City Refunding Surplus Special Assessment District Funds to Current and Former Property Owners

The Council of the City of San José has resolved to refund surplus funds for expired improvement districts.

Surplus funds include (a) assessments that were previously billed in installments in annual Santa Clara County real property tax bills, (b) reserve funds that were established in order to pay debt service on bonds in the case of deficient payments, and (c) water main deposit repayments from private water companies of assessment bond funds secured for the installation of water supply facilities.

To view the Council Memo describing the disbursement of Surplus Funds, click here.
To view the Resolution authorizing the disbursement of Surplus Funds, click here.

See also:

• Refundable Balances and Claim Due Dates
• Refund Eligibility
• List of Eligible Recipients
• Claim Forms/Deadlines
• Contact Information

Refundable Balances and Claim Due Dates

The refundable balances and claim due dates by surplus fund type are:

* Funds are held in the City’s investment pool and earn interest at the investment pool rate.

Back to Top

Refund Eligibility

Assessments and Reserve Funds
Property owners eligible for surplus assessment and reserve refunds were identified as follows:

• Assessment funds:  Property owners that owned assessed parcels on the date that the bonds for the applicable expired district were paid off.
• Reserve funds:  Property owners that owned assessed parcels on the date that the bonds for the applicable expired district were paid off; and, property owners of assessed parcels that paid off the assessment in full prior to the bonds being paid off.

Water Main Deposit Repayment Funds
Property owners eligible for surplus water main deposit repayment refunds are as follows:

• Water main deposit repayment funds: All property owners of assessed parcels during the term of the respective districts.  The refunds will be apportioned to the owners of the assessed parcels based on the length of ownership.

Back to Top

List of Eligible Recipients

1. Assessment & Reserve Funds
   
   Historic property ownership information available from the County Assessor’s Office made it possible to identify past assessees eligible for refunds according to the prescribed refund methodologies.  The City is attempting to contact these eligible recipients directly by mail.
   
   Properties eligible for surplus assessment and reserve refunds date from 1989-2005. 
   
   You can view the list of eligible properties and corresponding past assessees in three ways:
   
   To view the list sorted by Owner Name, click here.
   To view the list sorted by APN, click here.
   To view the list sorted by Site Address, click here.
   

2. Water Main Deposit Repayment Funds
   
   

   Owners of the parcels within the 13 districts listed below who owned during the term of the respective district are eligible for a refund from the water main deposit repayment funds.  The terms of these districts fall between 1974 and 2003.
   
   The districts and estimated refundable balances as of February 28, 2011, have been identified as follows:

Click here to view a map of the districts to help determine if property you or a related entity owned during the applicable district life was in one or more districts.

Back to Top

Assessments and Reserve Funds

If you believe that you or a related entity are eligible for a refund of surplus assessment and/or reserve funds because (1) you are on the list of the past assessees eligible for refund or (2) a property for which you have ownership rights retroactive to the noted ownership date is on the list (see lists above), please contact the City’s Assessment Refund Claims group in the Finance Department (see contact information below) to request a claim form.

Claims must be mailed and postmarked by March 27, 2012 (assessment funds) or May 12, 2014 (reserve funds) after which time the funds are scheduled to become the property of the City.

Water Main Deposit Repayment Funds

If you believe that you or a related entity are eligible for a refund of surplus water main deposit repayment funds because (1) you owned property in the City of San Jose at some point between 1974-2003 and (2) based on a review of the maps it appears that the property lies within the boundaries of one or more districts, you can find the Claim Form and other required information by clicking on the links below:

• Claim Form for Surplus Water Main Deposit Repayment Funds
• IRS form W-9

Claims must be mailed and postmarked by May 12, 2014 for water main deposit repayment funds after which time the funds are scheduled to become the property of the City.

Back to Top

 

Contact Information

Inquiries or questions should be directed to:

Finance Department
Assessment Refund Claims
200 E. Santa Clara St., 13th Fl. Tower
San José, CA 95113-1905
(408) 975-3799
RefundClaims@sanjoseca.gov

Back to Top