BC Assessment Achieves 99% Assessment Acceptance Rate
Organization Profile
- Industry: Provincial Government
- Location: British Columbia, Canada
- Number of property records: 2 Million
- Population: 5.6 Million
- Tyler Client Since: 2016
- Tyler Products/Solutions: Enterprise Assessment & Tax, Field Mobile, and Activity Center
Challenge
British Columbia (BC) is Canada’s third-largest province, spanning 950,000 square kilometers, and comprising inland prairies, mountain ranges, a jagged coastline with islands, and two large cities, Vancouver and Victoria. British Columbia Assessment (BCA), headquartered in Victoria and with staff dispersed in multiple field offices, annually assesses more than two million properties. Assessments are provided to 161 municipalities, 27 regional governments, and 104 Indigenous nations to enable property tax administration.
Collecting and accessing timely data was a challenge for BCA given its large and varied area of operations, legacy software, and large user base. For 18 years, BCA utilized a highly customized legacy solution for which support had ceased. Assessments were managed through outdated paper-based methods, which were inefficient and error-prone.
Data management was also a cumbersome process. Data was gathered and extracted from multiple stakeholders, including provincial, local, and Indigenous governments, the BC Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA), BC Energy Regulator, and real estate industry groups. This multi-source approach was time-consuming and complex, highlighting the need for a streamlined data management solution.
Solution
BCA implemented a robust solution by leveraging multiple modules within Enterprise Assessment & Tax. “The number one benefit of using Enterprise Assessment & Tax is the variety of tools available to enhance process efficiency,” said Lauralee Epps, manager, BC Assessment.
These tools included Field Mobile, Activity Center, the Inquire Tool, the Income Module, and the Quality Control Tool, all of which contributed to improved data collection and management.
Field Mobile eliminates the need to utilize paper methods to collect data. “We are able to collect data in the field and seamlessly bring that back into the application and upload it to the database,” said Epps. This speeds up data collection, reduces data entry errors, and streamlines the flow of data to other users.
Tyler also developed a data feed process within Activity Center that instantly captures and imports external data directly into the application. “We do all of our property-centric work through Activity Center, which provides a framework to efficiently transfer work and complete workflows,” explained Epps. This streamlines information gathering from sources like the LTSA and OGC.
Managing over two million property records, BCA required the ability to access data quickly. “We are excited about the Inquire Tool. It’s a lot more powerful than the search engine we had previously, allowing end users to access all of the data in the database,” said Epps.
The Quality Control Tool provides valuable insights into the accuracy of data and helps prioritize areas for reassessment. It allows a sample of property information to be pulled from a larger population, cleared of existing data, and then reinspected. Inspected data is then uploaded back into the application and compared with the data currently stored in the CAMA system.
Over 95% of properties in British Columbia are valued at market value each year, supported by extensive sales data. Using the Income Module, income modeling is used to assess a significant number of property records, enabling efficient execution of all three major valuation methods within the application.
Lauralee Epps
Manager, Mass Appraisal Standards & Solutions, CAMA Optimization, Research & Enhancements, BC Assessment
Results
In Enterprise Assessment & Tax, approximately 850 BCA employees actively modify data to create accurate assessments. About 99% of British Columbia’s property assessments are publicly accepted, which can be attributed to quality control and the in-depth assessment development process facilitated by Enterprise Assessment & Tax.
Between 2022 and 2024, more than 500 changes were applied to the Tyler system to stabilize and optimize the product. Gains in efficiency were achieved through creative solutions delivered in the form of functional changes and process improvements. Accordingly, it takes approximately 30% less time to input data into Enterprise Assessment & Tax.
Additionally, BCA can fulfill its unique legislative requirements, paving the way for a long-term partnership with Tyler. “Tyler worked closely with us to develop some unique ways of assessing property that weren’t there before,” said Epps. They are now able to efficiently assess unique property types, such as pipelines, farms, and managed forests.
The success does not stop there. BCA’s unique setup allowed Tyler to develop new, cutting-edge technology that can be applied with BCA’s peers and beyond, positioning BCA and Tyler as pioneers in implementing large-scale CAMA software. Combined with their strong partnerships with the International Association of Assessing Officers, Appraisal Institute of Canada, and Real Estate Institute of BC, BCA is set to lead the industry and help others benefit from their innovations.