Houston Daily

Harris Central Appraisal District Board of Directors met Aug. 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A meeting of the Harris Central Board of Directors was held Wednesday, August 20th, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. at the HCAD offices.

Chairman Jim Robinson called the meeting to order at 9:34 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 by roll call. Jim Robinson, Martina Lemond Dixon, Ericka McCrutcheon, Melissa Noriega, Annette Ramirez, and Kyle Scott were present. Director Kathy Blueford-Daniels joined the meeting at 9:50 a.m. and Director Sullivan joined the meeting at 9:51 a.m.

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 Director Martina Lemond Dixon presented the awards.

10-year service awards were presented to David Dignum of the Information Technology Division, Emmy Nguyen of the Business & Industrial Property Division and Timothy Tran of the Review Appraisal Division.

Employees of the Month. Employee of the Month plaques were presented to Lovie Luckie of the Information Technology Division, Cindy Olivarez of the Information & Assistance Division, Caleb Prince of the Review Appraisal Division, and Shantay Speed of the Residential Property Division.

Comments from Members of the Public. Property owner Alexie Swirsky addressed the board.

Committee Meetings. Director Scott summarized the results of the Budget & Finance committee’s last meeting to the board. Director McCrutcheon, Chairman of the Evaluation Committee reported on the last meeting held by the Evaluation committee and Director Blueford-Daniels reported that the ARB Appointment committee would be meeting in the next couple of weeks.

Chief Appraiser Applicant Process. Chairman Robinson addressed the board regarding the Chief Appraiser’s applicant interview process and the board’s participation. After discussion by board members, suggestions were made that the preliminary interviews would be completed by the Evaluation committee at the Olson & Olson offices, and if the full board would like to participate, the top scoring finalists, after the posting of the required notice, could be interviewed by the full board at the district.

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.”

Director Lemond Dixon, seconded by Director Scott, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve the consent agenda. After a roll call vote, the motion carried with Director Scott abstaining from voting on consent agenda item “a”.

a. Approval of Minutes. Reviewing and approving the minutes of the regular meeting of July 16, 2025.

b. DEX Imaging Renewal. Approving a one-year renewal option outsourcing all printers and Multi-Functional Units (MFUs) management to a Sourcewell Cooperative vendor DEX Imaging in an estimated amount of $105,000.

c. VisiFLOW Software and Services Renewal. Approving a one-year renewal option on a contract with Eccentex Corp. for VisiFLOW software and services support in the amount of $155,000.

d. Tax Transparency Website Services Renewal. Approving allocation of funds for the continued use of the services for tax transparency website and taxing unit portal, as necessitated by the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act of 2019 (Senate Bill 2), from True Prodigy Tech Solutions. The amount for these services will be approximately $77,000.

e. General Liability, Property Coverage, Workers’ Compensation. Approving a contract renewal with Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool in the amount of $430,713.

f. Appreciation Luncheons. Approving the Tax Year 2025 appreciation luncheons for HCAD employees and ARB members.

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

h. Bills and Payroll. Authorizing payment of bills and payroll in the amount of $7,582,117.62 as submitted.

VisiFLOW Software Upgrade. Director Scott, seconded by Director Lemond Dixon, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve Phase 2 of VisiFLOW software upgrade implementation with sole-source vendor Eccentex Corporation. The cost of Phase 2 is not to exceed $600,000. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Official Depository RFP. Director McCrutcheon, seconded by Director Lemond Dixon, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve Resolution 2025-07 authorizing and directing the giving of notice to bidders to serve as the official depository of all or a portion of the funds of the appraisal district. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Appraisal Review Board for 2026. Director Scott, seconded by Director McCrutcheon, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve the chief appraiser to issue a news release stating that applications for the Appraisal Review Board members for 2026 will be accepted by the Harris Central Appraisal District’s Board of Directors beginning September 1, 2025, and will be accepted until vacancies are filled. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Amend Salary Schedule and Provisions Policy. Chairman Robinson, seconded by Director Scott, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve an amendment to paragraph C in the 2026 salary schedule and provisions on page 21 of the proposed 2026 budget to add: Item 4. Quality Service Incentives are subject to prior board approval. After a roll call vote, the motion carried with Director Sullivan voting no.

Approval of HCAD’s 2026 Budget. Director Scott, seconded by Director Noriega, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve the 2026 budget for the Harris Central Appraisal District as presented. After discussions and a roll call vote, the motion carried with Director Sullivan and Director Scott both voting against the approval of HCAD’s budget as presented.

Update Committee Members. With the resignation of Board member Cassandra Auzenne-Bandy, Chairman Robinson updated the members of the Audit Committee, appointing Director Noriega as Chair and until the vacancy on the board is filled, he would be attending the meetings of both the Audit and the Evaluation committees.

BOD Vacancy & Election Process. Kevin McCormack, Chief Legal Officer, updated the board regarding the process to fill the vacancy on the board and the process for the appointment of two board of directors whose terms will begin January 1, 2026. A slide presentation was provided to the board.

Protests & Hearings. 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 2025 tax year, 549,807 protests (roughly a 10% increase from last year) have been received with the vast majority of them being filed electronically. He reported that the electronic settlement options are once again proving to be very productive with over 328k protests being settled so far. Correction and exemption hearings continue to be scheduled to stay current.

Report on the 89th Texas Legislature. Kevin McCormack, Chief Legal Officer, reported on some of the bills that passed during the 89th regular legislative session that will affect the board of directors, the taxing units and/or HCAD. A slide presentation and a handout were provided to the board.

Report on HCAD’s Strategic Succession Plan. Due to board member time constraints, this agenda item was moved to next month.

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 member James Koen, 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. A written report was provided in the board packet.

Appraisal Matters. Director Lemond Dixon wanted to publicly thank the CRDs who voted for her to be placed on the voting ballot in October, stating she was thankful and grateful for the confidence they have in her. Director Blueford-Daniels expressed condolences to Deputy Chief Appraiser Clarette Walker and Kristi Parker for the recent death in their families. She also commented on the goal of interviewing applicants for the ARB and set the date of the next ARB meeting for August 22nd.

Executive Session. Chairman Robinson called the board into executive session at 11:24 a.m. for the purpose of: (a) considering the appointment of appraisal review board members; and (b) 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; (c) 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; (d) considering the deployment, or specific occasions for implementation of security personnel or devices; (e) 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 Robinson opened the meeting at 11:33 a.m.

Roll Call. Board members Martina Lemond Dixon, Kyle Scott, Melissa Noriega, Annette Ramirez, and Kathy Blueford-Daniels were present. Mike Sullivan and Ericka McCrutcheon were absent.

Pending Litigation. Director Ramirez, seconded by Director Lemond Dixon, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve settlement of pending litigation, arbitrations, and SOAH appeals as submitted by staff. After a roll-call vote, the motion carried. A list is attached.

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

Adjournment. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 11:35 a.m.

https://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/resources/2025/Boardbook-September-17-2025-meeting.pdf