The Tompkins County Government Operations Committee unanimously approved a $25,000 contingent fund appropriation to pay Tyler Technologies for an interim online assessment application while the county completes a full conversion to Tyler in mid-2025.

Jay Franklin, assessment department staff, told the committee the countyhas used an online application from a vendor called SDG since 2001 but the vendor was acquired last October and the new owner will not continue support for the legacy application. "They came back with a proposal for $25,000," Franklin said, describing the cost for Tyler to provide an interim online application so the county does not perform two simultaneous conversions.

The committee also heard an update that the county filed its tentative assessment roll on May 1. Franklin said staff completed valuations and exemptions and submitted the roll "subject to change by the Board of Assessment Review." He told members the county received 106 informal review parcel requests this year, compared with about 2,600 last year, and that the county tax base rose about 1.8 percent to $11,666,000,000. Grievance hearings are scheduled for May 27, with appointments from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and walk-ins from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Committee member discussion touched on solar utility valuations. Franklin said the state released a solar valuation calculator that assessors have been directed to use and that a court case had produced a stay on part of that approach; he said the office and statewide associations were monitoring litigation and any legislative action. "We're going to be watching that court case," Franklin said, noting it could affect how industrial-scale solar is assessed in future tax years.

Action: The motion to provide a contingent fund appropriation for Tyler Technologies (interim online application) was moved by Greg, seconded by Rich, and passed unanimously. No dollar figure other than Franklin's cited $25,000 was entered into the meeting minutes as a formal line-item change; the committee approved the appropriation as described on the agenda.

Background: Franklin said the full data conversion to Tyler Technologies is expected to be complete by July 2025 and that moving existing image archives to another vendor while also converting the assessment database posed operational risks and duplication of work.

The committee did not take action on the state calculator or the solar litigation, but members requested ongoing monitoring and updates from assessment staff.