Property assessor and EagleView pitch annual aerial imagery to speed reappraisals

Wilson County Budget Committee — The property assessor introduced a proposal from EagleView Technologies to provide high‑resolution ortho and oblique aerial imagery and change‑detection analytics to support more frequent reappraisals.

Property Assessor Angela introduced Trent Pell of EagleView, who said the company provides annual high‑resolution aerial photography and oblique images that enable desktop review and automated change detection to flag new, changed or demolished structures. Pell said EagleView’s data integrates with the state Impact assessment software and can reduce field visits and focus staff time on parcels the system flags as changed.

"We are an aerial imagery company but also a data analytics company," Pell said, explaining that oblique imagery and change‑detection can identify additions such as pools or residential expansions and reduce time-consuming manual checks.

During questions, committee members asked whether similar projects increased assessed value in other counties; Pell referenced Sevier County data and said that in a recent project they identified about 105,000 structures and more than 25,000 that were new, changed or demolished. The committee also discussed potential cost‑share arrangements with cities and whether the quoted annual cost should be labeled recurring rather than nonrecurring; a figure discussed on the record was $227,755, which the committee suggested should be budgeted as a recurring line rather than a one‑time implementation payment.

What happens next: staff will check city cost‑share obligations and return with updated cost and fund source recommendations; the committee asked staff to confirm whether the county or cities should carry the charge and to verify licensing and implementation details before contracting.