Insanity.

So, the tax implications of this for MPCSD:

Assuming a property tax rate of 1.5% (a reasonable assumption)...

$15,500,000 * 0.15 = $232,500

MPCSD gets about 45% of that, so 232500*.45= $104,625

County records show that this property was taxed for less than $14k last year, so MPCSD saw about $6,300 of that.


That is a bump up for MPCSD of about $98,000/year, from just that 1 property, with a new tax basis that will result it in rising at a greater amount year over year.

Remember this financial windfall the next time MPCSD comes begging for money.

Well, no, Train Fan. Perhaps, out of respect for Town Square reader, you may wish to contact the County Controller for the “AB-8 Incremental Factors” chart before doing calculations like this in the future. You are off by 230%. The incremental tax to the District will be $30,000 a year.

First, from the Tax Collector’s bill, you could see that the property at 855 Oak Grove (071-092-280) falls in Tax Rate Area 08-001. 17% of the General Tax levy in that area accrues to the Menlo Park City School District. An additional .0357% accrues to the MPCSD facilities bond fund. This parcel pays the same parcel tax as every other property in MPCSD without a senior homeowner exemption. The total amount accruing to MPCSD for 2017-18 will be just under $33,000.

According to last year’s tax bill, this property was valued at $911,279. Of its total tax bill of $13,491, $2,749 went to MPCSD. The increase, therefore, will be just over $30,000.

Fellow Menlo Park (and San Mateo County) residents, let’s take a moment to thank both the buyers and sellers of this property. They appear not to be taking advantage of the Prop 13 loopholes and tax stratagems that allow commercial property owners to pay an ever-smaller share of our local services. (And, since the property was in an LLC, they probably could have.)

Appreciate that the new owners will be paying over $160,000 a year more towards the fire, police, schools, courts, roads, and city services we all depend on. (Interestingly, about the same total increment as the last four houses sold on my Allied Arts block.)

Reflect that — for their 12,000 sf lot and two-story office building — they are paying $160,000 a year more towards local services than the two-story Walgreens/Unamas/Starbucks building on Santa Cruz Avenue. Both buildings were valued almost identically in 1978 when Prop 13 took effect—a parity that continued until now.

This is how the slow turnover of commercial property escalates the cost of Prop 13 to homeowners. One effect of this is the need to go out for parcel taxes. While Train Fan’s numbers are wrong, you can see that this one sale will contribute the same as 30 additional parcels would. Or, put differently, the Prop 13 benefit to the Giannotti building on Santa Cruz (Walgreens et al) requires 30 homeowners to pay parcel taxes to make up for its 1975 basis. Ditto the Trader Joe’s property (valued at about 81% of the 855 building then, now valued at less than 5% of this building). And don’t get me started on SRI, which owns an astonishing 65 acres of prime commercial property in downtown Menlo Park, all last valued for property tax purposes in 1975 and increased at less than 2% a year since.

And, in answer to an email question I just received, the Menlo Fire Protection District will receive an additional $22,320 a year as a result of this sale. MPFPD is allocated 16% of the 1% General Levy. As a result of the ERAF Shift and subsequent ERAF Rebate, the actual percent received is 15.3%, resulting in a $22,320 a year increase to that agency.

According to Linked In, Robert Wheatley Properties is a Civic and Social Organization company located in 3225 Ash St, Palo Alto, California, United States. What a wonderful opportunity for housing accessible to all conveniences.

"The incremental tax to the District will be $30,000 a year."

So....first, thanks for the reply. That said, the broader audience should be made aware that 45% of property taxes going to schools is still true in the aggregate; Jennifer knows this:

"During Fiscal Year 2015-16, the One-Percent General Tax raised $1.8 billion countywide, of which, 45 percent went to schools" . Web Link

From the controller's office in San Mateo County: Web Link

Thank you for pointing out that this example property is lower that 45% (and hey, I learned something knew, which I appreciate! Seriously, not sarcasm), but it doesn't change the fact that the aggregate average that goes to San Mateo county schools (which MPCSD is a part of) is 45%. The sale of these and other properties inevitably end up raising the revenue for the corresponding schools in the area.


Speaking of learning something new, I just turned up something interesting...I'll follow up shortly...

Forgive my surprise, Train Fan, that -- after battling the MPCSD parcel taxes so energetically a year ago -- you don't seem to understand the basics of property tax allocation here in San Mateo County.
First of all, this is not "an example property." It sits in the most populous tax rate area in Menlo Park -- 08-001. Second, all "school" taxes do not go to elementary districts (of which MPCSD is one). In 08-001, 17% goes to MPCSD, the elementary school district. 16% goes to Sequoia Union High School District (which covers south-east San Mateo County, including Atherton, Menlo Park, Woodside, East Palo Alto, Redwood City, Belmont, San Carlos, etc.). 3.6% goes to the County Office of Education. And almost 7% goes to the San Mateo Community College District. For a total of 43.3%.
Were we looking at the largest Atherton tax rate area that lies within the MPCSD district, the educational agency percentages would be a skosh lower on all fronts. Were we looking at the major Menlo Park tax rate area within the Las Lomitas School District (08-005), the percentages would be an impressive 20.6% for the elementary district (Las Lomitas) but slightly lower for all the other education entities, for a total of 45.8%. Woodside? Ditto. Portola Valley? 19% for the elementary, but lower for all the others.
Make sense to you? Probably not. Doesn't make any sense. But this is what post-Prop 13 tax allocation has resulted in. And no one seems to have the guts to change it. Or even to understand it.

" 17% goes to MPCSD, the elementary school district. 16% goes to Sequoia Union High School District (which covers south-east San Mateo County, including Atherton, Menlo Park, Woodside, East Palo Alto, Redwood City, Belmont, San Carlos, etc.). 3.6% goes to the County Office of Education. And almost 7% goes to the San Mateo Community College District. For a total of 43.3%. "

Thank you for verifying that the schools get the lion's share of property taxes even before ERAF.

And not including school construction bond payments.