|
|
Property photos to aid in assessing tax valuesBy Lisa Majors-Duff |
Digital photographs taken of the county's 17,000 residences and businesses will be stored on a computer data base and used to assess property values for tax purposes. After John Browning (top) takes the photo from inside this van, Matt Oberting (bottom) downloads the image and links it with its property PIN number and other information used in the county's GIS system. "We can also pinpoint the exact latitude and longitude of each property," Oberting said as he linked each to a multi-layered data base through a Global Positioning System. |
Smile, Jackson County, you're on Candid Camera.
Well, not exactly, but all county residences and businesses will be digitally photographed and stored on a computer data base for use by the tax assessor's office. "(The photos) will be a valuable tool for this office," said tax assessor Cecil Dills. "We'll use them in the revaluation process to determine the value of county houses." Transmap of Columbus, Ohio, has been contracted to take the digital photographs and link them with property information on file in the county's mapping office. Once the project is complete, all county offices will have access to the new information as part of the GIS system being installed. Cost to the county for the work is $45,575. The benefits of the digital photographs are two-fold, Dills said. First, the images will cut significantly the time involved to appraise a single piece of property, which in the past had included return visits to verify measurements taken on an initial visit. Instead of driving back to the property for this purpose, Dills said, a review of the data can be made by comparing the figures with an image on a computer screen. |
|
Another benefit to digital photographs would come into play if a property owner wanted to appeal an appraiser's value.
Original plans called for the imaging process to be conducted by county employees. In fact, commissioners approved the necessary software. But the extra work on top of an in-house revaluation made the work nearly impossible for the tax assessor's staff, Dills said. Most of those familiar with digital photography of county property know that Buncombe County commissioners recently decided not to go through with similar plans. What happened there, Dills said, involved a group of vocal citizens who have a history of opposing county decisions. They claimed invasion of privacy, and commissioners pulled the plug, he said. "This can be a double-edged sword," he said. "We are charged with appraising property for tax purposes, and the taxpayer demands we do so as accurately as possible. This is just another tool for getting the job done." Area residents have the right to not have their property photographed, but Dills countered that the accuracy of the photos for determining tax values outweighs any feeling of privacy invasion. "A picture is, after all, worth a 1,000 words," he said. In fact, Dills just recently related this information to an irate caller, who, once he understood the value of the photos, invited the crew back to take pictures of his home. About half the county's 17,000 parcels have been photographed, with the remainder to be captured after the holiday season. Residents should know that the vans used the process say "Jackson County Real Estate Imaging Project" and include a phone number to the tax assessor's office. The vans are also equipped with yellow flashing lights. The future use of the photos will be just as important for assessing tax values, Dills said. Not only can updated pictures be compared to older photos to determine the value of improvements and additions, but new photos can also indicate destruction of property, which would require an adjustment lower than previous figures. Though the images collected will be considered public information available to all, Dills emphasized the fact that his office will not release the information via the Internet. Transmap's work should be completed by February, with any missed properties to be photographed by the tax assessor's office at a later date. |
Back to Archive: 12-30-99. |