Mobile Assessment Solution Boosts Efficiency and Accuracy

Industry: County Government
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Number of Employees: 138
Population: 675,000
Tyler Client Since: 2003
Tyler Products Used: Enterprise Assessment & Tax [powered by iasWorld^®], Field Mobile

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Challenges

Leading up to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional work environments were taking on a more hybrid model, and this was the case for operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico — the seat of Bernalillo County.

More specifically, due to the staggered work schedules and the shift in communications, the Assessor’s Office noticed existing paper workflow models ground to a halt. And, like many other organizations across the country, Bernalillo experienced quite a bit of turnover during this period — causing data sharing and translation challenges. More than a simple staffing issue, the office wanted to ensure a consistent process for gathering, storing, and sharing information such that other team members could benefit and collaborate without redundancy.

When assessment staff would return from field work, other team members would go through a transcription and quality assurance process. This involved checking peer work for mistakes prior to moving forward, and it meant often having to decipher hurried handwriting — leaving room for logging errors.

In this aspect of operations, it was evident a more modern and efficient process could serve both the organization and property owners when it came to achieving assessment data reliability.

Bernalillo County reached out to Tyler with hopes of implementing a fully integrated mobile software solution that would allow property assessment staff to accomplish field work quickly, accurately, and confidently.

Solution

Beginning on the residential property side, the Bernalillo County Assessor’s Office decided to implement Tyler’s Field Mobile solution in hopes of steadily eliminating the outdated pen-andpaper process. Initially, as with any new solution, the county engaged in several training sessions and learned hands-on how new improvements would assist in a variety of ways. Instead of paper property information cards and handwritten notes, the addition of Field Mobile allowed staff to:

• Use a solution directly aligned with the existing CAMA system, eliminating double data entry
• Work seamlessly from anywhere, and input data from a mobile device
• Improve productivity with digital process tools and automation
• Reduce risk and mitigate errors in property assessment data accuracy

Now, with the simple integration through Enterprise Assessment & Tax, if any information is missed or omitted in a property record, the appraiser cannot move forward. The built-in accountability and helpful process automations keep staff attentive and eliminate any redundancies. Field Mobile also helps to significantly reduce the amount of paper documents, storage, and waste the county must manage.

Results

Since implementing Field Mobile, Bernalillo County has recognized valuable time and resource savings. Professionals in the field no longer must rely on sheets of property information and can interact directly with parcel data on a mobile device, uploading updated information in Enterprise Assessment & Tax. Additionally, managers and supervisory staff can monitor workload requirements and identify or reward team members based on accuracy, productivity, and service levels — further motivating employees and driving consistency in operations.

“Efficiency — that increased about 15-20% overall, and we are now four weeks ahead in our yearly maintenance valuation program. Our countywide canvas is also ahead by two weeks versus projections at the beginning of this year. Those are huge, huge gains,” said County Assessor Damian Lara.

Bernalillo County has now prepared its teams with efficient, modern solutions to better serve constituents, and Tyler is proud to support its mission of working together to build better communities.