Washington, D.C. - Thomson Reuters announced today that it has selected the City of Cape Town, South Africa, as the 2014 Jurisdiction of the Year for dramatically improving public service in its Valuation Office.

Cape Town officials received the award on Sept. 24 in New Orleans at the Aumentum User Groups Conference – the annual gathering of government sector customers of the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters.

Jurisdiction of the Year is the most prestigious of the Thomson Reuters Public Sector Champion Awards, which recognize institutions that have achieved excellence in planning, leadership, and service.

The City of Cape Town Valuation Office was selected to receive the Public Sector Champion award from among more than 1,000 Thomson Reuters government customers worldwide based on its demonstrable improvement of services for the community. The city used Thomson Reuters Aumentum software to streamline its property valuation process while introducing breakthrough innovations in appraisal and objection processes that have dramatically improved the office's efficiency.

Chief among the agency's achievements was the re-engineering of its Objection (Protest) Process, which improved turnaround time from five months before a protest could even be looked at to same-day resolution. In addition, from 2000 to 2009 the city added 236,000 properties to its tax rolls – a 42 percent increase — while decreasing the number of tax appeals.

"The City of Cape Town has displayed an unparalleled commitment to improving the experience and functionality of their property valuation system," said Joe Jackson, managing director for the Tax and Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. "We're proud to acknowledge the city for its improved productivity and continued innovation towards becoming a better, more efficient jurisdiction."

'The City of Cape Town is very pleased to receive this award. It gives recognition to the high level of governance in the city," said Cape Town's Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson. "I am extremely proud of the Valuations Department, which has built a very professional team and system so as to operate at the highest level. This award demonstrates yet again that this administration is committed to service delivery and finding new ways to improve services through innovation and greater efficiencies."

The Public Sector Champion Awards were presented to government programs and officials in the following categories: Excellence in Business Process Transformation, Excellence in Office Leadership, and Excellence in Constituent Service.

Other notable winners at the Public Section Champion Awards included:

• Office Holder of the Year: Gene Kuehn, Assessor, Canyon County, Idaho.
• Excellence in Business Transformation: Elizabeth Stair, Jamaica National Land Agency, Jamaica; Jim McLean, Orangeburg County, SC; Matt Archer, Yankton County, SD.
• Excellence in Office Leadership: Brian Loughrey, Sarasota County, FL; Mariann Matz, Clark County, NV.
• Excellence in Constituent Service: Michael Schultz, La Porte County, IN; Anne Gannon, Palm Beach County, FL; Debbie Stevens, Warwick County, Indiana.

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