https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Administration


Screenshot of Ramsey County, Minn.'s assessor's report.

Article

Updating the assessor report: A new approach

Updating the assessor report: A new approach

Ramsey County, Minn.'s new guiding practice is that any dataset available on its open data portal must include a data story
  • Written by Kristine Grill
  • 3rd March 2021

Assessors’ offices exist to provide fair and equitable property valuations for a jurisdiction. These valuations power the property taxes that fund important public services including parks, libraries, social services, public safety health, roads and recycling. The foundation of an equitable valuation process is the assessor’s ability to create consistency around how each property is treated. The accuracy of data used for assessments is critical, as is its transparency.

While assessor reports contain valuable data and context, these dense PDFs are not known for being user-friendly. For most, navigating and understanding these reports is a challenge.

 

Demystifying data empowers communities

In Ramsey County, Minn. — like many jurisdictions — those seeking property tax information had to file a request, wait for it to rise to the top of the queue, wait for staff to pull the data, and wait for a response.

Determined to find a better way, Ramsey County Assessor Luis Rosario requested a new approach to simplify and enhance access to annual assessment report via the county’s open data site.

“Picture the scenario where an appraiser is visiting with a property owner with questions about changes in their home’s value,” he explains. “With our report in our open data portal, we can pull up their neighborhood data on a map to review median values, compare trends, and explain more of our process in real time. We can provide faster service this way, which is highly efficient for us, too.”

He recognized that broader access to easy-to-understand, intuitively organized information is important for decision-makers, residents, and other government personnel. For example, individuals can determine when property assessment appeals may be advisable, or they can surface areas for corrective action in the assessment process. In addition, staff in community or economic development can tap into the data to analyze assessment changes over time and better understand trends for specific neighborhoods or communities.

 

The power of storytelling

This is quite a change from how we used to share report data – in Excel spreadsheets and one very large PDF file. With only static information to offer, we fielded a significant volume of information requests, especially from titling and real estate professionals.

These requests have declined with the interactive dashboard that helps facilitate self-service. More than 5,000 viewers have visited the dashboard’s landing page since its inception, a significant increase in viewers over the previous year’s PDF report.

Powered by Tyler Technologies’ enterprise data platform, the dashboard includes a collection of data story pages that provide context and narrative around the report data. We have used Tyler’s data storytelling app for other topics, including voter turnout, homelessness response, and even the county’s deer population.

For assessor information, the dynamic webpages are a true departure from digging for data in a PDF. They offer maps and interactive datasets on a range of topics, including median property value. The story content provides a useful step-by-step narrative, and the underlying data is available for further analysis. We received emails from academic researchers who appreciate the data in this format, and we know that county residents, staff, and other assessors are downloading our datasets from the site and digging deeper.

 

ROI

Internally, providing the report in this new format will save our team nearly 200 hours annually. Because of critical innovations like this report, the Assessor’s Office has not reduced staff during the pandemic. We can leave one open position unfilled, and work more efficiently with existing staff. The intuitive nature of the dashboard means that staff members of all abilities can work with the data. Reports and insight are available at the click of a button and in record time.

In addition to the time savings, the new approach brought together two sides of our assessment house: commercial and residential. As we planned the report, we discovered the two teams had slight differences in their processes, which can be common in counties. One of the benefits for all of us was getting everyone in a room together to agree on a single process for presenting the data. Now people can compare commercial and residential in a more apples-to-apples way.

The result has been a positive return on investment. On the public service end, residents are empowered with clear explanations and context for what is going on in the county and with their property. We’ve expanded our audience and our reach, which is a huge win for transparency and education. For staff, employees no longer answer the same questions repeatedly, and the county will realize thousands of dollars in time savings.

Our new guiding practice in Ramsey County is that any dataset available on the portal must include a data story. As we’re mastering storytelling, we’re moving from data points to holistic pictures, a practice that that will ultimately help us create more informed constituencies, boost policy buy-in, and improve faith in county staff and officials.

 

Kristine Grill is Ramsey County, Minn.’s Open Data Coordinator.

Tags: Administration Smart Cities & Technology Administration Smart Cities & Technology Article

Most Recent


  • Amid shifting workplace expectations, local government employers must adapt
    Constrained by inflexible budgets, local government employers can’t compete with the lucrative salaries offered in the private sector. And while recruitment has always been a challenge for public employers, the last two years have been especially difficult. From January 2020 to the same month this year, government organizations lost around 600,000 jobs—more than manufacturing, wholesale […]
  • baseball
    Minor league baseball is helping cities hit a revitalization home run
    It’s that time of year again—the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd when the home team hits a home run, not to mention the peanuts, Cracker Jacks and hot dogs! Nothing compares to the fun of gameday at the stadium, enjoying the national pastime of baseball. Some mid-sized cities have taken the […]
  • MSPs
    The MSP downstream cyberthreat paradox: Understanding the city and county connection
    Recently the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) along with the FBI, NSA, and international cyber authorities issued a cybersecurity advisory aimed at protecting managed service providers (MSPs) and their customers. This high-level advisory has been gestating for some time ever since the SolarWinds and Kaseya supply chain cyber-attacks. A software supply chain attack occurs […]
  • Philanthropic group to launch assistance portal for local admins navigating federal bureaucracy
    A joint venture announced Tuesday by a group of philanthropic organizations—in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities (NLC) and Results for America—seeks to help small and mid-sized communities secure their piece of the $550 billion in funding available for local governments navigating federal bureaucracy. The digital portal will launch […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Lessons from your friendly neighborhood public service employees
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery

White papers


The PIO’s Ultimate Guide to Social Media

16th May 2022

Gain Greater Visibility Into Your Public Works Fleet

16th May 2022

Arizona Arts Center Meets Rapid Deadline with Hundreds of Thousands in Savings

26th April 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Amid shifting workplace expectations, local government employers must adapt dlvr.it/SQm2RT

20th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Smart911 emergency profiles provide first responders with more information, faster dlvr.it/SQh9gl

19th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Minor league baseball is helping cities hit a revitalization home run dlvr.it/SQc5N4

18th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council can help governments get up to speed on sustainable buys dlvr.it/SQbwqL

18th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

The MSP downstream cyberthreat paradox: Understanding the city and county connection dlvr.it/SQYVjs

17th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Philanthropic group to launch assistance portal for local admins navigating federal bureaucracy dlvr.it/SQY16G

17th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Nearly 95 percent of America’s mayors face harassment, threats and violence dlvr.it/SQTn2z

16th May 2022
AmerCityCounty

The PIO’s Ultimate Guide to Social Media dlvr.it/SQTdCK

16th May 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X