Desktop property review solution increases speed and accuracy of mass appraisals

TORONTO – August 26, 2016 – Esri Canada congratulates Maricopa County for receiving the National Association of Counties’ 2016 Achievement Award and Maui County for winning the Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award. The counties were recognized for improving their assessment workflows using Assessment Analyst, Esri Canada’s desktop property review solution that allows assessors to leverage advanced spatial modelling, visualization and analytical tools to conduct efficient and accurate mass property appraisals.

“Many assessment organizations don’t have the resources to physically inspect every property within their jurisdiction,” said Michael Lomax, director, Assessment, Esri Canada. “As well, a lot of subjectivity goes into assessing a property’s value. By using Assessment Analyst, Maricopa and Maui Counties have reduced the need for physical inspections, while complying with regulatory standards for desktop reviews. We’re exceptionally proud that our solution has allowed them to be more efficient and successful in their operations.”

Maricopa County, Arizona wins 2016 National Association of Counties Award
Maricopa County was recognized for its Residential Desktop Recanvassing Program, which was initiated by Assessor Paul D. Petersen in 2013. The goal of the project is to recanvass all residential parcels in the County to capture any changes made to properties. The County selected Assessment Analyst in 2013 to re-assess a pilot area of 50,000 parcels covering North Phoenix and East Glendale, and will recover an estimated $2.5 million in additional tax revenue in 2016 for all jurisdictions. Following the tremendous success of the pilot project which saw a 5:1 return on investment, the County has renewed its agreement with Esri Canada to use Assessment Analyst to revalue all 1.2 million residential parcels in its jurisdiction over the next 10 years.

“Sending appraisers on site usually takes a minimum of 45 minutes, not including travel time from the Assessor’s Office,” noted Tim Boncoskey, chief deputy assessor, Maricopa County. “By developing a truly state-of-the-art methodology and using Assessment Analyst, our appraisers now have the ability to review and measure a parcel in compliance with IAAO standards within 15 minutes, and be accurate within a one-inch error of margin from their workstations.”

Maui County, Hawaii receives Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award
At the recent Esri User Conference in San Diego, the County of Maui Real Property Assessment Division was recognized for modernizing its land records system using Esri technology. The County has transitioned to Esri’s parcel fabric model, which has significantly improved the management and editing of cadastral data. As well, the County has implemented Assessment Analyst for its property assessment program and completed an initial pilot project in 2014 that analyzed and re-valued 8,000 properties on the island. The solution allows assessors to modify and view the County’s Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal data, building sketches, imagery, street front photos and analytics simultaneously to produce more accurate assessments.

“Previously, an assessor could typically visit and assess 15-20 parcels a day when working in the field,” said Scott Teruya, Maui County’s Real Property Tax Administrator.  “With Assessment Analyst, our assessors are capable to complete a review of 50-60 parcels a day.  The solution has helped us create streamlined and consistent workflows, track projects and provide verifiable analytics while meeting IAAO mass appraisal standards.”

See Assessment Analyst in action at booth #115 at the IAAO Conference in Tampa, Florida on August 28-31, 2016. Learn more about the solution at esri.ca/assessmentanalyst.

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography. The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from Esri, Schneider Electric, Cityworks–Azteca Systems, Inc. and other technology partners.  Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Esri Canada joined the elite rank of Canada’s Best Managed companies in 2012 and became a Gold Standard winner in 2015. The company has also been named to the Branham300. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

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