Harris Central Appraisal District Board of Directors met Oct. 18

Harris Central Appraisal District Board of Directors met Oct. 18.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A meeting of the Harris Central Board of Directors was held Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. at the HCAD offices.  

With no quorum present Chairman Lemond Dixon announced that the meeting would be delayed until 10:15 a.m.  

Chairman Martina Lemond Dixon called the meeting to order at 10:25 a.m. and 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 Martina Lemond Dixon, Jim Robinson, Al Odom, and Cassandra Auzenne Bandy were present. Mike Sullivan, Jonathan Cowen, and Ann Harris Bennett were absent.  

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

Recognition of Employee Designations. Brenda Budd, Senior Manager in Talent Development, recognized the following employees for achieving the CTA designations.  

Brenda Arredondo       Johnny Pham 

Mark Case                   Nhung Pham 

Royal Fontenot            Karrie Sept 

Aaron Gabaldon         Jarvis Thibodeaux, II 

Micheal Gipson           Ryan Timlin 

Tan Nguyen                Chau Tran 

Tien Nguyen               Thao Tran 

Recognition of Service Awards and Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Altinger and Board member Al Odom presented 10-year service awards to Erica Bourgeois and Brandon Curless of the Residential Property Division.

20-year service awards were presented to Brenda Budd of the Human Resources Division and Zdravko Sakic of the Residential Property Division.

Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger and Board member Al Odom presented employee of the month plaques to Maria Cote of the Review Appraisal Division, Luis Otero of the Information Technology Division - GIS, Olivia Parker of the Audit Support Division, and Timothy Tran of the Business & Industrial Property Division.

Comments from Members of the Public. There were none.

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. Odom, seconded by Ms. Auzenne Bandy, moved to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried unanimously.

a. Approval of Minutes. Reviewing and approving the minutes of the regular meeting of September 20, 2023.

b. District Depository. Approving the designation of new signatories for the district’s financial depository bank.

c. Audit Renewal Contract. Approving the contract renewal with Belt Harris Pechacek, LLLP for audit services for years ending December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2025, in the amounts of $55,127, and $57,371, respectively.

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

e. Bills and Payroll. Authorizing payment of bills and payroll in amount of $6,130,790.66 and a transfer of funds for $3,809,001 as submitted.

Records & Information Management Policy and Plans. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Odom, moved to approve the Records and Information Management Governance Framework as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

TCDRS. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Auzenne Bandy, moved to approve a lump sum supplementation of $2,000,000 to the district’s retirement account with Texas County and District Retirement System (TCDRS) and approving the Qualified Benefit Replacement Arrangement along with maintaining other TCDRS plan provisions for Plan Year 2024. The motion carried unanimously.

HCAD Strategic Plan. Sally Vardy, CHRO, reported to the board the district’s strategic succession plan. A slide presentation was presented 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 Secretary, Betty Jackson, 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. Protests are still being processed but as of this meeting for the 2023 tax year, 526,003 protests have been received with the vast majority of them being filed electronically. Of the protests that have been settled so far, over half have been resolved from one of our electronic options. Hearings will continue to be scheduled to complete the remaining accounts and working prior year, correction, and exemption accounts.

Appraisal Matters. There were none.

Executive Session. Chairman Lemond Dixon called the board into executive session at 11:28 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 Lemond Dixon opened the meeting at 11:49 a.m.

Roll Call. Board members Jim Robinson, Al Odom, and Cassandra Auzenne Bandy were present. Ann Harris Bennett, Mike Sullivan, and Jonathan Cowen were absent.

Pending Litigation. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Odom, moved to approve settlement of pending litigation, arbitrations, and SOAH appeals as submitted by staff. The motion carried unanimously. A list is attached.

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

25.25(b) Corrections report. 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 11:51 a.m.

https://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/resources/2023/Boardbook-November-15-2023-Meeting.pdf