Property assessment has a long history in New Brunswick, with the proclamation of its first Assessment Act in 1785. Since then, property assessment has continued to have an important role in public and private sector planning for fair and equitable property taxation, analysis and informing individual New Brunswickers.
Service New Brunswick’s (SNB) Property Assessment Services Branch is responsible for annually assessing the value of all real property within the province for tax purposes, in compliance with the Assessment Act, Regulations, and other related legislation. The Government of New Brunswick’s Finance and Treasury Board is responsible for the billing and collecting of all real property taxes levied, including those levied by municipalities and local governments.
The regular, unbiased, and reliable updating of property classification and assessment information for all properties in New Brunswick provides a wealth of data to understand better economic, environmental, and socio-demographic activities and ongoing change in all parts of our province. The resulting property assessment information tells provincial and local governments how many properties, of what type and value, are within the boundaries of each taxing authority. Each year, the total property assessment base details are provided by SNB to the Department of Finance and Department of Environment and Local Government for each municipality and rural community to prepare its upcoming annual budget and set the local (municipal) property tax rate. In the November-January period, municipalities and rural communities submit their budgets to the Province (Department of Environment and Local Government), indicating the tax rates and total revenue they intend to raise through property taxation. This represents the municipal tax warrant.
In the fiscal year 2021-22, Property Assessment Services Branch assessed approximately 470,000 properties with property assessment values that will contribute over $73 billion in assessment base for taxation purposes. Currently, property assessment information is provided to property owners through annual property assessment notices issued in October or in January of each year and provided to the Department of Finance and Treasury for their issuing of property tax notices in March.
Information Technology Background
Computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) is a key operational feature of NB Property Assessment. However, the organization’s current information technology (IT), built in-house nearly 40 years ago, lacks the flexibility to support property assessments evolving needs properly. As a result, the Property Assessment Services Branch uses 20 additional independent tools (e.g., Access, Excel) in their work.
Property Assessment Services Branch has established the CAMA Renewal And Valuation Enhancements Solution (CRAVES) Project to replace these 20+ standalone legacy solutions with a modern, Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that will bring together industry-standard CAMA valuation services, geographic information services (GIS), statistical modelling, sketch services, and business intelligence to deliver quality property assessment program management and service delivery. The SaaS is expected to be implemented in a phased approach over the next 4 years; as such, the CRAVES Project will be the primary focus for this role over that time.
Service New Brunswick (SNB) requires one (1) Information Technology Team Lead resource capable of overseeing and coordinating different technical implementation activities related to supporting the efficient implementation of the CRAVES Deployment Project. Additionally, will provide the required project support to the business team, technical team, business analysts, and project manager to ensure that project deliverables are delivered on time and within scope.
The successful candidate must deliver the following, but not limited to in successfully completing the engagement:
· Assist the project manager in executing the project mandate by utilizing advanced technical acumen and effective leadership competencies.
· Lead a team of subject matter experts, business analysts, and vendor resources to ensure alignment with project goals.
· Facilitate and moderate meetings and produce the meeting minutes.
· Track day-to-day project tasks to ensure the timely and in-scope delivery of agreed-upon deliverables.
· Identify and proactively address project issues and risks to the project manager, providing a mitigation plan.
· Coordinate with all internal and external stakeholders to ensure project delivery requirements are fulfilled.
· Track and update the implementation plan, highlighting any deviations to the project manager.
· Deliver project status reports and maintain various project management trackers (e.g., action point tracker, issue and risk register), presenting the project status in formal project governance meetings.
· Utilizing a collaborative approach effectively motivates the team and ensures adherence to progress in a demanding project environment, facilitating the achievement of delivery deadlines.
The Team Lead will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement and complete the Privacy and Security training, as mandated by the CRAVES Deployment Project, prior to commencing the assignment.
It is anticipated that the proposed resource(s) will be required to work in the Fredericton area based on an established schedule, such as 2 days a week or 2 days every other week during the engagement. The days required in Fredericton must be scheduled either with the Project Manager or Business Owner of the CRAVES Deployment Project to ensure alignment with the other team members' on-site dates and times. The successful candidate must be able to schedule a visit to 850 Lincoln Road, Fredericton office, with a day’s notice if required outside of the established schedule. If travel within the province is required, SNB will pay for travel outside of the business area (Fredericton) as part of this assignment. Travel, meals, and lodging expenses will be reimbursed at the SNB employee travel rates.
If the proposed resource(s) are based outside of New Brunswick, the proposed resource(s) must reside in Canada; work can be completed remotely. If travel to New Brunswick is required for the project purposes, SNB will pay for travel, meals, and lodging expenses, which will be reimbursed at the SNB employee travel rates.