Judge sides with Sutter County assessor

Sutter County's assessor needed only 20 minutes Wednesday to gain the upper hand in a tax dispute that could define the power of his post — and of the county's elected officials.

During a hearing in Sutter County Superior Court, a retired Solano County judge provisionally ruled the county must pay for a separate attorney to represent Michael Strong.

Strong has battled the county's counsel and supervisors over a property tax settlement with Fremont-Rideout Health Group, signed in June over his objections.

Judge R. Michael Smith may sign a final ruling as early as Friday, though County Counsel Ronald Erickson may propose his own wording of the decision before then. The ruling does not specify who must represent Strong, although he has said he would retain Roseville-based attorney Dennis Cota, who appeared with him at the hearing.

Fremont-Rideout in February filed a claim to recoup $885,024 of property taxes it claimed the county wrongly collected from 2006 to 2008 on its Yuba City medical center. Hospitals normally are exempt from state property levies, but Strong argued the hospital group failed to record its ownership title in Yuba City with the assessor's office after its 2005 merger with Rideout Memorial Hospital, and thus waived the tax break.

Supervisors reportedly agreed in a May 19 closed session to pay the hospital group $588,024, and Supervisor Jim Whiteaker co-signed the settlement June 30 with a hospital executive. The board on Aug. 18 rebuffed Strong's request to hire a private attorney at county expense, leading to Wednesday's hearing.

In his ruling, Smith agreed with Strong's stance that enforcing exemption rules is part of the assessor's duties, and that Erickson could not represent Strong because of their clash over the Fremont-Rideout settlement.

Later Wednesday, Strong said he plans to consult with Cota before bringing the tax settlement issue back before supervisors, possibly at their Sept. 29 board meeting.

A second dispute springing from the hospital settlement remains in play. Supervisors last week ordered Auditor-Controller Robert Stark to release the funds to Fremont-Rideout, but Stark has declined, demanding that supervisors either document their decision or re-vote in public.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.