San Mateo County has been recognized with two Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo), which for the past 51 years has been honoring innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents.
The two awards were granted for the work of the Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Elections (ACRE) for its GIS Assessor Parcel Web Portal project and the Assessor’s Building Plans Submission Portal.
"Over the past year, county officials and frontline employees have demonstrated bold, inspirational leadership," NACo President Gary Moore said. “This year’s Achievement Award-Winning Programs illustrate the innovative ways counties build healthy, safe and vibrant communities across America.”
The Parcel Web Portal Project, first launched under the County’s GIS Strategic Plan in 2017, has generated new high-quality parcel fabric and Assessor Parcel Maps now available to County departments, local districts, municipalities and the public.
These digital maps will replace the previously used hand-drafted mylar maps, significantly improving accessibility and efficiency. As part of this process, each of the
County’s 230,000 parcels were redrawn according to original deeds, plats, and surveys, with rigorous accuracy targets set well beyond industry standards.
This program has already eliminated extra licensing costs, created more accurate and reliable parcel datasets, and developed a dynamic, interactive web application with access to new tools and data. While the initial stages of this program are complete, ACRE continues to build applications to streamline assessor field operations and manage, assign, and track work to assist in assessments.
The Building Plans Submission Portal allows the receipt and review of building plans based on electronic architectural drawings rather than drawn paper plans. The Portal, which is available online 24/7, streamlines the building permit process for homeowners, businesses, and design professionals. In addition to its efficiency and convenience, the Portal has several other benefits, including the elimination of printing costs imposed on building permit applicants, faster review turnaround by assessors, and a reduction in the carbon footprint by cutting in-person delivery of plans. The Portal’s development took on an added urgency with the Shelter in Place mandate, requiring the public/private development team to rapidly implement this solution.
“Both of these innovative projects save the taxpayers’ time and money,” said Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. “I’m pleased that the National Association of Counties has recognized the hard work of our staff and ‘Smart’ solutions these projects represent. Through these programs, San Mateo County is continuing its tradition as a national leader in technological solutions for serving the public.”