Town of Bethlehem residents now have assessment statistics at the tips of their fingers with the new Online Assessment Roll System, known as OARS.
The system will allow residents to directly access real property data, view sales and tax bill information, and perform comparable property and sales searches.
Bethlehem’s new Online Assessment Roll System is a perfect example of local government using technology to improve service delivery, said Supervisor Jack Cunningham. `After last year’s reassessment, residents said they wanted more assessment-related information online and OARS delivers that right to your home computer.`
In November, the town received a $12,112 state grant to pay for the new system. The money came from the New York State Real Property Tax Administration Technology Improvement Grant program, created to help municipalities implement a comprehensive Web-based assessment lookup tool to enable taxpayers to gain access to assessment data with greater ease.
The Town’s web-based system not only allows residents to view information but also allows users to gather, sort and compare data. Those tools include comparable property sales and assessment searches, residential property inventory characteristics for comparable searches, current tax rates and parcel level details and photos. M. David Leafer, the town’s assessor, said this will be a useful tool for house hunters and sellers as well.
`Last year, for the very first time, we provided online access to assessment information including residential parcel and sales data information,` said Leafer. `That information, however, was in a PDF form that was not interactive. OARS takes our previous capability to a whole new level by allowing residents ` and town staff ` to quickly sort through data, pull appropriate comparable information and do other research in a fraction of the time.`
Leafer said before the PDF format, residents had to leaf through thick books of information kept in the assessor’s office.
`There’s no question that our new OARS system will save residents time and effort in researching and preparing for meetings with our staff,` said Leafer. `With residents and staff basically getting the same access to information, we can all truly work from the same page.`
To access the OARS system, a new link was created on the town’s Web site main page –www.townofbethlehem.org ` called `Online Services.` On the left-hand side of that page is the link to the OARS system, as well as links to other online services and forms, including the town’s monthly e-Newsletter, water and sewer billing information, tax bill information and a sign-up page for the town’s new monthly community clean-up day. Taxpayers can also sign up to pay their taxes through the automatic electronic bill paying system.
Leafer said he only sees one shortcoming on the site ` the inability to look up property by owners’ names. He was unsure if there was a security issue involved in leaving that function out, but said he will try to address it shortly.
`Our new online assessment system is the latest in a long line of technology upgrades the town has made — and will continue to make — to provide greater public access to information, communicate better and more frequently with residents and allow for more interaction between town government and taxpayers,` said Cunningham.
`The OARS system is one of several Web-based technology improvements the town has made over the last few years,` said Jeffrey Dammeyer, Bethlehem’s Director of Management Information Services, at the town’s June 27 meeting.
`We also set up a public computer station in the assessor’s office at Town Hall to provide access to OARS for residents who do not have a home computer or Internet connection.`
Dammeyer said the computer is handicapped accessible.
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