About the Assessor and Recorders Office

Office of Donald O'Connor

Alpine County Assessor and Recorder

Our Hearts go out to everyone affected by the Tamarack Fire and we would like to thank everyone that helped save our community! The Tamarack Fire decimated the area and destroyed the power and communication lines to our office in Markleeville and the surrounding area. The power company has replaced the power and the communication lines were recently replaced. please fee free to call or stop by the administration building, we are here to assist you with your needs.

Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Alpine County is requiring that everyone must wear a mask while in county buildings regardless of vaccination status. Please wear a cloth face covering over your mouth and nose while in the building and please sanitize your hands when entering the building.

The Assessors Office in working on adjusting property tax values for property that we know were damaged by the Tamarack fire. Adjustments will be made per Section 170 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. If your property has more than $10,000 in damage from the fire, please fill out and send in the calamity relief form as required by Section 170.

Proposition 19 was passed by the voters of California on November 3, 2020 and changes the possible future tax obligations for children and grandchildren inheriting property after February 16, 2021. In addition, starting April 1, 2021, Prop 19 also affects disaster relief and the base year value transfers for people over 55 or disabled. Not all the details have been worked and may require additional legislation. For the current State Boards interpretation, Please refer to the State Board of Equalization's chart for more information. https://www.boe.ca.gov/prop19/

If you have a document that you would like to submit for recording, it's recommended to email our Recording Tech, Jeanette Millar, a copy of all the pages in the document, including the PCOR, prior to sending the original. She will review the document, make sure its recordable and will also provide you with the exact recording fee. This will save time and frustration by minimizing issues and unrecordable documents.

Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time.

We will update this page as the situation changes.

The Role of the County Assessor

The County Assessor, an elected official, is governed by the California Constitution, the laws passed by the Legislature, and the rules adopted by the State Board of Equalization. An individual county government does not control the County Assessor's tasks.

Annual Assessments and Functions of the Assessor

The County Assessor must annually assess all taxable property in the county, except for state-assessed property, to the person, business, or legal entity owning, claiming, possessing, or controlling the property on January 1. The duties of the County Assessor are to discover all assessable property, to inventory and list all taxable property, to value the property, and to enroll the property on the local assessment roll. The Assessor's primary responsibility is to annually determine the proper taxable value for each property so the owner is assured of paying the correct amount of property tax to partially fund the local government and school system.

These functions are largely governed by the:

• California Constitution
• California Revenue and Taxation Code
• California State Board of Equalization
   California State Board of Equalization 
• California Government Code

The Roll of the County Recorders Office

The County Recorders Office is responsible for recording, filing and the preservation of public documents associated with land transactions, including sale, lien, purchase, and easements. Once these documents are recorded, the County Recorder creates an index and makes it available for examination by interested parties and issues copies upon request. Most of the duties of the Recorder are prescribed by State law.

The County Recorder is also appointed by the State of California as the Local Registrar of Births, Marriage & Deaths. These duties include registering all Birth, Marriage & Death certificates occurring in Alpine County and transmitting those original records to the California Department of Health Services - Office of Vital Statistics.

Our office is located at 99 Water Street Markleeville, California in the Administration building. Phone Number: (530) 694-2283

Our US Postal Service mailing address is P.O. Box 155, Markleeville CA 96120

Recording hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. - excluding holidays

General office hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. - excluding holidays

Online Resources and Information California property tax: an overview 

California Property Tax: An Overview
California Government Code
California State Board of Equalization
California Revenue and Taxation Code
California State Constitution - Article XIII & Article XIIIA pertains to property taxation
California State Board of Equalization Property Taxes Information
California Health and Safety Code
California Laws