Harris Central Appraisal District Board of Directors met Dec. 18

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

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A meeting of the Harris Central Board of Directors was held Wednesday, December 18th, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. at the HCAD offices.

Chairman Martina Lemond Dixon called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m.

Board member Ericka McCrutcheon 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, Jonathan Cowen, Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Kyle Scott, Ericka McCrutcheon and Kathy Blueford-Daniels were present. Mike Sullivan arrived at 10:04 a.m. Grace Rodriguez, and Ann Harris Bennett were absent.

Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger and Tammy White-Chaffer of Olson and Olson, legal counsel, were also in attendance.

Recognition of Service Awards and Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Altinger and Board member Jonathan Cowen presented the awards.

A 10-year service award was presented to Georgi Parayil of the Commercial Property Division. A 20-year service award was presented to Juana Jackson of the Commercial Property Division.

A 35-year service award was presented to Barbara Oneal of the Business & Industrial Property Division.

Employees of the Month. Employee of the Month plaques were presented to Wilhelmina Brown of the Information & Assistance Division, Andrea Obenhaus of the Information Technology Division, Jackson Randle of the Commercial Property Division, and Bianca Slater of the Business & Industrial Property Division.

Comments from Members of the Public. Property owners Gladys House-El, Melissa Rowell and Mark Goloby addressed the board. Handouts were provided to 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.”

Mr. Cowen, seconded by Mr. Robinson, made a motion to approve the consent agenda. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

a. Approval of Minutes. Reviewing and approving the minutes of the regular meeting of November 20, 2024.

b. Firewall Support Renewal. Approving a one-year renewal for the district’s firewall support, including the subscription for all related devices and endpoint protection clients, from a DIR vendor Converge Technology Solutions, for a total cost of $158,000, a 3% or $5,000 increase over last year.

c. Cisco SmartNet Renewal. Approving a one-year renewal of Cisco SmartNet—support, and maintenance for the district’s Cisco devices, from The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) vendor Accudata Systems, for a total cost of $73,000, same as last year.

d. CoStar Realty Renewal. Authorizing the chief appraiser to authorize a contract renewal with CoStar Realty Information, Inc. to provide software/database containing industrial, office market, tenant, and comparable sales data. The annual cost of this contract for 2025 is $226,788, which represents an approximate 4.5% increase from 2024. This cost includes forty (40) user licenses.

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

f. Bills and Payroll. Authorizing payment of bills and payroll in the amount of $8,396,249.08 and a transfer of funds for $1,332,000 as submitted.

Cybersecurity MDR Services. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Mr. Scott, made a motion to approve a new three-year agreement for the Cybersecurity Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services through a Choice Partners vendor Converge Technology Solutions. The annual cost for the services is $132,225, a 13% decrease or $19,000 from the last three-year agreement. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Cyclomedia Agreement. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Sullivan, made a motion approving a new two-year agreement with Cyclomedia for Street Level imagery and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and to approve the first year’s purchase in the amount not to exceed $250,000. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Valcre Appraisal Software Contract. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, made a motion authorizing the Chief Appraiser to enter into a new 2-year contract with Valcre to provide appraisal software for production of commercial appraisal reports at a cost of $31,044 for the first year and $32,596 for the second, a locked in 5% increase, and a total cost for two years at $63,640. After a roll call vote the motion carried unanimously.

AG Reappointments. Ms. McCrutcheon, seconded by Ms. Blueford- Daniels, made a motion approving the reappointment of Fred Stockton, Damian Prause and Beverly Stevenson to the Agricultural Appraisal Advisory Board of the Harris Central Appraisal District. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Hybrid Workplace Policies. Chief Appraiser Altinger provided the board with a brief overview of HCAD’s performance of its mandates with hybrid work options. A handout was provided to the board. Mr. Cowen, seconded by Mr. Robinson, made a motion to discuss and possible action on hybrid work policies. After discussion and questions, Mr. Sullivan amended the motion which was seconded by Mr. Cowen that no action would be taken today. After a roll call vote the motion carried with Ms. McCrutcheon and Mr. Cowen abstaining.

2024 Houston Area GIS Expo. Sarah LaRue, GIS Supervisor, reported on the 2024 Houston Area GIS Day, Students and Professional events, hosted by the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (H GAC) Geographic Data Workgroup and University of Houston-Clear Lake which were held on November 21st and 22nd, 2024 at University of Houston–Clear Lake. HCAD staff won first place in the Map Gallery competition with the wall map “Cramming with Caffeine” by co-authors Holly McDonald, Trenton Thomas, Eartha Courtright, Sarah LaRue, Joshua Dye, Bryce Tewell. They also won second place in the Map Gallery competition with the wall map “Houston Central Business Districts” by co-authors Luis Otero and Joshua Blackmon.

Homestead Exemption Cards. Scott Christenson, Senior Director of the Information & Assistance Division reported on the mailing of the homestead exemption confirmation cards. Approximately 827,000 cards were mailed in batches of 100,000, starting on December 6th. Typically about 16,000 are returned and require investigations. Of those, around 15,000 will subsequently be cancelled as ineligible. A sample card was provided to the board.

BOD Election. Kevin McCormack, Chief Legal Counsel, reported on the final results of the board of director election process appointing five (5) directors to the HCAD board with terms beginning January 1, 2025. Outgoing board member Jonathan Cowen expressed his thanks to the board and staff stating it was an honor to serve on the board. Chairman Lemond Dixon and the board thanked Mr. Cowen for his years of service.

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, Kevin Stone, 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 Kyle Scott inquired about Succession Planning for the district. He stated that he wanted to understand the comprehensive vision and the direction the organization is moving, with the intention of all involved to doing a better job that would also satisfy the public as well.

Board member Mike Sullivan addressed the issue of a formal Succession Plan verses the Emergency Plan and the purpose of both. Also stating the importance of this plan to the organization as a future planning tool.

Board member Jim Robinson stressed the importance of training , mentoring and monitoring the leadership of the district stating that staff in leadership roles should be assuming more of the duties of the Chief Appraiser, specifically the public presentations. He stated this could help in determining a good leader and how well they are representing HCAD out in the public.

Executive Session. Chairman Lemond Dixon called the board into executive session at 12:14 p.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 1:28 p.m.

Roll Call. Board members Jim Robinson, Kathy Blueford-Daniels, Ericka McCrutcheon, Kyle Scott and Mike Sullivan were present. Ann Harris Bennett, Jonathan Cowen, Grace Rodriguez and Cassandra Auzenne Bandy were absent.

ARB Appointments.

As required by Section 6.41(d-2-1)

A board of directors acting as an appointing authority must make appointments to the appraisal review board by majority vote, with at least two members of the majority being elected members of the board of directors.

Elected member Ms. Blueford-Daniels seconded by elected member Mr. Scott, moved to approve Resolution 2024-12, appointing individuals to the Appraisal Review Board for service beginning January 1, 2025. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Election of ARB Officers. Elected member Ms. Blueford-Daniels seconded by elected member Ms. McCrutcheon, moved to approve Resolution 2024-13, appointing Danielle Kirkland as Chairman and Kevin Stone as Secretary of the Appraisal Review Board. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Pending Litigation. Mr. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, moved to approve settlement of pending litigation, arbitrations, and SOAH appeals as submitted by staff. After a roll call vote, the motion carried with Mr. Sullivan abstaining. A list is attached.

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

Performance Review of Chief Appraiser. Ms. McCrutcheon, seconded by Ms. Blueford-Daniels, made a motion to accept the Performance Review as presented and to establish the Chief Appraiser’s salary for 2025 as 3.5 % increase over the 2024 salary. After a roll call vote, the motion carried with Mr. Sullivan voting no.

Adjournment. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 1:32 p.m.

https://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/resources/2025/Boardbook-January-15-2025-Meeting.pdf