Warren County approves desk-review reassessment contract, declines aerial-imagery add-on

Warren County’s Board of Supervisors voted to approve a contract renewal with Cohen Services LLC to perform the county’s 2027 property reassessment using a desk-review option rather than the higher-priced package that would include aerial imagery.

The board approved “option 2,” a lower-cost desk-review approach that excludes the EagleView aerial imagery and requires the county to cover about $21,000 in mailing costs for notices. Supporters said the cheaper option reduces risk while the county continues adjusting a new assessor software system; opponents had argued the higher-priced imagery could yield long-term efficiencies for other departments.

County Commissioner of the Revenue Miss Sowers introduced the item, which Cohen Services presented as two alternatives: a full reassessment package that includes aerial imagery and mailing or a reduced-cost desk review that omits imagery and shifts some mailing costs to the county. Cohen’s representative, Jason Fallon, told the board some complaints the company received were about phone responsiveness and field interactions and said he is changing staffing and phone-answer plans for future projects.

Supervisors questioned whether adding EagleView aerial imagery—priced by presenters as an approximately $240,000 incremental cost spread across two fiscal years—would produce enough extra revenue to justify the cost. Jason Fallon and the commissioner said EagleView can help identify missing structures, support other departments (planning, zoning, public safety), and enable change-detection work. Fallon estimated the imagery often finds a small number of previously missed dwellings in other counties and said the product can be shared with county users.

Several supervisors and the county administrator, Doctor Daley, said the county recently moved to a new assessor computer system and still needs time to “shake out” implementation issues. The new system added modeling features and record-keeping capabilities that staff said produced some discontinuities with the legacy system and generated appeals. Supervisors also pressed for improved appointment and appeal tracking; Fallon agreed to use a shared scheduling tool (Calendly) and provide an appointments/appeal log to the county.

After debate about software, timing (work must begin July 1 for a reassessment that can take about 18 months), and the limited demonstrated return-on-investment for the aerial imagery, the board voted to approve the desk-review option and authorized the chair and county administrator to execute documents approved by the county attorney.

The vote was recorded with four supervisors voting yes and one voting no. The board’s action adopted the desk-review scope and left the county to decide later whether to buy aerial imagery for a future cycle.

Implementation details include: Cohen Services will perform the desk review, update building-permit data and sales audits, and run modeling refinements in the county’s new assessment software. The company said it will continue providing appeal notes and logs to the county and will run a taxpayer data mailer (postcard) at Cohen’s expense for the reassessment.