Property data access restored with a blast from a trumpet

With literal trumpet fanfare, the small but growing dark cloud over the Oklahoma County assessor’s office went poof when ease returned to access to property record information.

How handy to have a Grammy- and Emmynominated musician downstairs in County Clerk David B. Hooten.

You have to hand it to Larry Stein, chief deputy assessor, for keeping a smile on his public face, a spring in his step, and a sense of humor even in the face of growing but tempered public criticism of the Oklahoma County assessor’s office.

The assessor’s office public website upgrade took longer than expected. It went dormant on Oct. 1.

Even though records were being kept up to date, and open to the public, it wasn’t as easy to get to them — until this week, when a “test” site went up to give people most of the information they want.

Go to the assessor’s main page: assessor. oklahomacounty.org, then click on “Search Properties,” then click on “Search Parcel Database” under “New ‘Test Site’.”

Click, click, click — ahhh.

For nearly six months, people and businesses who had come to rely on easy access to property information had to explain to their customers — and readers, in the case of The Oklahoman — why the info they were used to seeing on demand was no longer so readily available.

Considering the advances the assessor’s office has made the past 20 years — keeping ahead of technology — it surely seemed unfair to have to hear complaints suggesting lack of transparency.

Such is life in the hot seat of public office.

It all vanished during a 4-minute ceremony Thursday in the assessor’s office boardroom.

“It’s been a few months coming, and to announce this with great fanfare and trumpet, we have our county clerk, David B. Hooten, Grammy-nominated, Emmy-nominated. We’re going to have him play something,” Stein said, with pomp.

And Hooten trumpeted a short fanfare, with circumstance.

“Michael Morrison (county assessor’s office comptroller) will press the ceremonial buttons to get this new live website data set coming out into the web,” Stein announced, as Morrison chuckled.

It was a hoot. A welcome hoot. The test site pretty much mirrors what was easily accessible before, property valuations, exemptions, access to deeds, minus photos and sketches of property (for now).

“This is a test site, so you will see development with (added features) as it goes down the road,” Morrison said.

Stein wrapped up with some numbers: Oklahoma has about $35.1 billion worth of property, $7.32 billion of it in Oklahoma County, or 21 percent of the total.

The 77 county assessors in the state have 780 employees combined. The Oklahoma County assessor has one-tenth of the statewide staff assessing one-fifth of the statewide property.

“With only 10 percent of the employees, Oklahoma County, using leading-edge technology, is able to assess the value of 21 percent of the entire value of property in the state of Oklahoma,” Stein said.

Because of savings in other areas, the other stuff, the bells and whistles and ease of access that has us spoiled, “is all free,” he said.

And more importantly, it’s back.

“Realtors love it, commercial Realtors — anyone who’s interested in real estate loves this site and we want to keep on making it better and better,” Stein said.