Modernizing Solid Waste Billing for San Mateo County

July 22, 2026

Chigo Ibeh

San Mateo County's Office of Sustainability manages a broad portfolio of environmental programs, including overseeing solid waste and garbage collection services for county residents. A core part of that work is parcel-based billing, tracking service charges and billing data tied to individual parcels across the county's hauler service area.

That billing process depends on accurate, up-to-date parcel information, and when the data isn't current or accessible, it creates real friction for the team managing it day to day. The department needed a solution that could keep pace with how the county's parcel data actually changes, give staff the right level of access without unnecessary complexity, and free them from the manual overhead that had become a regular part of their workflow.

Photo of a Recology garbage truck driver, wearing a high-visibility green shirt, leaning out of the cab window and gesturing with his hand while operating the truck's automated arm on a residential street. A gray Recology waste bin sits on the sidewalk in front of the truck, positioned to be picked up by the mechanical arm. The background features lush green trees, a small rock garden, and a flower bed with pink blooms on the right side of the driveway.

Blue Raster has partnered with San Mateo County since 2022, and in 2023 that relationship grew into a direct collaboration with the County's Office of Sustainability. Our first engagement together produced a compliance application to support the department's regulatory workflows. That project built the trust that brought them back to us for something bigger.

Migrating From A Legacy Application

The department's solid waste and garbage billing calculator, used to manage billing for a county hauler, was running on a legacy application tied to a physical server and a deprecated database. It worked, but it came at a cost.

Parcel data had to be manually imported and reimported every time the team needed current information, creating a gap between what the system showed and what was actually true on the ground. On top of that, maintaining a physical server meant ongoing infrastructure overhead, and the old setup offered limited control over who could access sensitive data.

A Custom Application Built on ArcGIS

We designed a custom internal application using the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript, deployed as a static application on AWS.

Screenshot of the San Mateo County Sustainability Department's Solid Waste Billing property summary page. The left panel shows a 'Summary of Property Details' table with fields for APN, Owner, Owner2, Owner Address, and Situs Address (all redacted/blurred), along with visible values for Legal Description ('SELY 75.50 FT OF LOT 2 BLOCK A OAK GROVE PARK RSM'), District (2), and Neighborhood (062E). Below that is a 'Property Use Details' table showing Tax Code (073023), a redacted Parcel Use Code, Description (Single Family Home), and empty fields for Land Area, Year Built, Base Area, Total Rooms, and other property attributes. The right panel displays a parcel map with several numbered lots outlined, with one parcel (060281050) highlighted in orange. Below the map is the start of an 'Assessment Values' section.

Tech Stack

Frontend Development

Built with the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript, delivering interactive parcel search, mapping, and property summary views.

Design

Figma used to design and prototype the application's layout, screens, and user interface components.

Data Storage

ArcGIS Online serves as the data storage layer, with REST endpoints consumed to retrieve and update parcel data.

Authentication

User sign-in and access control are handled through ArcGIS Online authentication.

Hosting Infrastructure

Deployed as a static application on AWS, replacing the legacy physical server setup with scalable, low-overhead cloud hosting.

Some of updated features in the application include:

Search for a parcel by number, address, or owner name
Ability to view property details, assessment values, and service charges in real-time and in one unified view
Ability to generate parcel account summaries and detailed service charge reports by APN
Live parcel data pulled in real time via county REST endpoint, no manual importing required
Role-based access and authentication managed through ArcGIS Online

Screenshot of the Parcel Search page on the San Mateo County Solid Waste Billing application. Below the header, a search field shows 'APN' selected as the search type, with a redacted APN value entered in the adjacent search box. The main portion of the screen displays a satellite map view of a residential area with several parcels visible, including labeled parcel numbers (060281710, 060281040, 060281060, 060281070, 060282420). One parcel, labeled 060281050, is highlighted with an orange diamond-shaped outline near the intersection of Glendale Ave and Amherst Ave, close to a Caltrain Peninsula Corridor rail line. A 'Go to Property Summary' button appears in the bottom right corner.

Screenshot of the 'Generate Reports' page on the San Mateo County Sustainability Department's Solid Waste Billing application, with the Reports tab highlighted in the navigation bar. The page prompts the user to select a report type, with three options listed: 'Parcel Account Summary' (a rollup of all parcels with total counts and a breakdown by parcel type), 'Service Account Charges by APN' (a detailed breakdown of individual parcels' data and their service charges), and 'Controller Extract' (coded parcel data in .txt format). A grayed-out 'Continue' button appears in the bottom right, indicating no report type has been selected yet.

For the team using it day to day, the workflow is simple. They can search for a parcel by number, address, or owner name, pull up a summary of property details and assessment values, review service charges, and generate parcel account summaries or detailed service charge reports by APN, all from one place.

Real Wins, Not Just an Upgrade

This wasn't just a fresh coat of paint on an old system.

Moving off a physical server and onto AWS, with data and access managed through ArcGIS Online, significantly lowers the county's infrastructure and hosting costs.
Role-based access adds a real layer of security that the legacy system never had.
Because the app pulls live data instead of relying on manual imports, the team spends less time managing data and more time doing their actual work, with a tool that's intuitive enough to not need much explanation.

Screenshot of the San Mateo County Solid Waste Billing web application, showing the Sustainability Department header with navigation links for Parcel Search, Billing Rates, Reports, and Log Out. Below the header is a parcel search panel with a 'Search by' dropdown expanded to show options for APN, Address, and Owner, alongside a search input field. The main portion of the screen displays a satellite map of the San Francisco Bay Area/San Mateo County region, with a 'Go to Property Summary' button in the bottom right corner

Blue Raster Capabilities

Let's Build What's Next Together

This project shows what's possible when a legacy system gets rebuilt with intention instead of just replaced piece by piece. If your team is working around outdated infrastructure that's slowing you down, let's talk.