Columbia County committee moves forward five‑year C3.ai agreement to support property valuations
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Summary
The Management/Internal Services Committee approved by consent a five‑year agreement with C3.ai to provide AI‑driven mass‑appraisal support, with a $250,000 first‑year payment funded from the TAVT and later years charged to the tax assessor's budget. Commissioners asked officials about cost, transparency and potential staffing impacts.
The Management/Internal Services Committee on July 8 moved to approve a five‑year agreement with C3.ai to provide AI‑assisted mass appraisal services for Columbia County, with the first year payment of $250,000 to be paid from the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) and subsequent years to be budgeted in the tax assessor’s office.
The assessor’s office said the software will run continuous analyses across the county’s roughly 65,000 parcels, integrate with the county’s existing Canvas system and produce neighborhood‑style reports that staff can share with taxpayers. “It generates…a report to give to the taxpayer that shows which comparables it found that were closest to their house,” said Ani, identified in the meeting as the chief appraiser. County staff recommended approval.
Supporters said the tool should improve transparency and accuracy in mass appraisal and better equip staff to respond to taxpayer questions before appeals. “There’s a cost for that, which we can only do so much. I think they do a great job,” a commissioner said during debate, adding that accuracy and consistency were the deciding factors. Commissioners asked whether the software would reduce staffing needs; Ani said increased efficiency is possible but could not confirm staffing reductions in year one.
The contract will not include the commercial appraisal module at this time; staff said commercial parcels represent about 8–9% of the county digest and that the county is not pursuing the commercial module now. The county also said the vendor reduced its initial proposal and that the price before the committee reflected negotiations with C3.ai. The item was moved to the consent agenda and was approved as presented.
Because the contract covers mass appraisal processes rather than individual fee appraisals, county staff emphasized that the system produces mass‑appraisal output and that individual homeowners would still see a mass appraisal report showing comparable properties, not a fee appraisal.