What Keith Has Done for You?
When I ran for this office four years ago I promised to bring a new level of professionalism to the office. The Maricopa County Assessors Office manages over 1.5 million parcels/accounts with approximately 365 employees. This is a very difficult task in the best of times, but when the markets are going up and down at record breaking rates this job gets even more difficult. This is why organization, professionalism and accountability are so critical to success. Below is a list of items which I improved/changed over my first 3 + years in office:
- The office had a policy of assessing all residential property once every two years. I changed this policy to assessing all property every year. Because of this change not only did I reduce the market value (Full Cash Value) assessment for over 900,000 single family residences this year, but I will be able to do it again next year.
- The employee turnover rate was over 15 percent annually. I have reduced this every year and last year it was just over 8 percent. This high turnover rate created more errors because of inexperienced employees. The fact we have less turnover means we have fewer errors.
- The office was inconsistent in the management of its day-to-day operations. This was in large part a reflection of a weak organizational structure. I have reorganized the office, instituted basic management principles and implemented a management structure in which there is more quality control and accountability.
- The office was missing internal deadlines at a chronic rate and there was no formal annual calendar. I have implemented a comprehensive calendar with specific protocol for extending deadlines.
- The process of reviewing real property assessed values was unorganized and inconsistent. I have implemented a formal review process in the annual calendar and brought in new technology utilizing graphical displays of data.
- There was minimal management oversight in the real property appeal process. This created a lack of consistency throughout the office. I have implemented a formal process so all property owners or their representatives are treated professionally and consistently.
- There was minimal outreach to the office employees and the public. This has been enhanced both internally and externally.
- There were a number of technical issues creating inconsistent valuations. I have personally been involved and utilized my appraisal background to correct methodology errors, which had eroded the consistency and equity of the roll.
- The Assessors web site has been enhanced with new features and more information. The most recent example of this is the searchable data base for mobile homes.
The bottom line is the office today is more professional, more consistent and the roll is more equitable. The work is not done, but we have made great progress and are positioned to do more over the next four years.
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