SERVICES

PROPERTY TAX ASSESSING
For over thirty years O'Donnell & Associates has helped municipalities establish property values that meet the "just value" standard required by the State of Maine. We offer customized services to towns ranging from assessing records maintenance to a full set of assessing functions as sworn municipal assessor. The five Certified Maine Assessors on staff have 80 years of experience in property taxation.

Each client town determines the extent of consulting services that they desire from O'Donnell & Associates. Our computer assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) software, and Property Tax Manager tax billing software programs are utilized in over 25 towns. Assessment administration efforts include completing or processing State reports, exemption applications, current use property applications, personal property inventories, BETR/BETE program requirements and TIF District calculations. Our staff members are also proficient in a variety of other software products, allowing us to integrate our services with pre-existing programs. Competent field work to maintain inventories and careful monitoring of local and regional markets allow O'Donnell & Associates to consistently assign defensible, fair values.

TAX EQUALIZATION/REVALUATION PROGRAMS
The primary purpose of equalization is to re-establish equity in assessed valuations within a community. The key elements of a revaluation are:

• Field Visits to confirm property information
• Sales Analysis & Schedule Development
• Final Value review
• Send value notices to property owners
• Meetings with and correspondence from property owners
• Review property owner input

O'Donnell & Associates has completed 65 tax equalization programs for Maine towns. We have an outstanding record in this area with value results earning excellent ratings by the Maine Revenue Services in their Assessment Standards Rating process.

TAX MAPPING
For most municipalities, assessors' maps establish the framework for the parcel numbering system. Annual up-dates provide an orderly approach to property record keeping and facilitate field visits to improved sites and newly developed land. O'Donnell & Associates mapping services range from traditional ink on mylar sets to digital mapping integrated with Geographic Information Systems.

Part of our tradition of working with Maine communities has been to keep our revision service prices as low as possible while still offering quality work and products. Our staff has been reading deeds in New England towns for decades. Two major advantages of our long-term service are familiarity and continuity. We have developed a familiarity with our clients' needs and offer a customized package of services, including:

• Process deed transfers and identify splits
• Plot all parcel splits on the tax maps
• Draft all map changes on the original tax maps or revise digital maps
• Provide a revision check list form listing annual changes
• Provide full size sets of prints
• Provide reduced sets of prints (11" x 17") bound in customized flexible vinyl covers

MUNICIPAL SOFTWARE PRODUCTS
O'Donnell & Associates CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal) Software

Initially developed in 1994, O'Donnell & Associates Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal software is a Windows program written in Microsoft Access that sets the foundation for integrated assessment administration. Over the past fifteen years, the software has been fine-tuned with the direct participation of Maine Certified Assessors. Our CAMA program has been designed to meet local municipal needs based on three decades of assessing work in Maine towns. Behind the scenes there are robust relational databases allowing assessors to create and maintain detailed inventory while establishing accurate value schedules tested by ratio analysis and sales comparisons. Our CAMA program is also designed to serve as an assessor's document management system. Files can be named and stored in a manner that automatically associates the file with the assessment database record. The associated files appear in a list with the assessment record and can be opened with a mouse click.

O'Donnell & Associates CAMA data search screens are easy to use, offering a variety of searches including:
• Map/Lot
• Owner Name (any part)
• Key
• All
• Street

O'Donnell & Associates CAMA produces the following standard reports:
• Property Cards
• Sales Ratio Study
• Land/Building Breakdowns
• Taxable Land Value
• Totals
• Tree Growth Report
• Map/Lot Index
• Picture/No picture

For towns using Harris Computer Systems TRIO software O'Donnell & Associates CAMA offers a database extract designed for use with the O'Donnell/Trio interface available from Harris Computer Systems. The result is a seamless interface between the O'Donnell CAMA system and the TRIO Tax Billing module.

O'Donnell & Associates Property Tax Manager

The State of Maine uses a custom version of the company's Property Tax Manager Tax Billing and Collection system in the Unorganized Territory. The collection system is customized to work with the Maine Image Processing System (MIPS).


Property Tax Manager (PTM) is a stand alone software program that enables town tax officials to manage the property tax billing and payment process. PTM provides a simple and efficient way to maintain property records, figure taxes, exemptions, penalties and interest, and track payments over years. PTM generates tax bills and valuation reports, including alphabetical by owner, map/lot order, no value properties, exemptions, current use properties, and past due accounts. Billing and collections are coordinated in one software package.