Case Study: Ascension Parish boosts tax revenue with EagleView aerial imagery

Ascension Parish Using Technology to Find Immense Tax Value for Residents

The Ascension Parish tax assessor's office faced the challenge of modernizing its operations and accurately assessing property values for over 50,000 parcels after discovering numerous missing property improvements. To achieve fairness and support the parish's significant growth, Assessor Mert Smiley sought to replace an infeasible "boots on the ground" method with new technology. They engaged vendor EagleView for high-resolution aerial imagery, which was used in conjunction with APEX sketching software.

The solution implemented by EagleView provided three-inch, high-resolution aerial imagery. This imagery enabled the team to quickly sketch 40,000 parcels with improvements and identify previously missing properties. This integration of EagleView's imagery and technology resulted in the discovery that 15% of parcels had missing improvements, leading to a dramatic increase in tax revenue. The project generated an $18.1 million increase in tax revenue, directly benefiting local schools, government, law enforcement, and libraries.

Ascension Parish

M. J. Mert Smiley, Jr.

Assessor