CITY Assessor Nilda Navarro said on Monday innovations have been made to improve services delivered to the public.
Navarro, during Monday’s flag raising program at City Hall, announced the automation of the public assistance desk for easier processing of documents and transactions.
Clients will now be able to identify where their transactions are and will be able to track progress of their documents, she explained.
Tax mapping will also be ‘digitized’ as Navarro stressed by the end of 2015, location maps can be downloaded with a fee for easier access of clients.
“Because [the office] is still in the process of digitization, personnel are also being trained on Auto-Cad,” she added.
Aside from these innovations, Navarro said they will propose a new schedule of market values later this year. The Schedule of Market Values followed up to this time is from 1996, the first and last approved SMV.
If approved by the City Council, the new SMV will add income to the city aside from the taxes and revenues, the City assesor said.
“It will in the long run help the investors. The cost of the land may get pricy but the investors can loan bigger amounts,” she said. The proposal will take effect on 2015 if ever approved.
According to the 2013 proposal, a square meter in a residential area, Bayan Park for example, will go from P760 to P2,500, while a square meter in the Central Business District like Session Road will range from P5, to P15,000.
Presently, the proposal is not yet finalized and Navarro said that these prices may still go higher. (Julia Manuel/UP Baguio Intern)