King County, Wash., Saves $6.1 Million with mobile apps for property assessors

In King County, Wash., officials at the Department of Assessments turned their technology situation around. After discovering that the bulky tablet PCs their property assessors were using were at the end of their life cycle, the county began looking for a new solution — and they found one, said Chief Deputy Assessor John Arthur Wilson.

The county ended up with a fleet of iPads and a custom mobile app — designed by Mobise http://www.mobise.com/ — that will save the county an estimated $6.1 million over the next five years, according to an independent IP assessor hired by the county.

"We have to place value on about 680,000 parcels or properties," Wilson explained. "By state law, we’re required to physically inspect every property at least once every six years, so that’s about 120,000 site visits we’re doing."

by Colin Wood

Full Story: http://www.govtech.com/e-government/King-County-Wash-Saves-6-Million.html