Background
Santa Fe County, NM Assessor Gus Martinez is all about his constituents – all 150,000 of them in the third-largest county in the state.
“They mean everything to me,” said Gus, who has served as Assessor since 2015. “They’re the ones who voted me into office, and I want to be working for them.”
That's why in his new strategic plan he has five key goals that he wants to accomplish before he leaves office in 2022 – and most center around constituent relations.
"This office has moved along more in the past six years using EagleView than it ever moved in the history of the Santa Fe County Assessor’s Office."
Challenge
While Gus was being groomed to become the next Santa Fe County Assessor in 2014, a top priority was bringing technology into the office, for a number of reasons.
First, the county had gotten a new Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system in 2008. Securing an imagery solution that would integrate with the system was key to streamlining the processes of an office that was “really old school,” according to Gus.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, public mistrust of the Assessor’s Office was relatively high. Constituents often didn’t believe appraisals of property were done fairly and would occasionally lie about the value of their property in order to save on tax dollars.
Gus’ main goal was getting a solution that would improve transparency, increase public trust, and ensure equitable appraisals for his constituents.
Solution
That’s why he immediately chose EagleView’s oblique imagery and ChangeFinder solutions.
“It gives us an opportunity to evaluate what we’ve done with building permits throughout the things,” says Gus. “You don’t want to miss things and find out years later.”
In terms of improving transparency and trust amongst his constituents – well, all he has to do is give protestors a glimpse of their property on CONNECT and they’re sold.
“To be able to show constituents what we see automatically builds trust in the community,” says Gus.
Impact
2000
Square miles in Santa Fe County, NM to cover
18
Appraisers completing jobs previously done by up to 25 appraisers
3
Innovation awards won by Santa Fe County Assessor’s Office while using EagleView
One of the five goals in Gus’ strategic plan was to improve customer service – specifically, to decrease the amount of protest during appeal season and increase website usage. The office recently launched a parcel map property search with EagleView imagery which does just that, by allowing all residents to view their property online eliminating the need to visit the office and protest their appraisal.
“We’re the only office that doesn’t have tons of foot traffic because everything is online,” says Gus. “That allows us to get our appraisals done on time, so the budget doesn’t get out of whack and everything is properly funded.”
Another key goal was sustainability. By contracting with EagleView long past his final days in office, Gus has ensured the roadmap for future assessors is clear and utilizes modern tools.
“EagleView has truly modernized our office and county,” he says. “The office has moved more in the past six years than it ever had in the history of Santa Fe County.”
Aside from his strategic goals, EagleView has helped Gus improve efficiency and save on costs. Prior to Gus joining, the office had nearly 25 appraisers – now, they’re down to 18 who are able to accomplish the same job across 2,000 square miles with improved efficiency. In fact, when COVID-19 hit, the Assessor’s Office was the fastest in the county to get staff deployed, set up at home to do remote re-appraisals. They’re on pace to finish early in 2020 – which is one of the reasons they’ll never stop using the technology.
“With COVID-19, they’ve been cutting budgets, but they said they’ll never cut EagleView,” says Gus.
While he prepares to leave office in 2022, Gus can look back on his achievements for years to come, including three prestigious awards - The International Public Information Award in 2016, the National Public Sector Champion Jurisdiction of the Year in 2017, and the IAAO Certificate of Excellence, making them only the 47th county ever to receive the award.
Gus’ administration receives all the credit – but he also recognizes the part EagleView played.
“I couldn’t even think about doing my job now without EagleView,” says Gus. “This technology has really changed how business will be done forever in both my office, and the appraisal industry as a whole.
