Transparency in Appeals

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Transparency in Appeals

• Kim Simpson,
• Durham County Tax Administrator
• Presented by Steve Pelfrey,
• Durham County Deputy Assessor

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Some of the issues

• Taxpayers contacting office for appeal purposes
  in multiple ways
• Barriers to convenient communication with
  taxpayers
• Variation in taxpayer inquiry volume (different
  times/stages of tax year)
• Time involved in routing inquiries appropriately
• Ability of taxpayers to develop meaningful
  appeals
• Keeping track of documentation
• Consistency in responses from tax office
• Ability for managers to provide oversight
• Getting consistent information in front of the
  Board of ER
• The need to manage everything with current CAMA
  system, but not be dependent on it

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Durham Countys Goal

• Develop a method of interaction with taxpayers
  that
• Maximizes the convenience and options for
  taxpayers
• Creates a discussion thread between taxpayers and
  staff
• Gives supervisors a means of oversight
• Further reduces paper
• Improves Board of ER efficiency

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How do taxpayers want to contact us?

• An article in the April, 2014 issue of Fair
  Equitable referenced a study which found that
  communication by the Internet has become the
  primary channel of contact in the United States
• The same study indicated that Americans actually
  preferred communicating with government offices
  via the Internet, compared to other methods

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Durham Countys strategy
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Our approach

• Dedicated email address to respond to general
  inquiries
• Online filing and tracking for appeals
• Simple, easy-to-read online property record card
• Online tool for taxpayers to locate suitable
  comparable sales
• Online demographics to provide community
  information

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Results

• In the first year of implementation, the online
  appeal process was the choice of taxpayers for
  about 50 of appeals, without any announcement or
  promotion of the online appeal process
• We do not believe the convenience of online
  filing has increased the number of appeals
• Appeals were resolved faster, because both staff
  and supervisors could keep track of individual
  appeal activity
• Board of ER preparation time was reduced

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Takeaway Points

• The overall goals were
• To make it easier for taxpayers to get relevant
  information and to file appeals
• To make it easier for staff, management, and
  Board of ER to track appeals
• The online process helps accomplish both of these
  goals
• We happened to choose particular vendors and
  particular products, but there are certainly
  other alternatives
• It can start with a dedicated email address that
  is actively monitored, and a willingness to help
  taxpayers develop the best appeals they can

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• The sandbox version of the online appeals
  system is available at
• https//qa-dconc.modria.com/
• The live version of the new property record card
  is available at
• http//dev.spatialest.com/durham-nc/Property20Rec
  ord20Card/

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Questions?spelfrey_at_dconc.gov919-560-0409