New Online Portal Brings the Office of the Assessor into the 21st Century

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor establishes values for nearly 2.6 million real property parcels, such as apartments and single family residences valued at more than $1.3 trillion. The values established are then used to determine property taxes that fund dozens of local services. As such, the Office is obligated to ensure that assessment data is transparent and accessible to the public. Beginning in the 1970’s, assessment data was made available through a myriad of “green screen” DOS-based computer systems which consisted of cryptic codes and acronyms that forced the public to physically visit one of the five District Offices scattered across the County to obtain assessment information. In an effort to modernize the Office, Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang began a massive technology modernization project to bring the Office into the 21st Century. As a solution, the Assessor Portal (Portal) was created and replaced a multitude of outdated green screens with one convenient page that is modern, user friendly, and serves both the public and internal staff. The Office’s Information Technology Department took on an agile approach as the system was designed, built, and released in roughly four months, going live in October 2016, followed by the release of monthly enhancements over the next six months. Importantly, the Portal utilizes a dynamic web interface for both desktop and mobile devices. Best of all, the Portal features images of properties and mapping functionalities which delivers important information about each parcel, comparable to what private online companies offer and often charge the public to use. Today, anyone with Internet access can find detailed property information and 32 years’ worth of assessment data for free. Lastly, the Portal is also shared with other county departments who use assessment data for specific job functions related to the property tax system.