Home appraisal too high? Travis County voters will pick appraisal board members Saturday

Voters in Travis County on Saturday will decide who will serve on some positions on the appraisal district's board — the first time voters get a direct say on who sits on the panel — after the Legislature last year advanced a massive tax relief plan, which kicked off a new election process to help address increasing property values.

Texas voters in November overwhelmingly enshrined into law the $18 billion property tax relief plan that lawmakers passed, and in doing so, set the stage for a new election — three new, nonpartisan positions on local appraisal district boards across the state's 50 largest counties are on the ballot as required under Senate Bill 2.

Despite coming together in July in the aftermath of a punishing and partisan regular legislative session with a focus to more than double the state's homestead property tax exemption and reduce school property tax rates, the omnibus tax relief plan also created a new layer in governing property appraisals.

Beginning this year, under a nonpartisan banner, voters will elect three members to serve on appraisal district boards in staggered four-year terms, replacing the previous process in which all positions on the board were appointed by local taxing entities.

While some have painted the new elected positions as necessary to recognize and alleviate Texas property owners' tax concerns, others are worried the new election will result in low voter turnout, instill confusion over the authority to adjudicate local appraisals and tax rates, and force counties to comply with an unfunded mandate.

"We've never had to be responsible for elections before," said former Travis Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Marya Crigler, who announced her retirement last year. "So it was a really steep learning curve for appraisal districts with a very short lead time for us to get started."

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Crigler, who has served in Travis County's appraisal office for the past three decades, said the introduction of elected members to the local boards was a surprise, calling the decision a misguided attempt to increase accountability in the appraisal arena.

Although the board is responsible for administrative decisions — such as appointing the district's chief appraiser, setting general policies and approving budgets — it is not involved in conducting appraisals or reviewing property values.

"They're not determining the overall tax burden," Crigler said. "And so people that are upset about the overall tax burden that they're paying really need to be redirected and direct their attention to the other elected officials that are making those decisions about how much money is being spent."

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Counties with a population of 75,000 or more must hold the new elections, and in Travis County, seven candidates are on the ballot for the three nonpartisan positions.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said lawmakers sought a change to appraisal board governance as negotiations on property tax remedies extended into the summer after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's marquee legislative priority failed to pass during the regular session.

Bettencourt, who ushered the passage of the property tax plan, touted the legislation's measures to pare down tax rates, extend tax cuts for small businesses and increase the state's homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000.

"The most powerful tool I can use as a tax writer is an exemption, because that means people don't pay the tax," Bettencourt said.

While much of the Capitol discourse over property taxes fixated on a bicameral disagreement over increasing tax rate compression versus raising the homestead exemption, the lawmakers' compromise included dictating the terms for electing three officials to local appraisal boards.

"We didn't really think about it," Jon Taylor, a University of Texas at San Antonio political science professor, said of the new elected positions. "Nobody really gave a thought to it, kind of an afterthought, and then boom, here we are."

Lacking the authority to directly address appraisals, Taylor said those seeking election to an appraisal board have limited issues on which to campaign as addressing property taxes will remain out of their purview. Although the elected members will have an outsized influence in selecting a district's membership to its appraisal review board as two of three elected board members must support the choice.

"They're not going to be responsible for cutting property taxes, the rates or the homestead exemptions, or any of that," Taylor said. "They're not doing that."

Despite adding some confusion over the hierarchy of appraisal processes, Taylor said, the nonpartisan positions are creating a springboard for those seeking an on-ramp into political life.

"So we start to think, what can that position be for other than for somebody to be elected, to be visible and therefore use it as a stepping stone to other offices," Taylor said.

Leading into Saturday's election, the Travis County Democratic Party has issued a slate of endorsements for the three nonpartisan positions, while Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak and other candidates from third parties are also seeking election to the board.

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In considering the political impact of the new election, Bettencourt largely downplayed the concern of partisan influence and endorsements, saying that a main part of the agreement for allowing the three board members to be elected was that the positions remain nonpartisan.

"People are going to get endorsements for whoever they want to get endorsements, that's the modern world," Bettencourt said. "It's a free country, hey, it's what people do when they run for office."

Mackowiak, who leads the Travis County GOP, in response to questions from the American-Statesman, also minimized the political concerns tied to the nonpartisan election, instead emphasizing a need for local taxpayers to have more information made available to them about their property appraisals.

"In my view, valuations have been out of control for many years in Travis County, and apart from the Texas Legislature capping annual property tax increases, local government simply isn’t meeting the moment," Mackowiak said.

Pooja Sethi, who chairs the Travis County Democratic Party, said the new election is a challenge for those looking to join the board simply because voter turnout is typically low during local races and that information on the new, niche position has not become readily available.

"The nonpartisan races are a little different, especially in such a blue county like Travis County, where people want to support the values of the Democratic Party but again don't have the information," Sethi said.

In a statement ahead of the election, Travis Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Leana Mann said she looks forward to "working with our board members, both elected and appointed, to continue to serve our taxpayers and ensure fair and accurate market values for all property in Travis County."

For Crigler, the county's previous chief appraiser, introducing elections to the appraisal process is reminiscent of the reason appraisal districts were first established and runs contrary to ensuring property owners receive a fair appraisal free political influence.

"And, you know, you always worry when you start injecting politics back into the process," Crigler said. "Are we moving away from what was established to create that independence to make sure that we were doing a fair job for everybody?"

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the newly elected appraisal board members will have an outsized influence in selecting a county's chief appraiser. Instead, they will have that outsized influence in appointing a district's appraisal review board, with two of three elected board members required to support a nomination. The elected members will have equal vote on the board in selecting a chief appraiser.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas election: Travis County appraisal board seats up for grabs