Island County catching up on technology
Island County reached an important technological milestone March 5.
The Board of Island County Commissioners approved a contract with True Automation, Inc. for computer software installation, training, maintenance and support to replace outdated property assessment and taxation systems.
Originally budgeted at $799,165, the program will cost the county $700,000 with $100,000 of that covered by a state grant.
Everyone at the table agreed it was long overdue.
Island County Assessor Dave Mattens vowed to improve technology in the assessor’s office when he ran for office in 2006. He shared credit with Island County Treasurer Linda Riffe, her chief deputy Ana Maria D. Nunez, who is a candidate for treasurer this year, project manager Cathy Caryl, and
SCN former Island County Assessor Tom Baenen, who fought for about a decade for the new software, said Mattens.
Baenen noted that current staff levels in the assessor’s office are the same as they were 15 years ago, underscoring the need for technology tools to meet today’s mandates and expanded population.
“We have worked hard to find the most reliable, efficient, cost-effective product that would be a good fit for Island County,” Mattens added, referring to a thorough costbenefit analysis of property tax and assessment systems.
The current outdated system uses a series of computer programs, one originally written in the 1970s for a Burroughs mainframe computer, to calculate values, administer exemption programs and calculate levy rates and taxes. Most of it was translated into a Windows platform in 1998 with few enhancements, but some of the functionality was lost.
Prior audits by the state Department of Revenue and the auditor’s office criticized the software programs and spreadsheets.
Island County will be the 10th of Washington’s 39 counties to use True Automation products.
The new software makes all data publicly available online and produces complete reports for hearings, state agencies, and levy calculations, Mattens said.
The new computer system follows on the heels of a new Sungard countywide accounting system, approved and budgeted for several years ago and finally in the implementation stage this
