Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors met June 15

Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors met June 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A meeting of the Harris County Board of Directors was held at 9:30 a.m. at the HCAD offices.

Chairman Sullivan called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m.

Board Member Jonathan Cowen led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Salute to the Texas Flag.

Roll Call. The presence of a quorum was established. Chairman Sullivan, Jim Robinson, Kathy Blueford-Daniels and Jonathan Cowen were present. Martina Lemond Dixon, Ann Harris Bennett, and Al Odom were absent.

Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger and Todd Stewart of Olson and Olson, legal counsel, also were in attendance.

Recognition of Service Awards and Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Altinger and Board Member Jonathan Cowen presented a 25-year service award to Melissa Soto of the Residential Property Division.

Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Altinger and Board member Jonathan Cowen presented employee of the month plaques to Veronica Garcia of the Information & Assistance Division, Andrew Gonzalez of the Human Resources Division, Richard Miranda of the Business & Industrial Property Division, and Hwee Tay of the Residential Property Division.

Recognition of HCAD Interns. Chief Appraiser Altinger recognized HCAD’s 2022 Summer Intern class.

Comments from Members of the Public. Property owner, Ms. Debbie Sofka, addressed the board.

Public Hearing on the 2023 Budget. Chief Appraiser Altinger summarized the proposed budget for 2023 with a slide presentation outlining his recommendations to the board. Chairman Sullivan opened the public hearing for the 2023 budget. With no comments from members of the public, Chairman Sullivan declared the public hearing closed.

Public Hearing on the 2023-2024 Reappraisal Plan. Deputy Chief Appraiser, Jason Cunningham, presented the 2023 – 2024 reappraisal plan to the board with a brief slide presentation. Chairman Sullivan opened the public hearing on the 2023- 2024 Reappraisal Plan. With no comments from members of the public, Chairman Sullivan declared the public hearing closed.

Consent Agenda

“All matters listed under consent agenda are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion, there will not be separate discussion of these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately.”

Mr. Cowen, seconded by Mr. Robinson, moved to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried unanimously.

a. Approval of Minutes. Reviewing and approving the minutes of the

regular meeting of May18, 2022.

b. Financial Reports. Receiving the district’s monthly financial reports.

c. Bills and Payroll. Authorizing payment of bills and payroll in the amount of $5,935,807.74 and a transfer of funds for $1,560,000 as submitted.

Approve 2023 Budget – Resolution 2022-01. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Cowen, made a motion to adopt the budget as presented with a 5% salary increase. Board members each presented their comments, questions and concerns on the proposed budget which were addressed by the Chief Appraiser. After further discussion by all board members, Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Cowen, amended his motion to approve the budget as amended through the discussion to provide for a 6% pay increase for the employees. Note: This increase would not affect the estimated cost allocation to the taxing units as outlined in the proposed budget to the jurisdictions. Summary copies of the budget are available upon request and online. The motion carried unanimously.

Adopt 2023 -2024 Reappraisal Plan – Resolution 2022-02. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to approve the 2023-2024 reappraisal plan for the Harris County Appraisal District. The motion carried unanimously.

Board Travel. Mr. Robinson made a motion to table the agenda item. After a roll call vote, the motion failed. Legal counsel provided clarification on board travel policy and the approving of expenditures. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to approve travel for those directors planning to attend the 2022 IAAO Annual Conference. After a roll call vote, with Mr. Cowen and Ms. Blueford-Daniel voting yes and Mr. Robinson and Mr. Sullivan voting no, the item did not pass.

Award Contract for Hearing Rooms. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Cowen, moved to award a contract for the construction of eight new hearing rooms on level one of the HCAD Building to Alpine Engineering & Construction LLC for a total cost of $149,075.54. The motion carried unanimously.

Penalty Wavier. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Cowen, moved to approve the request from Deer Park ISD for waiver of penalty and interest on late payment of the taxing unit’s quarterly budget allocation to the district in the amount of $14,044.13. The motion carried with Ms. Blueford Daniels voting no.

BIPD 2022 Notice Status. Hal Long, Associate Chief Appraiser of the Business & Industrial Property Division, reported on the 2022 notice status. A slide presentation was provided to the board.

Property Value Study Results. April Holcomb, Associate Chief Appraiser of Appraisal Operations, reported on the 2021 Property Value Study findings for Pasadena ISD.

Taxpayer Liaison Officer Report. Teresa Terry, Taxpayer Liaison Officer, provided a verbal report to the board. A written report was also provided in the board packet.

Appraisal Review Board Report. ARB Chairman, Douglas Sapp, reported on the progress of hearings, attendance by members of the appraisal review board at hearings, and activities of the executive staff and the board’s attorney.

Protest and Hearings. Jeff Morrison, Chief of Hearings, reported on protests and hearings, including iFile and iSettle. As of this morning, for the 2022 tax year, 456,000 protests have been received with the vast majority of them being filed electronically. Agent protests are up 5% and property owner protests are up 11%. He reported that with all the electronic programs, and remote hearing options now available, the hearings process is running at an extremely efficient pace.

Appraisal Matters. There were none.

Executive Session. Chairman Sullivan called the board into executive session at 11:40 a.m. for the purpose of: (a) private consultation with the board’s attorney regarding (i) pending and potential litigation, (ii) settlement of pending appeals to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, (iii) settlement of pending arbitrations under Texas Tax Code Chapter 41A, and (iv) settlement of pending litigation under Texas Tax Code Chapter 42; (b) considering the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer, or employee, including the duties and appointment of the chief appraiser; (c) considering the deployment, or specific occasions for implementation of security personnel or devices; (d) deliberating the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person, as permitted by the Open Meetings Act, Chap. 551, Government Code.

Chairman Sullivan opened the meeting at 11:54 a.m.

Roll Call. Jim Robinson, Kathy Blueford-Daniels, and Jonathan Cowen were present. Martina Lemond Dixon, Ann Harris Bennett, and Al Odom were absent.

Pending Litigation. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to approve settlement of pending litigation, arbitrations, and SOAH appeals as submitted by staff. The motion carried with Mr. Sullivan abstaining. A list is attached.

Appeals Under Sec. 42.02 Tax Code. There were none.

July Board Meeting. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to approve cancelling the regular July meeting of the Board of Directors and authorizing the Chief Appraiser and Chief Financial Officer to pay bills and payroll due by the third Wednesday of July 2022. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

https://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/resources/2022/Boardbook-August-17-2022-meeting.pdf