Town assessor seeks EagleView audit add‑on; council presses vendor access and privacy safeguards
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Summary
The town assessor asked to renew EagleView aerial imagery and add a Sketch/Inspect audit feature to detect unrecorded structures; council members raised privacy and access questions and requested vendor details and access controls before approval.
The town assessor told the council she wants to keep EagleView aerial imagery at a 2‑inch resolution and evaluate a $14,000 Sketch/Inspect add‑on that would generate parcel‑level overlays to flag structures not on the tax rolls. The assessor said the feature could help the small assessment staff discover unrecorded dwellings and outbuildings and improve the accuracy of the tax roll.
Council members and staff pressed the assessor and the town manager for details about frequency, data access and privacy protections. Several members said residents worry about a perception of “surveillance.” Town Manager Jim Manning and the assessor emphasized the tool’s tax‑roll purpose and said imagery vendors typically blur sensitive views and restrict access. The assessor agreed to seek vendor documentation on data access, retention and protections and to return with that information at a future meeting.
Council members suggested options including running the audit only as a baseline before the next statistical revaluation, limiting who may view the audit product, and ensuring the vendor can demonstrate appropriate privacy controls. Supporters argued the tool is cost‑effective relative to staff time and helps ensure fairness in assessments by discovering unpermitted structures.
Next steps: the assessor will contact the vendor with specific questions about access controls and demonstrate how the Sketch/Inspect output would be used and stored. Council members signaled they will review vendor documentation and consider whether to approve a limited or recurring service.
