Hearing officer abates 10% late‑filing penalty but sustains assessor’s $135,000 vessel valuation in Morris appeal

Hearing Officer Deborah Cohen abated a 10% penalty added to Nicholas Morris’s 2025 vessel tax bill but upheld the assessor’s enrolled value after a contested hearing at the Ventura County Assessment Appeals office.

Morris told the hearing that he mailed his 2025 vessel property statement before the May 7 deadline but the assessor’s office did not receive it. “I did mail it in … I sent it,” Morris said during testimony. The assessor’s presentation documented that the assessor had not received a timely statement and that, under state law, a 10% penalty may be applied where filing is required and not received. After hearing Morris describe the circumstances and review his payment evidence, Cohen said she found his testimony credible and abated the penalty.

The hearing then turned to the vessel’s market value for the 2025 roll. The assessor presented a three‑step approach: accept the verified 2022 purchase price as the initial year valuation (with statutory additions such as sales tax), then apply Board‑of‑Equalization‑recommended market trend factors for subsequent years. The assessor’s exhibits showed a 2023 base (purchase) price adjusted and trended to produce a 2025 full market value of $135,000.

Morris offered marketplace listings and insurance paperwork showing comparable vessels for sale in the $114,000–$124,000 range and testified that his vessel appeared over‑assessed by the assessor’s trend method. The assessor countered that the assessor’s office must include sales tax and follow established trend factors; the office also presented a nearby sale and insurance valuation that supported an enrolled value near the assessor’s figure.

After closing arguments, Cohen sustained the assessor’s enrolled value for tax year 2025. She directed the clerk and assessor to follow normal procedures for issuing findings and for any auditor/auditor‑controller actions about refunds or penalty reconciliation.

The hearing record shows: penalty abated (on credibility of applicant testimony and submitted payment evidence) and enrollment value sustained (assessor methodology accepted). The assessor and Morris may follow remaining administrative steps for adjustments or refund processing as required.

The assessor’s office and Morris were present; the hearing officer said a written notice of the decision and the assessor’s findings will be issued through the clerk’s normal channels.