DATE: September 10, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Oscar J. Garcia, CPA, Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector
SUBJECT: Unclaimed money resulted from 2018 Excess Proceeds of Sale of Tax-Defaulted Property (APN 491-173-27)
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and adopt Resolution transferring $18,519.99 in unclaimed money previously distributed as excess proceeds from the March 2018 sale of tax-defaulted property identified by Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) 491-173-27 to the County’s General Fund.
REPORT
On March 9, 2021, your Board adopted Resolution 21-048 to distribute the excess proceeds from the County’s March 9-12, 2018 sale of tax-defaulted properties (2018 Tax Sale). That distribution included an order to pay a total of $92,599.97 on six granted claims for excess proceeds from the property identified by APN 491-173-27. One of those granted claims was submitted by the Fresno County Public Administrator (Public Administrator) on behalf of the Estate of Anita Hernandez, as a titleholder prior to the 2018 Tax Sale, in the amount of $18,519.99. On June 16, 2021, after the excess proceeds were distributed, the Public Administrator disclaimed the distribution of $18,519.99 in excess proceeds, on the ground that they had identified the wrong “Anita Hernandez.” The Public Administrator returned the distribution check to the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector (Tax Collector). The Public Administrator provided contact information for a different Anita Hernandez, who was still living, but the Tax Collector’s efforts to contact her and one of her relatives were not successful. As a result, the excess proceeds in the amount $18,519.99 became unclaimed as of June 16, 2021. Consequently, under California’s Unclaimed Money Law (Government Code section 50050 et seq.), the $18,519.99 has become the property of the County and should be transferred to the County’s General Fund.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action. California’s Unclaimed Money Law provides that the $18,519.99 has become the property of the County. That is because the money has been in the possession of the County for more than three years, the County has published the notices required by law, and there have been no claims for the money. If your Board does not transfer the money to the General Fund, then the County will not be able to use the money.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended action will result in an increase to the Fresno County General Fund.
DISCUSSION:
Property identified by APN 491-173-27 is a parcel of real property became tax-defaulted as of June 30, 2009. At that time, it was assessed to Ralph Botello and Anita Hernandez, et al. On July 22, 2015, APN 491-173-27 was declared subject to the Tax Collector’s power of sale for non-payment of taxes. On December 5, 2017, the Board approved a resolution authorizing the Tax Collector to conduct the 2018 Tax Sale. During the 2018 Tax Sale, the Tax Collector sold APN 491-173-27 at public auction, for the price of $105,200. That sale resulted in excess proceeds in the amount of $92,599.97.
Each party of interest in APN 491-173-27 was sent at least one notice of their opportunity to claim excess proceeds. Especially relevant to this matter, before the 2018 Tax Sale, the Tax Collector sent notices to party of interest Anita Hernandez at five different addresses. Those were all the addresses that the Tax Collector has ever been able to find for Ms. Hernandez. After the 2018 Tax Sale, the Tax Collector sent excess proceeds notices to Anita Hernandez at four different addresses, excluding the one address from which the pre-sale party of interest letter had been returned to sender.
Parties of interest were given one year from the recordation of the Tax Collector’s deed to the purchaser of the property to file a claim for some or all of the excess proceeds from the sale of the property. The County received a total of nine timely claims for the excess proceeds, including one from the Public Administrator, acting on the behalf of the Estate of Anita Hernandez, as a titleholder before the 2018 Tax Sale. The Public Administrator claimed a one-fifth share of the excess proceeds, in the amount of $18,519.99.
On March 9, 2021, by Resolution 21-048, the Board approved a distribution of the excess proceeds from the 2018 Tax Sale. That distribution included the denial of three claims and the grant of six claims, including the claim submitted by Public Administrator on behalf of the Estate of Anita Hernandez, in the amount of $18,519.99.
Resolution 21-048 required the Tax Collector to wait the 90-day period described in Revenue and Taxation Code section 4675, subdivision (d), before paying any claims. That is the period for legal challenges to the distribution of excess proceeds, so the Tax Collector waited until June 8, 2021 to distribute the excess proceeds from the 2018 Tax Sale.
About a week later, on June 16, 2021, the Public Administrator disclaimed the $18,519.99 in excess proceeds on the ground that they had identified the wrong “Anita Hernandez.” They returned the check for $18,519.99 to the Tax Collector.
Because there were no competing claims for the share of the excess proceeds that had been distributed to the Public Administrator, and the Tax Collector was unsuccessful in contacting Anita Hernandez or one of her relatives, the $18,519.99 in excess proceeds from APN 491-173-27 has remained unclaimed money since June 16, 2021.
Under California’s Unclaimed Money Law, when money comes into the possession of a County official, but is not County property, and is not restitution to a crime victim, the County must follow a three-part procedure for its disposition, as follows. First, the County must hold the money for three years in case there are claims. Second, after the three-year waiting period, the County must publish a notice once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, stating that the unclaimed money will become property of the County on a date not less than 45 nor more than 60 days from the date of the first publication. Finally, if no claim is filed by the designated date, or if a claim is filed by that date and rejected, and no verified complaint is filed and served within 30 days of the claimant receiving notice of the rejection, then the Board may transfer the unclaimed money to the County’s General Fund.
Here, the Tax Collector held the unclaimed money, in the form of $18,519.99 in excess proceeds from the 2018 Tax Sale of APN 491-173-27, for a three-year period, of June 16, 2021, through June 16, 2024. The Tax Collector also published notices in the Business Journal, which is a newspaper of general circulation, for two successive weeks, on July 19 and 26, 2024, stating that the unclaimed money would become property of the County on September 10, 2024, which is not less than 45 nor more than 60 days from the date of the first publication on July 19, 2024.
If, as of September 10, 2024, no claim for the unclaimed money in the form of $18,519.99 in excess proceeds from the 2018 Tax Sale of APN 491-173-27 has been filed with the County, then the money has become the property of the County. That means your Board may transfer the money to the County’s General Fund.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #21, March 9, 2021
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Resolution
On file with Clerk - Publication
CAO ANALYST:
Paige Benavides