Case Study: Kauai Modernizes Homestead Administration
Organization Profile
- Tyler Client Since: 2000
- Number of Employees: XXX
- Population: 73,747
- Tyler Solutions Used: Enterprise Assessment & Tax, Content Manager
- Profile: The County of Kauai is located on Hawaii’s oldest and fourth largest island, dubbed the “Garden Island”. Kauai partners with Tyler Technologies to modernize government services, create efficiencies, and enhance the resident experience for their nearly 80,000 residents.
ABOUT
The County of Kauai Real Property Division serves the Garden Isle’s property owners, managing homestead exemptions for approximately 13,500 residential properties. Kauai looked to Tyler Technologies for a modern solution that would leverage their existing CAMA investment while dramatically improving the citizen experience and staff efficiency.
Tyler connected Kauai with TrueRoll, a specialized partner in property tax workflow automation. Together, this partnership delivered the first fully integrated end-toend homestead administration solution — creating a model for Tyler clients across Hawaii and beyond.
THE CHALLENGE
Like many Tyler clients, the County of Kauai faced growing pressure to modernize citizen-facing services while maximizing the value of their Enterprise Assessment & Tax investment. Specific challenges included:
Paper-based Processes: For decades, residents applying for homestead exemptions were required to submit paper forms in person, often facing long lines and processing delays around annual filing deadlines. Staff estimated that approximately 90% of applications arrived on paper.
Manual Data Entry: Each application required manual entry into Enterprise Assessment & Tax, consuming valuable staff time. With thousands of homestead filings processed annually, the workload strained available resources.
Disconnected Systems: Previous solutions could handle online submissions but couldn’t process paper applications or integrate directly with Enterprise Assessment & Tax, forcing staff to work across multiple platforms.
Limited Visibility: Without proactive monitoring capabilities, ineligible exemptions went undetected, resulting in lost revenue and inequitable tax distribution across the county.
This launch reflects Kauai’s commitment to serving our residents with progressive, technology-forward solutions. By reducing paperwork and enabling secure online submissions, we’re making life easier for homeowners while freeing up staff to reposition their duties from a data entry role to a data validation and decision supporter role, and also allows additional time for thorough customer service.
Scott Teruya
AAS, Real Property Tax Manager, County of Kauai
THE SOLUTION
Tyler worked with the County of Kauai to implement TrueRoll’s Application Vetter platform, creating a direct integration with Enterprise Assessment & Tax that extends the CAMA system’s capabilities without requiring custom development or additional Tyler licensing. This partnership produced several key capabilities:
Seamless Integration: Kauai was the first Tyler client to enable direct integration between TrueRoll and their Enterprise Assessment & Tax environment. The solution leverages Tyler’s Inquire module and configurable API queries to enable automatic, scheduled data refreshes — eliminating manual data transfers entirely. Approved applications flow directly into Enterprise Assessment & Tax’s pending transactions, where staff can validate and commit them to the database.
Unified Paper and Digital Processing: TrueRoll’s generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered OCR technology processes both online and paper applications through a single platform before flowing into Enterprise Assessment & Tax. Paper applications achieve 95%+ accuracy rates, handling various form formats without rigid template requirements — critical for Kauai, where 90% of applications historically arrived on paper.
Online Resident Portal: The new Online Homestead Application system allows residents to apply anytime, anywhere — from their computer or mobile phone. Residents can upload required documents, including IDs, directly from their smartphone. The intuitive interface reduces errors and incomplete submissions, improving data quality flowing into Enterprise Assessment & Tax.
Automated Eligibility Validation: Application Vetter automatically validates submissions against multiple criteria — ID verification, name matching against deed records in Enterprise Assessment & Tax, duplicate detection, and multiproperty homestead checks. Clean applications flow through for expedited processing; exceptions get flagged for staff review, letting the team focus on cases that actually need human judgment.
This integration proves what’s possible when CAMA providers and specialized workflow partners work together. Tyler clients get the best of both worlds — a robust assessment platform enhanced by purpose-built automation that extends what Enterprise Assessment & Tax can do for citizens and staff.
Tyler Masterson
CEO and Co-Founder, TrueRoll
RESULTS
Efficiency Gains: Online applications are processed and then appear in the review queue almost immediately. Paper applications submitted weekly are processed and ready for review by the next business day. They are tracking toward a 50% reduction in overall processing time.
Seamless Workflow: When staff approve an application in TrueRoll, the data automatically populates in Enterprise Assessment & Tax’s pending transactions — no duplicate entry, no switching between systems, no manual data transfers. Staff validate the data and commit directly to the database.
Tax Equity: Combined with TrueRoll’s Proactive Monitoring, the county has returned nearly $70 million in assessed value to taxpayers by identifying 236 unqualified homesteads — ensuring accurate tax rolls and equitable distribution.
EXPANDING ACROSS HAWAII
With all four Hawaii counties — Kauai, Maui, Honolulu (Oahu), and Hawaii (Big Island) operating on Tyler platforms, Kauai’s successful deployment creates a proven template for statewide adoption. The counties are exploring shared implementations for additional high-volume annual workflows, including long-term rental certifications and income-based exemptions, leveraging the Tyler-TrueRoll integration to drive consistent processes and shared cost efficiencies across the islands.