Use of Parcel Data in New York State: A Reconnaissance Study:

Stakeholders

A wide range of organizations use and have interest in parcel data. A list of stakeholders identified in the study shows public, private, and non-profit organizations that all rely on parcel data every day. Table 2 describes the main stakeholder groups.

Table 2. Stakeholders Groups Identified in the Study
Assessors – municipal officials who collect basic parcel data.
Community/Neighborhood Groups – civil society organizations such as those for senior citizens, or business groups.
County Real Property Tax Services Offices – the hub for real property tax administration in NYS counties.
Non-Profit Professional Organizations – provide services such as environmental planning and economic development consulting.
Other County and Municipal Government Agencies – such as planning departments, emergency response services, public health agencies, and water authorities.
Private Companies – such as realtors, engineering firms, and lien and tax collectors, as well as data re-sellers.
State Agencies – state government organizations addressing such areas as transportation, homeland security, environmental protection, and health and human services.
Property Owners – own and pay taxes on parcels.
Property Occupants – people or businesses who live in or make their place of work on a parcel they may or may not own.

Stakeholders play three main roles with respect to parcel data: data collector, user, and supplier. A single stakeholder can play one or more than one of these roles.

Data collectors gather parcel information directly in the field. Examples are assessors appraising real property or surveyors mapping a parcel. Assessors are the primary collectors of basic parcel data regarding identification, description, location, ownership, structures, and some uses. Other stakeholder groups collect specialized information pertaining to their particular work but this is almost always done as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, the basic data collected by the assessors.
Parcel data users includes all those who employ the data in their work. Data users include almost all stakeholder groups including state agencies, county and municipal governments, non-profit organizations and many private sector companies. All use the data to carry out functions such as planning, economic development, infrastructure management, and buying and selling land.
Parcel data suppliers distribute data collected (by themselves or others) to users. Data suppliers are usually the County Real Property Tax offices, NYS ORPS, and private data re-sellers.