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Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors met May 17.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
A meeting of the Harris Central Board of Directors was held Wednesday, May 17th, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. at the HCAD offices.
Chairman Sullivan called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m.
Board member Martina Lemond Dixon 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, Martina Lemond Dixon, Jim Robinson, and Kathy Blueford-Daniels were present. Ann Harris Bennett, Jonathan Cowen, and Al Odom were absent.
Acting Chief Appraiser Jason Cunningham and Todd Stewart of Olson and Olson, legal counsel, also were in attendance.
Recognition of Service Awards and Employees of the Month. Acting Chief Appraiser Jason Cunningham and Chairman Sullivan presented 10-year service awards to Brenda Arredondo, Dominique Turner, Karrie Sept, and Markeda Maxie all from the Information & Assistance Division and Shawanda Lewis of the Budget & Finance Division.
A 15-year service award was presented to Monica Sellers of the Review Appraisal Division.
A 25-year service award was presented to Shundra Simpson of the Information & Assistance Division.
Employees of the Month. Acting Chief Appraiser Jason Cunningham and Chairman Sullivan presented employee of the month plaques to Cameron Gonzalez of the Business & Industrial Property Division, John Hickman of the Residential Property Division, Lataliayon Johnson of the Special Audit Division, and Eyosias Mahitem of the Information Technology Division.
Comments from Members of the Public. Property owner, Debbie Sofka, addressed the board. 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.”
Ms. Lemond Dixon, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried unanimously.
a. Approval of Minutes. Reviewing and approving the minutes of the regular meeting of March 15, 2023, and the special meeting of March 24, 2023.
b. ESRI Conference. Approving a contract renewal for wireless and internet services from Texas DIR vendor Verizon Wireless for $116,000.
c. Financial Reports. Receiving the district’s monthly financial reports.
d. Bills and Payroll. Authorizing payment of bills and payroll in amount of $5,469,616.10 as submitted.
Board Committees. At the request of Chairman Sullivan this agenda item was postponed to a future meeting.
Centre Technologies & Accudata Systems. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Lemond Dixon, moved to approve purchases from Texas DIR vendor Centre Technologies and Accudata Systems for hardware and software to expand the business continuity plan and fail-over capabilities to the co-location and to include the GIS users’ infrastructure in an amount not to exceed $525,000 and to direct the chief appraiser to execute said contract. The motion carried unanimously.
Precision Task Group Software & Services. Ms. Lemond Dixon, seconded by Mr. Robinson, made a motion to approve purchasing software and implementation services from Texas DIR vendor Precision Task Group to migrate to a full suite of Workday product to perform Human Capital Management, Financials, Payroll, Time Keeping, Recruiting and Talent Optimization in an amount not to exceed $1,700,000 and to direct the chief appraiser to execute said contract. The motion passed with a roll call vote of Mr. Robinson and Ms. Lemond Dixon voting yes, Ms. Blueford Daniels voting no, and Chairman Sullivan abstaining.
Warehouse Lease Renewal. Ms. Blueford-Daniels, seconded by Ms. Lemond Dixon, made a motion to approve a renewal of the lease of warehouse storage space with Pineway Owner, LLC for a period of 38 months and to direct the chief appraiser to execute said amendment. The motion carried unanimously.
Investment Policy & Strategies. Ms. Lemond Dixon, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to approve Resolution No. 2023-01 relating to review and approval of the Harris Central Appraisal District Investment Policy and Investment Strategies. The motion carried unanimously.
Schedule Workshop for 2024 Budget. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to schedule the 2024 budget workshop for 9:30 a.m. on June 21, 2023, here in the Board Room on the 7th Floor, of 13013 Northwest Freeway, Houston, Texas. The motion carried unanimously.
Schedule Public Hearing for 2024 Budget. Ms. Blueford-Daniels, seconded by Ms. Lemond Dixon, moved to schedule the public hearing on the 2024 budget for Harris Central Appraisal District for 9:30 a.m. on June 21, 2023, here in the Board Room on the 7th Floor, of 13013 Northwest Freeway, Houston, Texas. The motion carried unanimously.
Waiver of Penalty. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Lemond Dixon, made a motion finding good cause exists and waiving the penalties and interest for the Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 489’s late payment of its first quarter assessment that was due December 19, 2022. Avik Bonnerjee, Tax Assessor for Utility District 489 addressed the board. The motion passed with Ms. Blueford-Daniels voting no.
Over-65 Letters. Scott Christenson, Senior Director of Information and Assistance, reported on the automatic mailing of the over-65 homestead exemption letter to property owners, a total of 1,532 letters have been mailed for 2023 with the remainder of the mailings to be sent in June and September. A sample of the letter was provided to the board.
Rendition Workshops. Hal Long, Associate Chief Appraiser of the Business & Industrial Property Division, gave an update on the rendition workshops. Eight rendition workshops were held with four workshops held virtually via WebEx and four held at the HCAD offices. A total of 654 business property owners were assisted which included 155 bi-lingual owners. These workshops have proven to be very productive every year. A slide presentation was provided to the board.
Property Appraisal & Tax Workshops. Jack Barnett, Chief Communications Officer, provided an overview of the district’s community outreach program that works with the Harris County Tax Assessor Collector’s office to inform Harris County residents about the appraisal process, exemptions, and the property tax system. An invitation was extended to all board members to contact the communications office with any areas that they would like to see outreach programs scheduled. A copy of the 2023 Spring workshops was provided to the board.
HCAD Organizations. At the request of Chairman Sullivan this agenda item was postponed to a future meeting.
2023 Preliminary Rolls & Certified Estimates. Kyle Whitener, Project Analyst in Appraisal Operations, reported on the 2023 preliminary rolls that were provided to the taxing jurisdictions and the certified estimates provided to the school districts, county, and cities. A slide presentation was provided to the board.
Security of District Funds. Theresa Paul, Chief Financial Officer, reported on the security of district funds on deposit that are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. Representatives from Frost Bank were available to address any concerns.
Top Workplaces. Elma Loreto, of the Human Resources Division, reported on the additional 2023 Top Workplaces USA recognition that was presented to the district.
Cyberstar Award. Beata Kasper, Chief Information Officer, reported on the Texas Cyberstar Certificate awarded to the Harris Central Appraisal District for demonstrating compliance with cybersecurity best practices. A slide presentation was provided to the board.
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, Winnie Tunsel, 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 and Required Notice. Jeff Morrison, Chief of Hearings, reported on protests and hearings, including iFile and iSettle and the publication of the newspaper notice as required by law. He reported that the annual page ad outlining the property tax protest and the appeal procedures ran in the Daily Court Review on May 1st. Protests are still being processed but as of this meeting for the 2023 tax year, 393,336 protests have been received with the vast majority of them being filed electronically. The appraisal records were turned over to the ARB on May 5th and formal hearings began May 8th. Correction and Exemption hearings continue to be scheduled to stay current.
Appraisal Matters. There were none.
Executive Session. Chairman Sullivan called the board into executive session at 11:51 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 12:52 p.m.
Roll Call. Board members Martina Lemond Dixon, Kathy Blueford-Daniels, and Jim Robinson were present. Ann Harris Bennett, Jonathan Cowen, and Al Odom were absent.
Pending Litigation. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Lemond-Dixon, moved to approve settlement of pending litigation, arbitrations, and SOAH appeals as submitted by staff. The motion carried with Chairman Sullivan abstaining. A list is attached.
Appeals Under Sec. 42.02 Tax Code. There were none.
25.25(b) Corrections. The quarterly report of corrections was made available upon request by any board members who wanted to inspect it.
Adjournment. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 12:54 p.m.
https://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/resources/2023/Revised-Boardbook-June-21-2023-meeting.pdf