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Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 9:30 AM BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Maricopa County, Arizona (and the Boards of Directors of the Flood Control District, Library District, Stadium District, Improvement Districts and/or Board of Deposit) "The mission of Maricopa County is to provide regional leadership and fiscally responsible, necessary public services to its residents so they can enjoy living in healthy and safe communities” Board Members Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3 Clint Hickman, Vice Chairman, District 4 Jack Sellers, District 1 Thomas Galvin, District 2 Steve Gallardo, District 5 County Manager Joy Rich Clerk of the Board Juanita Garza Meeting Location Supervisors’ Auditorium 205 W Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ 85003 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Chairman Gates opened the meeting and asked the Clerk to call the roll. The Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona, convened in an Informal Session at 9:30 AM on Monday, October 17, 2022, in the Supervisors’ Auditorium, 205 W Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3; Clint Hickman, Vice Chairman, District 4; Jack Sellers, Supervisor, District 1; Thomas Galvin, Supervisor, District 2; Steve Gallardo, Supervisor, District 5 (entered meeting late, remote). Also present: Juanita Garza, Clerk; Joy Rich, County Manager; Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel; Kelly Gardiner, Minutes Coordinator; Mia Vargas, Minutes Coordinator. PRESENTATION 1. CELEBRATE THE COMPLETION OF THE MARS PROJECT Presentation that outlines our experience in implementing a new mass appraisal system (AA- GAMA) Assessment Analyst-Geographic Assisted Mass Appraisal. (C-12-23-002-X-00) Chairman Gates introduced Assessor Eddie Cook. Assessor Cook came forward and thanked the Board for the time. He said he did not know in the beginning what MARS was. He stated the implementation took longer than he had originally thought. He said it had been a good experience and two-and-a-half years later, the process is complete. Assessor Cook reviewed the history of the County Assessor’s office and software usage. He clarified the original version, Maricopa Assessment Replacement System (MARS) and now the Assessors office is operating the Assessment Analyst - Geographic Assisted Mass Appraisal System (AA-GAMA). ~ Supervisor Gallardo joined the meeting, remote ~ Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 2 of 10 The above slide was reviewed and Assessor Cook admitted the task was long and arduous. At times he thought it was not doable. Supervisor Hickman talked about the history of the Assessor’s office and the program, MARS, that was to bring technology to that office. Assessor Cook said MARS is no more. It is now AA-GAMA. Assessor Cook talked about the program before MARS, (Oracle 6i) and his concern during those days of whether the program would remain operational. He explained the need to modernize the existing program to keep the County running until the new program was ready. He was proud to say that the new program is up and running. In the slide above, Assessor Cook acknowledged the Core Team and thanked the individuals including Chief Deputy Director, Dawn Marie Buckland. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 3 of 10 The slide above, Contributors and Partners, was reviewed and the vendor, Esri Canada, was acknowledged. He said Maricopa County is customer number one for them. Ms. Buckland reviewed the above slide showing the assets the AA-GAMA software offers. She thanked the Board for their assistance along the way saying the development work done over time was valuable. Ms. Buckland said with a population of 4.7 million and 1.8 million parcels and accounts, there was no “off the shelf product” that Maricopa County could have used due to size and Arizona state laws. Strategic planning focused on digital first. Two and a half years ago, Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 4 of 10 everything was done on paper. Now, customers can take care of business in person or online. She stated security was key in this business to maintain the integrity of documentation. Ms. Buckland reviewed the slide above and stated this technology has allowed the office to keep pace with customer needs by accessing large volumes of data efficiently. Real time processing was key. Data migration and the transition was remarkably smooth. Chairman Gates confirmed the previous program, 6i, had a 30-year run and Assessor Cook confirmed but reminded Chairman Gates the program was not supported and therefore precarious. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 5 of 10 Ms. Buckland said the above slide showed pictures the day the program went live. Assessor Cook talked about the transition, the testing, and the tandem use between the old program and the new. He referred to this process as Sandbox trials. He said the Assessor’s team operated the program confidently from day one. He also talked about the pride in having the best Assessor’s program available calling it a Flagship model. Supervisor Hickman asked about the customized product and process and asked was there any benefits (royalties) for being the first customer. Ms. Buckland said there were no “royalties,” however, the benefit received was a tailored, totally custom software product. ~ Supervisor Gallardo left the meeting during this segment and would not return. ~ Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 6 of 10 Ms. Buckland said the previous system required a lot of manual date input and to have multiple screens open all at once. Ms. Buckland said GAMA will allow the information previously accessed on multiple screens to be on one page with an interactive map. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 7 of 10 Ms. Buckland reviewed the slide above. She said the transition needed a hybrid approach. When transitioning between the old program and new, there was no ability to be ‘turnkey’ and suddenly turn off the old and turn on the new. She said there were several weeks when data entry into 6i was done to keep track of day-to-day business and then transferred all at once when the team was confident the new system was good. Ms. Buckland said it was important to be transparent and accurate and the comprehensive nature of the AA-GAMA allows for that. The slide above was reviewed by Ms. Buckland and she said being Scalable and Flexible in the Internet and technology world was paramount. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 8 of 10 Assessor Cook said business efficiencies are necessary and AA-GAMA can grow with the County and not sacrifice performance, scalability, or flexibility. The Robust Security slide was reviewed by Ms. Buckland. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 9 of 10 Ms. Buckland reviewed the Digital First Strategic Initiative slide and she said of “Our Core Values”, to provide fair and equitable service is the Assessors entire commission. To fairly value land and property is the focus of the department and AA-GAMA allows the Assessor to deliver on that aspect. The slide above was reviewed by Ms. Buckland and she said the items listed focus on how to make the program better every day. Chairman Gates thanked Assessor Cook, Ms. Buckland, and the entire team. Supervisors Sellers and Galvin thanked staff for the fantastic presentation. Supervisor Galvin asked why it was important, from a commercial/business standpoint, to have one County vs four different Counties. Assessor Cook said having business efficiencies creates the greatest amount of revenue. Maricopa County Assessor is in the business of managing the property and land values to create revenue which in turn supports the communities. AA-GAMA is a comprehensive software program that contributes to the efficiencies. He said in having a “ One Team” mentality and common goals leads to increased business efficiencies. Ms. Buckland added that because the system in place is so comprehensive, it allows business leaders to make educated, data driven decisions. Presentation only. No action taken. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, October 17, 2022 Page 10 of 10 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION Vote to convene in Executive Session to consider the items on the Executive Agenda dated Monday, October 17, 2022, for Board of Supervisors and relevant Special Districts pursuant to the statutory authority listed for each item. Motion to approve by Supervisor Clint Hickman, seconded by Supervisor Thomas Galvin Ayes: Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin Absent: Steve Gallardo MEETING ADJOURNED After discussion on the Executive Session items and there being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. ___________________________ Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board ATTEST: ____________________________ Juanita Garza, Clerk of the Board