MEET SHAUNEEN GRACEY

If I become the Treasurer-Tax Collector for Nevada County, California, my responsibilities will combine two critical elected roles into one office: serving as the chief custodian of county funds as Treasurer and handling the billing and collection of property taxes plus certain special taxes as Tax Collector. This position ensures our local government has the revenue it needs for schools, public safety, roads, and other essential services, while keeping public money safe, invested wisely, and properly managed.

Here's what my day-to-day duties would look like:

As Tax Collector,
I will be responsible for billing and collecting all property taxes across Nevada County, as well as certain other specialized taxes like those related to commercial cannabis activities and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT, also known as hotel, motel, or bed tax). This covers both secured taxes (on real property like homes, land, buildings, apartments, and vacant lots) and unsecured taxes (on personal property such as business equipment, furniture, boats, airplanes, or other items).

The standard property tax process flows like this:

• The Assessor determines property values, ownership, and the initial assessment roll (including exemptions).

• The Auditor-Controller adds direct assessments and applies tax rates—typically 1% of assessed value under Proposition 13, plus any voter-approved bonds or indebtedness—and prepares the Extended Assessment Roll.

• The Tax Collector's office receives that roll, prints individual tax bills, and mails them to the property owners listed on record.

It's the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure they receive and pay their bill—failure to get one in the mail doesn't prevent penalties from applying. If someone hasn't received their bill by early November, they'll need to contact the office.

For secured taxes, payments are divided into two installments:

• First installment: Due November 1, becomes delinquent after December 10.

• Second installment: Due February 1, becomes delinquent after April 10.

If payments are late, penalties kick in:

• A 10% penalty applies immediately after each delinquent date.

• Additional fees may add up (like $10–$15 in some cases).

• After June 30 (end of the fiscal year), if still unpaid, the property becomes tax-defaulted, and interest accrues at 1.5% per month (18% annually), plus redemption fees.

• The office sends annual delinquent reminder letters outlining options to pay.

• If taxes remain unpaid for 5 or more years, I'll have the authority to initiate the Power to Sell process, which could eventually lead to a tax sale—though most cases get resolved sooner through full redemption (with penalties and interest) or installment agreements.

In addition to property taxes, my office collects cannabis taxes for legally permitted commercial cannabis activities in the unincorporated areas of Nevada County.

This includes:

• Cannabis cultivation taxes charged per square foot of cultivation area is currently $0.17 per square foot per cycle for outdoor or mixed-light tier 1, or $0.34 per square foot per cycle for mixed-light tier 2 or indoor. These are paid in installments with specific due dates throughout the year (January 12 for the first installment, June 12 for the second).

• Cannabis business taxes on gross receipts for permitted commercial cannabis operations (such as sales, distribution, or other activities), often with quarterly reporting and payments, plus annual minimum tax requirements. At fiscal year-end, the office performs an annual "true-up" to ensure minimums are met—if quarterly payments fall short, we'll invoice the business for the balance.

The Tax Collector's office also administers and collects Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) in the unincorporated areas of Nevada County. This is a 10% tax on rent and nonrefundable fees (like cleaning costs) for short-term accommodations (stays of 30 days or less) at hotels, motels, campgrounds, vacation rentals, and similar lodging facilities. Lodging operators are required to collect the tax from guests and remit it to the county on a quarterly basis (due by the last day of the month following each quarter, e.g., October 31 for Q3, January 31 for Q4, April 30 for Q1, July 31 for Q2). Returns must be filed every quarter—even if no tax is due—and can be submitted online through the Transient Occupancy Registration System. Operators must register for a TOT certificate if renting their properties for 30 days or less. Airbnb automatically collect and remit TOT for bookings made through them (since 2017), but hosts should still monitor and report directly if needed to avoid issues (e.g., misreported income to the wrong county). The county uses the tool Rentalscape to monitor short-term rentals and TOT compliance. Non-payment or under-reporting can result in penalties, audits, or enforcement actions.

All of this work ensures the county collects the funds needed to support community services.

As Treasurer,
I will serve as the elected treasurer for the County of Nevada and, ex officio, for every public entity within our boundaries—including school districts, fire districts, water districts, special districts, cemetery districts, and more.

My core duties will include:

• Receiving, safeguarding, and disbursing all public monies.

• Providing cash management services to these entities, including managing the daily cash flow needs of the County and all participating public entities to ensure funds are available when required for operations and obligations.

• Investing pooled county funds and other public monies in a prudent, compliant manner—following state laws and our county's investment policy to prioritize safety of principal, liquidity, and reasonable returns (under the Prudent Investor Standard)—while managing the investment portfolio that fluctuates from approximately $260 million to $406 million throughout each fiscal year, depending on seasonal cash flows and deposits.

  • ​An important aspect of this role is generating and apportioning interest earnings from these investments; in the last two fiscal years, interest collected has exceeded $10 million annually, and this amount is then apportioned out proportionally to all treasury pool participants based on their average daily balances.

• Managing banking relationships, deposits, portfolio monitoring, and regular investment reporting.

Public fund management is highly regulated to protect taxpayer dollars and maintain fiscal stability for the entire community—it's not the same as personal investing.

In short, if elected, I'll make sure property tax bills are accurate and collected efficiently, cannabis business and cultivation taxes are properly reported, paid, and reconciled (with true-ups and invoices as needed), Transient Occupancy Tax is monitored, registered, collected, and remitted from lodging operators (including handling online systems and platform remittances), penalties are applied fairly when required, and our county's funds are protected, invested responsibly, and available when needed to keep Nevada County strong and running smoothly.

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