Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers

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	Challenges in Assessing Due To COVID-19 by Samuel E. Konieczny, MAA	0		C. Wilcock	It was March 17th 2020, St. Patrick’s day, and the Town Hall in Agawam was closed to all “non-essential” personnel and the public as a result of the onset of COVID-19. The entire Assessing Department in Agawam went on paid administrative leave and was told to not report to the Office by the Mayor. This was unprecedented, and of course I had a lot of work to do- wrapping up some of the Real and Personal Property abatements, beginning my new growth inspections, finalizing the Senior and Veteran exemptions and granting or denying them, there was the Desk Review that I needed to complete from a CAMA conversion that went live in mid-February this year, along with the MVE abatements that were coming in from the RMV’s largest commitment of the year, and then there were the Cyclical Inspections, Personal Property Inspections, and Sales Inspections that were ongoing, but ramping up because the weather wasn’t as atrocious. ALL of this came to a screeching halt. I was not only worried about this virus and the potential health risks it posed, I was also concerned as to how my office was going to function. In the next few paragraphs, I am going to list some best practices that I have developed to allow us as Assessors to utilize both technology and safety protocols to actually function at a higher level than before. I don’t want to say that there is a silver lining to any of what COVID-19 has brought about, however, it was a catalyst for pushing us to use different methods to collect data, work remotely, and still provide a high level of service to our customers. Let’s start with doing our Real Estate inspections. COVID-19 eliminated the interior inspection for most residential properties, and for some towns and cities, even the exterior inspection was placed on hold. The best way I have found to work around these issues has been with the use video inspections for interior purposes and using oblique imagery from a company like NearMap or EagleView to actually measure the exteriors of structures with a high degree of accuracy. With this imagery you can measure to within 3 inches of accuracy (Assessors typically will use a delta of 6 inches), so this exceeds our needs. Both products have measuring tools to calculate almost measurement- area, perimeter, length, width, height, etc., and because the imagery is done with the leaves off, I guarantee you will find plenty of new growth as a result of these products. (Think ROI for justification to purchase these products when approaching City Council or Select Board). Properties that have fences, or deny the Assessor access to at least measure, are now able to be accurately assessed using this technology. A large majority of exterior inspections can now be done from the safety of our computer either remotely or in the office, and we can even do these types of inspections in inclement weather- (think increased productivity)! If the taxpayer wants an interior inspection done, we most often can do this via a video inspection using a mobile app like FaceTime or Skype (there are many more, but I am just listing the basics here). A best practice is to NOT record any portion of the video inspection. There are legal reasons for this. Another technology that I highly recommend be used in tandem with the oblique imagery is Change Detection. NearMap has a great partnership with a company called Pushpin, and after you have given Pushpin a shape file with the parcel IDs of your town or city, you can compare a prior year’s orthographic image with the most recent one, and you will actually get an Excel file with all of the changes from those two time periods. In other words, you will now have a list of all new construction, demolitions, additions, sheds, pools, patios, wood decks, etc., as well as the corresponding Parcel ID, and what type of change. This enables us as Assessors to focus solely on the parcels that have changed, and increases our ability to remain efficient. Another great tool to utilize is the laser measuring device. Now we aren’t touching a dirty tape that has been dragged across the ground through who knows what (yuck!) and we can do this with much greater accuracy. So, this too can be a great reason to justify the purchase of one. I recommend that you do not buy a cheap laser though since this will be a waste of municipal funds. Rather purchase one that has the ability to zoom in on the end point. This is necessary for long distances and on those bright and sunny days when the laser beam is essentially not visible. (Leica D810 Touch or comparable). So, we can now do our exterior inspections- even remotely, with technology. How do we do the Personal Property, Commercial and Industrial, as well as new construction inspections? Since most C and I, and individual businesses are now open, we can do both the interior and exteriors. However, it is here that common sense precautions should be taken each time we do an interior inspection- i.e. wearing a mask, having ample hand sanitizer for each inspection (before and after), as well as maintaining a safe distance from others. I also wipe the steering wheel and all other surfaces that may have been touched in my vehicle at points throughout the day with disinfecting wipes. Believe it or not, I even wipe down my clipboard, pens, and even the laser buttons each time as well. Through the use of these principles, we are greatly reducing our risk of exposure. The main point that I am trying to make here is to just be careful and diligent! Moving into the office, there are several ways we can reduce the influx of customers into the assessor’s office if your town or city has already opened. Motor Vehicle Excise Abatements are one of the leading reasons that we have customers coming to our office, and I highly recommend getting the form online and utilizing a product such as Seamless Documents to actually create an online submission for this. The taxpayer can fill out and upload all required documentation and submit this MVE Abatement online. We are then able to communicate through email with the taxpayer if additional information is needed. The types of forms we can offer online in this format are numerous, and the ability to provide online submissions will make it easier for the public, as well as reduce the number of customers that actually need to physically enter our offices. (Think State Tax Form 2- the FOL being submitted through an electronic repository!) Another extremely valuable technology to utilize is the use of web conferencing. Zoom, WebEx, and Google Meet are all excellent resources, and this technology can allow us to interface on a more personal level through video. This will be the new norm for many of our discussions that we will have with attorneys regarding potential ATB settlements, RE and PP abatements, as well as meeting with various vendors or other committees. Again, this relates to COVID-19 and social distancing. As we move forward into a new “normal” we all must adapt to be able to complete our required duties as the Assessor during this pandemic. Through the use of technology and best practices, we can not only meet these requirements, we can exceed them by improving our data collection processes, providing a higher level of customer service, and most importantly reducing the risk from contracting COVID-19. I wish everyone health and safety! Samuel E. Konieczny, MAA, City Assessor for the City of Worcester by C. Wilcock Friday, December 18, 2020