Local Briefs

San Mateo County property owners are the target of the Property Tax Assessor Records Corp., a company that solicits $25 for filing a homeowner’s exemption claim, a service that is provided for free by all Assessors Offices in California, according to Warren Slocum, San Mateo County assessor. The notice is printed on a postcard with a note "Dear Taxpayer,” advising property owners of a homeowner’s exemption that they are eligible for if they fill-out and mail back the form on the postcard and pay a fee of $25.

"We offer this service to all property owners free of charge,” Slocum said. "There is absolutely no need to pay an outside service. Typically, a homeowner can receive up to $70 a year in annual property tax savings. Paying for this service diminishes the return of this state program by 35 percent and cheats the homeowner out of these savings.”

Calls have been coming into the Assessor’s Office from homeowners who are confused by the notice.

The Homeowner’s Exemption is a property tax program that reduces the assessed value of an owner-occupied residence by a maximum of $7,000 and results in a property tax annual savings of approximately $70 for qualified homeowners. To qualify for the exemption, the property owner must occupy a property as the principal place of residence on Jan. 1, or within 90 days after the date the property was acquired, or new construction completed.

Man suspected of strangling his mother

A 51-year-old man is facing charges he strangled his 83-year-old mother in the home they shared this week, Daly City police reported Friday.

Police and firefighters were called to what they thought was a routine medical emergency at 224 Westbrook Ave. on Tuesday morning. They found Constance Courtney dead and "noted unusual conditions’’ that prompted further investigation, according to a police report. On Thursday, police arrested her son Thomas Courtney on suspicion of murder.

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