Cambridge’s Assessor’s Office manages nearly 30,000 parcels, but like many local governments, it operated in a hybrid model that wasn’t built for manual workflows. Physical disks, handwritten forms, and data entry slowed operations and introduced room for human error. Staff faced growing workloads, taxpayer complaints, and delays that made it difficult to maintain accuracy at scale. Cambridge needed modern, integrated tools so the team could focus on higher-value work instead of chasing paperwork.

Cambridge partnered with Just Appraised to modernize four core workflows (Deeds, Forms, Business Personal Property (BPP), and Front Desk). The Just Appraised platform has integrated workflows across modules to provide a seamless experience for Taxpayers, while also reducing the administrative burden on staff, allowing them to grow their careers focusing on higher level work.

1. Deeds: From One Month to Two Weeks

Before: Deeds arrived on physical disks. Processing a single batch took about a month, and three staff handled tedious manual data entry.

After: With Just Appraised’s Deeds Automation, processing time dropped to roughly two weeks. The system automatically matched parcels, extracted data, validated addresses, and flagged master deed discrepancies before they became billing errors.

The shift eliminated redundant data entry, freed up two staff to work on more complex condo development projects, and reduced taxpayer complaints.

Next Step: Cambridge plans to move from physical disks to a direct data feed, further shrinking turnaround time.

“We used to spend weeks manually keying data. Now it’s review, not entry, and our staff can finally focus on the work that actually moves the needle.”
— Andrew Johnson, Deputy Director, City of Cambridge

2. Forms: Automating I&E and MVEA Processes

The Cambridge team also digitized two of their highest-volume forms: Income & Expense (I&E) and Motor Vehicle Excise Abatement (MVEA).

Before: I&E processing took months. Staff manually transcribed hundreds of spreadsheets, while MVEA was plagued with incomplete paper applications and daily “What’s my status?” calls.

After: Just Appraised’s online portals did the heavy lifting:

• I&E forms now auto-collate rent rolls by bedroom type, producing clean, uniform data sets.
• MVEA forms require all documentation upfront, cutting the constant back-and-forth.
• Both portals provide real-time status updates, reducing taxpayer calls almost entirely.

What used to take months now takes weeks, and accuracy has never been higher.

3. BPP: Real-Time Tracking and Transparency

Cambridge’s Business Personal Property (BPP) process was another manual process. Paper forms were stored offsite with consultants, making it difficult for collaboration, and real-time tracking.

With Just Appraised’s digital forms, consultants and staff now work from the same dashboard, seeing submissions and progress instantly.

The change is expected to accelerate processing by about a month, giving assessors extra time for quality review. And for the first time, staff can offer on-the-spot taxpayer support because data is instantly accessible.

“Having everything digital lets us actually see what’s happening day to day, we’re no longer waiting weeks to find out where things stand.”
— Gayle Willett, Director, City of Cambridge

4. Front Desk: Streamlining Communication in a Hybrid Office

In a hybrid department, managing inbound emails and taxpayer questions is very challenging.

Cambridge adopted Just Appraised’s Front Desk, a platform that captures constituent emails, calls, chats, and walk-ins in one place, routes them to the right staff member, and uses AI trained on the agency’s own tone, topics, and terminology to pre-draft or fully-automate responses. 

Now, any staff member can see what’s open, who’s handling it, and when it was last touched. Front Desk can also integrate into other Just Appraised modules, so any questions that come in via chat bot or email can be answered with real-time data access to any forms submitted by the constituent. Front Desk dramatically cuts down on repetitive tasks for staff and shortens the response time for questions from constituents.

This has also positioned the Assessor’s Office as a test case for a potential citywide rollout of Front Desk, which has broad applicability across most city government departments that receive a high volume of inquiries from constituents.

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Across all four product lines, Cambridge achieved major efficiency gains:

Deeds:
1 month of manual processing → 2 weeks with AI automation

Forms (I&E + MVEA):
Months of data entry → automated portals and real-time updates

BPP:
No visibility with consultants → shared dashboards and +1 month faster processing

Front Desk:
Inbox chaos → centralized, trackable queue with AI-assisted replies

These improvements reclaimed hundreds of hours from manual work, increased accuracy, reduced taxpayer complaints, and improved staff morale across a hybrid team.

The Bigger Picture: Cambridge as a Model for Modernization

For Cambridge, this wasn’t just about efficiency, it was about creating a digital foundation that supports how government work is done today.

By adopting four modules on the Just Appraised platform:Deeds, Forms, BPP, and Front Desk systems, the Assessor’s Office became one of the most forward-thinking local government teams in the region.

And it’s not stopping here. With data feeds and citywide integrations on the horizon, Cambridge is setting the standard for what modern local government can look like, connected, transparent, and constituent-friendly.

About Just Appraised

Just Appraised was founded out of Stanford Business School in 2017 to bring the latest advances in AI and automation to local government. We began by helping tax assessors modernize the property tax process, and today serve over 300 counties across 30 states with software that helps governments work faster, more accurately, and with less manual effort. 

Our tools are purpose-built for public agencies. Rather than relying on generic solutions, we use modern AI and design practices to build intuitive, reliable software for government users.