Later in 2011, weeks after the company announced it would acquire the commercial real estate giant Newmark Knight Frank, which manages millions of square feet of
By the end of 2012, the assessor-recorder-county clerk owned as much as
Many assessors in
Professional groups say there is no specific standard for elected assessors when it comes to such investments.
"I contacted two staff members who used to work in assessment offices and they concurred that they were not aware that any IAAO standard addresses this situation," said
"Assessors are typically very aware of situations that could create the perception of conflict of interest," he said by email.
Dronenburg said there is nothing improper about investing in a real estate firm that manages property subject to his assessment because
"There cannot be a conflict of interest with property taxes if they don't own the property," he wrote in response to questions.
The county assessor noted his investments amount to a fraction of the value of the multibillion-dollar companies and said his finances are publicly disclosed and regularly audited by outside agencies, including the state
"In all my years in office and with regular review by multiple oversight agencies, my investments and personal finances have been found to be in full compliance without any issue," he wrote.
Determining a precise value of investments disclosed by public officials is tricky because California Form 700 provides only four ranges:
In 2014, Dronenburg invested in
The tax assessment on the plant has doubled in the past four years -- from
Two months after the Gilead investment, Dronenburg purchased up to
Dronenburg, who lives and owns a family flower farm near the
* * *
Dronenburg was already a wealthy man when he announced his candidacy for
A career tax professional who served on the state
According to the financial disclosure he filed as a candidate, most of Dronenburg's assets were held in mutual funds and bonds.
He reported accounts with Vanguard and Franklin Funds worth up to
In his first year as county assessor, Dronenburg amended his investment portfolio, disposing of the bank bonds and investing in
Over the next several years, Dronenburg acquired interests in oil production, medical device makers, robotics, computer software, optical technology and pharmaceutical research.
He said there was no deliberate change in his approach to investing, and he still keeps most of his personal wealth in mutual funds that are not required to be disclosed.
"No average person would consider me to be an active trader," Dronenburg wrote. "My investment strategy, with a strong emphasis on mutual funds, has not changed in 15 years."
Under state law, county assessors are to report their interests in real estate and corporate stock to the
Additionally, state regulators audit practices exercised by individual county assessors and issue public reports of their findings.
The latest assessment in
* * *
"My opponent can have a directly beneficial impact on these companies and he stands to benefit himself from that potentially beneficial impact," he said. "This is the very definition of a conflict of interest."
Strabone said assessors should be prohibited from investing in companies that own property within their jurisdiction.
"Sometimes holding public office requires sacrifice, and this is a reasonable and necessary sacrifice for the County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk to make," he said.
Dronenburg said he complies with every rule and reports all of his investments.
"Transparency to taxpayers is of the utmost importance to me and I am being transparent now as I have always been," he wrote.
[email protected] (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
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