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Harris Central Appraisal District Board of Directors met Jan. 16.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
A meeting of the Harris Central Board of Directors was held Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. at the HCAD offices.
Chairman Martina Lemond Dixon called the meeting to order at 9:36 a.m.
Clarette Walker, Chief of Operations, administered the Oath of Office to new and returning members of the Board of Directors.
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 Martina Lemond Dixon, Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Jonathan Cowen, Mike Sullivan, Jim Robinson, and newly appointed board member Grace Rodriguez were present. Ann Harris Bennett was absent.
Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger and Tammy White-Chaffer of Olson and Olson, legal counsel, were also in attendance.
Election of Officers. At the request of Chairman Lemond Dixon and with no objections from the board members, Agenda item 8 - Election of Officers, was moved up to be the first matter of business. Chairman Lemond Dixon opened the floor to nominations for officers of the board of directors for 2024. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Cowen, nominated Ms. Martina Lemond Dixon as Chairman; there were no other nominations. For the position of Secretary, Mr. Sullivan, seconded by Mr. Cowen, moved to nominate Mr. Robinson; there were no other nominations. Chairman Lemond Dixon, seconded by Ms. Auzenne Bandy, moved to nominate Mr. Cowen for the position of Assistant Secretary; there were no other nominations. Mr. Sullivan made a motion, seconded by Ms. Auzenne Bandy, to vote on each officer’s position individually. After a roll call vote, the motion passed with Mr. Cowen voting no and Ms. Rodriguez abstaining. For the nomination of Ms. Lemond Dixon as Chairman, the motion passed with Mr. Sullivan voting no. For the nominations of Jim Robinson as Secretary and Jonathan Cowen as Assistant Secretary, the motions passed unanimously.
Chief Appraiser Altinger recognized newly appointed board member Grace Rodriguez representing the City of Houston.
Recognition of Service Awards and Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Altinger and Board member Cassandra Auzenne Bandy presented 10-year service awards to Deirdre Courtney of the Business & Industrial Property Division and Mabel Menefee of the Communications Division.
A 20-year service award was presented to James Leach of the Commercial Property Division.
A 25-year service award was presented to Bertha Munoz of the Information & Assistance Division. Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger and Board member Cassandra Auzenne Bandy presented employee of the month plaques to Joshua Dye of the Information Technology - GIS Division, Mayra Palacios of the Commercial Property Division, Chris Teniente of the Business & Industrial Property Division, and Eric Thomas of the Residential 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. 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 December 13, 2023.
b. List of Payees Update. Approving list of payees for which checks over $25,000.00 may be signed by staff.
c. Financial Reports. Receiving the district’s monthly financial reports.
d. Bills and Payroll. Authorizing payment of bills and payroll in amount of $9,383,467.25 and a transfer of funds for $40,000 as submitted
Election Services Interlocal Agreement. Todd Stewart, Legal Counsel Olson & Olson and Board member, Jim Robinson updated the board with current information regarding the May 2024 Board member elections. Due to the terms of the agreement still being discussed, Mr. Stewart stated that the Election Services agreement with the Harris County Clerk would not be approved at this meeting, and staff will continue to keep the board informed.
Appoint TAAD Delegates. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Auzenne Bandy, moved to appoint Jason Cunningham as voting delegate and Clarette Walker as the alternate voting delegate to the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts. The motion carried unanimously.
Software Subscription. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Cowen, moved to approve the purchase of the Altair Monarch Auto Server software subscription from SHI International, Corp. in the amount of $91,000.00. The motion carried unanimously.
Security Systems. After a presentation by staff, Chairman Lemond Dixon requested that this agenda item be discussed in Executive Session and voted on after the board reconvened.
Architectural Firm Agreement. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Auzenne Bandy, moved to select the architectural firm of Philip Ewald Architecture Incorporated and authorized the chief appraiser to negotiate a fair and reasonable fee for approval by the board. The motion passed with Ms. Auzenne Bandy and Mr. Sullivan abstaining. Chief Financial Officer Theresa Paul presented a slide presentation to the board.
BOD Policy Manual Amendment. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Mr. Robinson, moved to add the sentence, “Distribute to all board members any board member request for information and chief appraiser and/or staff response thereto, including documents.” as an additional bullet point to the list of “Duties and Responsibilities” under the section on District Administration in the Board’s current Board of Director’s Policy Manual, September 2021. The motion passed with Mr. Sullivan voting no and Ms. Rodriguez abstaining.
Move February Meeting. Mr. Sullivan, seconded by Mr. Cowen, moved to reschedule the regular February meeting of the board of directors from February 21 to February 22, 2024, to begin at 9:30 a.m. After discussions by board members, an amended motion was made by Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Cowen, to reschedule the regular meeting to Friday, February 16, 2024, to begin at 9:30 a.m. The motion carried unanimously.
Move June Meeting. Mr. Sullivan, seconded by Mr. Cowen, moved to reschedule the regular June meeting of the board of directors from June 19 to June 20, 2024, to begin at 9:30 a.m. After discussion by all board members, an amended motion was made by Mr. Cowen, seconded by Mr. Robinson, to reschedule the regular meeting to June 18, 2024, to begin at 9:30 a.m. The motion carried unanimously.
Homestead Exemption Cards. Chief Appraiser Altinger reported on the mailing of the homestead exemption confirmation cards. Starting December approximately 802,000 cards have been mailed out for tax year 2024. Normally, about 20,000 are returned and require investigations, and about 8,000 will subsequently be canceled as ineligible. A sample card was provided to the board.
2023 BEAR Project. Chief Appraiser Altinger reported on HCAD’s participation in the 2023 CPS Kids project (BEAR). A total of 609 gifts were purchased and delivered to children in CPS custody.
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, Danielle Kirkland, 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.
Appraisal Matters. Board member Jim Robinson discussed the scheduling of a board meeting in July. As of 2021, the July meeting for the HCAD Board of Directors has been canceled, moving all agenda items to the following month. Board member Mike Sullivan also reiterated the importance of having a meeting in July due to the monthly operations of the organization.
Executive Session. Chairman Lemond Dixon called the board into executive session at 11:33 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 12:18 p.m.
Roll Call. Board members Jim Robinson, Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Jonathan Cowen, and Grace Rodriguez were present. Mike Sullivan and Ann Harris Bennett were absent.
Security Systems. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Rodriguez, moved to approve the contract with Unique Digital, subject to approval by the district’s legal department, of the purchase of a new security camera and panic button system along with five years of operating licenses in the total amount of $572,406. The motion carried unanimously.
Pending Litigation. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Rodriguez, 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. 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 12:21 p.m.
https://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/resources/2024/Boardbook-February-16-2024-Meeting.pdf