Candidate for
Assessor, County Clerk and Recorder; County of Riverside

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY

My name is JIM BRZYTWA. I am asking for your support, and your vote, in my candidacy for the office of the Riverside County Assessor - County Clerk - Recorder (ACR). I am running for this office because I believe that I can make changes that will benefit the public.

Briefly, the Assessor is responsible for finding, inventorying, and valuing all taxable property within Riverside County. The County Clerk performs many ministerial tasks, including issuing marriage licenses and conducting civil marriage ceremonies, registering or filing notary public, fictitious business name, surety insurer, and other documents, and processing passport applications. The Recorder copies, indexes, and archives all official and public documents relating to property and other interests in the County, and maintains vital statistics records related to births, deaths, and marriages. The ACR employs over 500 people and is responsible for an annual budget in excess of 40 million dollars.

The property tax laws are numerous and complex. The Assessor must interpret and apply these laws evenly and fairly to all property and taxpayers alike. Also, the Assessor and appraisal staff must exercise sound judgment when deriving the value on which property will be taxed. The County Clerk and the Recorder functions, too, are governed by detailed laws.

The ACR is a low profile office compared to those of the District Attorney or the Sheriff. Because of its low visibility, the ACR has become wasteful and inefficient. In spite of technological advances, many functions are performed with a "we've-always-done-it-this-way" mentality. Over the years, management has developed an institutional attitude focused first on growing the bureaucracy, fueled by regularly increased fees and charges for products and services. Actual service to the public is secondary in importance. The public is serviced and tolerated as a nuisance that must be cultivated mainly as a source of income. I will do my best to change this!

With nearly 32 years of experience in county government, and 24 years as an attorney, I have the ability to personally analyze and interpret complex factual and legal issues that arise in the course of leading and managing the ACR and its staff. I have hands-on experience in many facets of the tasks performed and can identify areas that are either unnecessary, inefficient, or in need of improvement.

My plan is to personally review all policies and procedures to insure that the public is priority number one. My overall goal is to provide quality service at least cost. Specifically, I want to:

• expand internet access to all public records maintained in the office
• reduce fees and charges for services
• speed up the property assessment process
• insure that daytime phone calls are answered by live persons
• resolve taxpayer disputes as simply and directly as possible
• unlock a $34,000,000 Recorder's fund that grows from inflated recording fees

Phone: (951) 686-8476 - email: jbrzytwa@electbrzytwa.org - web site: http://www.electbrzytwa.org