OC Supervisors Consider Tax Relief During Coronavirus Crisis

SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County supervisors today will discuss a proposal to provide property tax relief to residents hammered financially by the COVID-19 crisis.

The proposal from Supervisor Andrew Do would waive penalties and fines for delinquent property tax payments for residents hurt financially by coronavirus.

Do wants to give residents a 90-day waiver of penalties for property tax payments.

“If this is not a catastrophe to warrant some kind of accommodation, then what is?” Do said.

The supervisors are also poised to consider an emergency moratorium against all evictions for county-owned properties through June 30 if the tenant can't pay the rent due to costs related to coronavirus.

Supervisors will also discuss cutting red tape to give county employees sick leave if they are out for an extended time to recuperate from the virus or help someone in their family recover from the sickness.

Do and other county officials will hold a news conference this afternoon to provide greater details on the planning going into the expected surge in coronavirus cases in Orange County.

On Monday, county health officials reported 37 more coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 464.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the county's total at four.

The first death, which was reported last Tuesday, involved a 75-year- old man who was hospitalized March 17 and died two days later. Two deaths were reported Friday and a fourth was reported Saturday, but no further information was released about those patients.

Two new cases were reported in Orange County's jails, Sheriff Don Barnes said. That brings the total number of men who have tested positive for coronavirus in custody to five, the sheriff said.

Since Friday, about 130 inmates were released early to make room in the jail for an expected surge in cases. Forty-three of those inmates were designated at risk because of their age or health, and the rest had 10 days or less to go on their sentence. Barnes said he would go up to 60 days left on a sentence to consider for early release if more beds are needed in the jails.

Photo: Getty Images


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