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Assessor: Benton County live on OrCats July 1; dual-entry, certification timelines set for October
Summary
County assessment staff reported going live with OrCats on July 1, dual-entering data into the legacy system until certification, and planning to cease the Ascend contract after the October tax roll; the change will reduce maintenance fees but requires continued data extraction for valuation tools.
Benton County assessment staff reported they went live on OrCats (the county's new assessment and records back end) on July 1 and are currently running a dual-entry process into the legacy Ascend system to verify data as they work toward tax-roll certification.
The assessment office said early testing showed differences between a three-day turnover export and the legacy results, and the vendor Helion has been actively on-site addressing issues. Assessment staff said they will continue dual entry until the county finalizes the certified tax roll and will not renew the Ascend maintenance contract when it comes due in September; doing so will remove a maintenance expense that staff estimated at roughly $185,000'$200,000 annually.
Why it matters: The conversion affects tax certification deadlines, appraisal workflows and interoperation with valuation software. Staff said appraisal values will be completed early this year (values expected finished by July 31) so the county can begin testing levies and roll production earlier and complete certification on the statutory schedule (values certified by Sept. 25; certified roll targeted for Oct. 1).
Details and technical steps: Assessment staff said Orchats now pulls deed and ownership data from the records system and that the county will run two tax rolls this year during the transition to ensure parity. Because the county's valuation engine (ProVal) currently needs Ascend/ProVal-format extracts, staff said they are working with consultants to extract daily data from OrCats into ProVal until a full integration is in place.
Cloud and longer-term plans: Staff discussed moving Helion (the records/tax system) to a cloud-hosted, vendor-managed environment. Assessment staff said an annual cloud-hosting estimate starting around $17,000 would reduce local-server maintenance and enable more online public access to recorded documents, but board approval and budgeting will be required.
What's next: Assessment staff will proceed with testing and dual-entry checks, complete value audits by July 31, and prepare for Oct. 1 tax-roll certification while working with IT and consultants on data-extraction links to ProVal and on the timing of Ascend contract termination.
