Got rent?
From SF Gate, 8/24/11. "The California commission in charge of leases on state lands has
failed to collect millions of dollars in payments, an audit released
Tuesday has found. The audit of the State Lands Commission, conducted by State Auditor
Elaine Howle, found that the commission has not evicted businesses that
have failed to pay rent for many years and is slow to reappraise the
value of leased land that could lead to higher payments to the state.One Bay Area business, Crockett Marine Service in Contra Costa County, has not paid rent to the state since 1989 and owes $662,000, including penalties and interest, the auditor found. Nine other businesses have not paid rent for many years as well. The audit was a sampling of 35 leases overseen by the commission and in those Howle found about $8.2 million in uncollected revenue. The Lands Commission oversees about 1,000 leases that require businesses or other entities to pay rent to the state, along with 3,200 leases that don't generate revenue.
"The report concludes the commission has not always managed its more than 4,000 leases in the state's best interest with the result that it has missed opportunities to generate millions of dollars in revenues for the state's general fund," Howle wrote in a letter Tuesday to Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders that accompanied the audit. In the 35 leases sampled, the auditor found a total of $1.6 million in delinquent payments, about $270,000 in potential increases from expired leases and about $6.3 million worth of potential increases in rent for current leases.The State Lands Commission oversees about 4.5 million acres in California, including rivers, lakes and coastline. It also is responsible for school land. Most of the money generated by leases - a total of more than $400 million last year that went to the state's general fund - came from royalties on oil taken from the ground. Read More,,,
Posted by Kathy Meeh
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