Orhitec Ltd has teams of professionals who have knowledge and experience in the fields of municipal property tax assessment integrated by Geographic Information Systems. Their expertise in the needs of municipal governments allows them to make the most of their geographic data.

It has been proven in our projects' results, that there is no substitute for a property tax survey that correlates between the collection department and the engineering department at the local government authorities.

General Explanation

Geographic information is collected in the field by surveyors who measure properties - their dimensions, and the data information which describes the property. The properties are positioned geographically using either Photogrammetric maps or aerial photographs (Orthophotos). The base information thus collected is exactly the same as the base information used by the city engineering department (for example: property areas, property use, address, property owner, identity number, etc.) In this way, a single base of information can be used by many municipal departments without the need to duplicate any information.

Advantages:

GIS has both long and short term advantages:

Short term advantages:

• Increase tax revenue by enabling the municipality to constantly monitor properties   and locate building and additions to buildings that are not currently on the tax records. This would be nearly impossible to do without a GIS.
• Create a system by which errors in taxation have occurred by cross-referencing field maps and field data. Likewise, this would be nearly impossible to do without a GIS.
• Reinforcing credibility of the municipality with the residents, and elevating the quality of service available to the residents by creating a system in which problems are discovered before tax statements are sent out to the residents. This lessens the need for appeals and reversals of tax assessments. By conducting the survey professionally, an environment of trust is built between the municipality and its residents. In property tax surveys conducted without a GIS, the number of tax appeals can be in the dozens of percent, while the number of tax appeals in a GIS survey is about 2-3 percent on average.
• The GIS enables properties to be viewed on the aerial photograph (Orthophoto) or from the side if photographed in the field. This makes it much easier to verify information without bothering the resident.

Long term advantages:

• Updating the properties. Superimposing a new Orthophoto on the existing map enables the municipality to discover new buildings and building additions. Field measurements can be made of only the new properties\additions. When not using a GIS, it is necessary to do a survey of the entire municipality every few years from scratch with all the attendant duplications and costs of a new survey.
• Using a GIS cancels the need to re-enter properties that have already been measured. In a survey that is not linked to a geographical data system, all updates necessitate re-entry into all the properties.
• Using a GIS enables the municipality to detect land use violations by superimposing the land use as specified by the townplan and the actual use as determined by the field survey. This is not possible without geographic data.
• The use of property tax data for engineering needs are wide and varied, and cannot be done without geographic data.
• Access to alphanumeric data in database format is available using computerized data management in GIS.
• Information can be included in the GIS that will meet the future needs of the municipality.
• * All of the above advantages translate into significant financial savings to the municipality and greatly improved service to the residents.
• Orhitec Ltd can supply you with a system to manage property tax on a geographic basis that can work interactively with municipal tax collection departments.

APPLICATION SPECIFICATIONS:

• To locate and display a chosen property by alphanumeric or graphic query.
• To draw a map of the selected property per floor on A4 or A3 size paper including the surrounding area.
• Calculation of areas derived from the field measurements.
• Calculation of property tax considering the local tax law.
• Ability to update the GIS system by importing a new orthophoto or graphic files in DWG or DXF or SHP formats.
• Ability to update alphanumeric data.
• User interface in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Arabic or others according to clients' request.
• Maximizing management and control of the city taxation process.
• Maximizing information services to the residents.
• Ability to integrate additional subjects that are under the local government responsibility, such as: land use, building permits, city development and planning, etc.
• Ability to locate building violations.
• Ability to add new information fields independently by the user.
• Automatic quality control calculations from field survey information or building plans.

Application development is based on the technology as described as follows:

Each GIS application is customized according to the requirements of the client.

Software:

Graphic Engine- AutoCAD - AutoCAD 14 or higher, or Intellicad Professional version.
Internet GIS software: ESRI ArcGIS for Server or Autodesk Infrastructure Map Server.
Database software- Microsoft Access or SQL Server, or Oracle, depending on the requirements of the client.