LA County Assessment Appeals Board Virtual Evidentiary Hearing Solution

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

ABSTRACT OF THE PROGRAM In March 2020, Los Angeles County facilities were closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Assessment Appeals Board (AAB) had to postpone its in-person hearings, impacting approximately 18,000 applications during the six-month closure. To address the growing workload, The Executive Office and AAB developed and implemented a virtual appeals hearing conferencing solution that incorporates efficiency, security and ease of use for the taxpayers. AAB utilizes WebEx as AAB’s web conferencing platform and developed the Assessment Appeals Portal (AAP), an online system facilitating the submission of hearing evidence from taxpayers and the Assessor’s Office. Using custom workflows, AAP allows for simultaneous “real-time” viewing of evidence for all parties during the hearing to ensure a fair and impartial due process. In September 2020, all parties were trained with the new virtual system, including AAB Board, Hearing Officers, taxpayers and the Assessor’s Office. The solution also includes the addition of a designated room available to taxpayers without access to technology resources. Implementation of the virtual hearing solution has allowed AAB to schedule over 5,000 virtual appeals hearings for Board and Hearing Officers since the implementation in October 2020. Multiple counties of various sizes have observed and complimented AAB’s hearing process and virtual systems.