Santa Clara County’s annual property tax statement does not provide property owner’s itemized costs for every different assessment, such as bonds and the pension levy. Unlike our county, Alameda, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties do offer this information.

I contacted the Tax Collector’s office and asked why this pertinent data was missing. It was explained to me that Santa Clara County officials had discussed including this information on the annual statement, but ultimately chose to not to do so. Instead, interested taxpayers are left to figure it out on their own.

Why would Santa Clara County officials omit relevant financial data? Perhaps it is because government entities seek new tax increases in every election. Residents would be better served by full transparency where each specific line item is easily discernible.

This essential information allows residents to understand what they are already paying for when considering how to vote on additional new tax increases.

Pierluigi Oliverio
Former San Jose Councilmember