acting Deputy Executive Officer of the Assessment Appeals division.
On August 4, Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn presented a motion to the Board and asked the Executive Office to explore how to modernize current systems to augment in-person hearings by implementing virtual Assessment Appeals Board hearings using video conferencing technology.
“The County is adapting during this pandemic and the Assessment Appeals Board hearings are the latest aspect of County business to go virtual. Holding these hearings through secure video conferencing rather than in-person will make sure that taxpayers can have their appeals heard safely,” said Hahn.
In addition to having the meetings held online, the public is now also able to listen in and stay up-to-date through a dial-in phone number and access code, which will be posted before every hearing on the Assessment Appeals Board website.
“During these unprecedented times, serving the public in an effective and efficient way is key,” said Celia Zavala, Executive Officer. “By remaining adaptable, we can continue to provide safety net services and due process that are essential to our residents during critical times like these.”
Residents can now also submit their assessment appeals applications online in addition to mailing them in. After the validation process, the application gets scheduled for an appeal hearing before the Assessment Appeals Board or Assessment Hearing Officer. A formal hearing appointment card is mailed to the applicant at least 45 days prior to the hearing date. In addition, an email notification with login information is emailed to the hearing participants.
Reference guides are also now available on AAB’s website for public access at: http://bos.lacounty.gov/Services/Assessment-Appeals.
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