Houston Daily

Harris Central Appraisal District Board of Directors met Oct. 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A meeting of the Harris Central Board of Directors was held Wednesday, October 15th, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. at the HCAD offices.

Chairman Jim Robinson called the meeting to order at 9:31 a.m.

Director Scott led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Salute to the Texas Flag.

Chairman Robinson announced that to keep a quorum to discuss and vote on some important agenda items, he would be changing the order of the agenda. After public comments, the candidates nominated for the vacant position on the board were invited to address the board. Following comments from the public and the nominated candidates, the board would be going into executive session to consider the appointment for the vacancy on the board. He also stated that if a decision was made by the board on the appointment by majority vote and if the candidate was still present at the board meeting, they would be sworn in and able to take their seat on the board.

Roll Call. The presence of a quorum was established by roll call. Jim Robinson, Martina Lemond Dixon, Ericka McCrutcheon, Melissa Noriega, Annette Ramirez, Kyle Scott, Mike Sullivan and Kathy Blueford-Daniels were present.

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

Comments from Members of the Public. Property owners Melissa Rowell, Alexie Swirskey and Mark Goloby addressed the board.

Nominated candidates Charles Brandman, Jonathan Cowen, Bill Frazer, Paul Garcia, Tracy Jones, John McGee, Paula Mendoza, Eugene Newsome, and Paul Shanklin addressed the board.

Executive Session. Chairman Robinson called the board into executive session at 10:07 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 11:00 a.m.

Roll Call. All board members were present.

Chairman Robinson asked all board members to cast their vote by paper ballot for the appointment of a new board member for the vacancy on the board.

Legal Counsel Tammy White-Chaffer called for a point of order for the Chair, asking for a motion for the vote.

Board Member Appointment. Director McCrutcheon, seconded by Director Ramirez, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve Resolution 2025-11 appointing an individual nominated by the governing bodies of the taxing units to fill the current vacancy on HCAD’s Board of Directors and reflecting the appointment by majority vote of HCAD’s Board of Directors.

Chairman Robinson opened the voting by ballot to all board members present. He also stated that it would be a difficult decision to make with all the qualified candidates.

The votes were collected and tabulated by Executive Assistant Cynthia Guerra and Chief Legal Officer Kevin McCormack. The voting results were presented to Chairman Robinson who announced that there were (6) votes cast for nominee Tracy Jones and (1) vote cast for nominee Bill Frazer, declaring nominee Tracy Jones as receiving the majority of votes and would be duly appointed to the vacant seat on the board.

Chairman Robinson administered the oath of office to newly appointed director Tracy Jones and thanked and acknowledged all nominees present for their interest in HCAD applying for the vacancy position.

ARB Appointments. Director Ramirez, seconded by Director Lemond Dixon, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve Resolution 2025-10, appointing individuals to serve as members of the Appraisal Review Board beginning January 1, 2026. After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

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

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 Blueford-Daniels, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve the consent agenda. After a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously.

a. Approval of Minutes. Reviewing and approving the minutes of the regular meeting of September 17, 2025.

b. Just Appraised Renewal. Authorizing the chief appraiser to exercise the second (one year) renewal option with Just Appraised Inc. for property transaction information. The cost will be $207,000 per year, the same amount as last year.

c. CourthouseDirect Renewal. Authorizing the chief appraiser to exercise the second (one year) renewal option with CourthouseDirect.com at a cost of $4,000 per month, the same amount as last year.

d. ESRI Renewal. Approving a fourth-year renewal of the Enterprise Agreement for Geographic Information Systems software from ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.) in the amount of $748,000.

e. Storage Maintenance Renewal. Approving the second-year renewal of storage maintenance and support from a DIR vendor Accudata Systems, a Converge Company, in the amount of $148,000.

f. 2026 Holiday Schedule. Adopting the proposed 2026 holiday schedule.

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

h. Bills and Payroll. Authorizing payment of bills and payroll in the amount of $6,783,456.93 and a transfer of funds for $3,332,000 as submitted.

Committee Meetings. Director Scott reported on the expenditure items discussed at the last Budget & Finance Committee meeting.

Official Depository Contract. Director Noriega, seconded by Director Lemond Dixon, made a motion for discussion and possible action to award the depository contract for all or a portion of the district’s funds to Frost Bank for the period of January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. After a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Appraisal Contracts. Chairman Robinson combined the (3) appraisal contract renewals into one motion. Director McCrutcheon, seconded by Director Noriega, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve the renewal of contracts with Capitol Appraisal Group, Inc., Hugh Landrum & Associates, Inc., and Pritchard & Abbott, Inc., for utilities, minerals, and industrial appraisal services. Representatives from Hugh Landrum & Associates, Inc., and Pritchard & Abbott, Inc. introduced themselves and were available for questions. After a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously.

Chief Appraiser Designate. Director Lemond Dixon, seconded by Director Noriega, made a motion for discussion and possible action to approve Resolution 2025-12 ratifying the Board of Director’s decision to hire Adam Bogard as Chief Appraiser Designate of the Harris Central Appraisal District effective until December 31, 2025, after which Mr. Bogard will assume the role of Chief Appraiser beginning January 1, 2026. At the request of Chairman Robinson, the motion was amended by Director Noriega and seconded by Director Lemond Dixon to include the official designation of the salary. Director Sullivan expressed appreciation to the other applicants and acknowledged their service to the district. Legal Counsel Tammy White-Chaffer made a point of clarification stating that the Resolution contained all the items relating to compensation for the new chief appraiser as discussed by the board . After a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.

HCAD Website Searches. This agenda item was moved to the November meeting.

Protests & Hearings. Jeff Morrison, Chief of Hearings, reported on protests and hearings, including iFile and iSettle. Protests received as of this meeting for the 2025 tax year totaled 563,712 with the majority of them being filed electronically. He reported that the electronic settlement options once again proved to be very productive, accounting for a majority of the 551k protests being settled so far.

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 Chair 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. A written report was provided in the board packet.

Appraisal Matters. Director Scott voiced property owner concerns on how value considerations and characteristic changes are handled after an ARB hearing and how the information is carried over from year to year, suggesting that this could be fully addressed at the next board meeting for a better understanding. Director Blueford-Daniels also expressed the importance of understanding the process enough to be able to explain it to property owners when they reach out to board members with questions. She also mentioned a concern with the ARB on-line application process and the need for the software to be able to provide a “review” or check and balance point for the applicant before they submit the applications. Currently, the process does not allow a review for any edits before you submit the application.

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

25.25(b) Corrections. With no action required, the quarterly report of corrections was presented to the board and made available upon request by any board members who wanted to inspect it.

Recognition of Service Awards and Employees of the Month. Chief Appraiser Altinger and newly appointed Director Jones presented the awards.

A moment of silence was observed in honor of HCAD employee Maria Flores who recently passed away.

A 10-year service award was presented to Nadeem Mithani of the Information Technology Division.

A 20-year service award was presented to Tiffany McKentie of the Business & Industrial Property Division.

Employees of the Month. Employee of the Month plaques were presented to Zachary Eaton of the Information Technology Division, Terence Hayden of the Business & Industrial Property Division, La’Korra Mason of the Human Resources Division, and Ashley Washington of the Information & Assistance Division.

Adjournment. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting adjourned at 12:01 p.m.

https://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/resources/2025/Boardbook-final-November-19-2025-meeting.pdf