Wow, I am BLOWN AWAY! I started ringing the alarm bell about the TAD election and invited anyone interested to send emails. THOUSANDS of you responded! It was really, really encouraging to me to see so many people respond. But it also showed just how many people are desperate for our property tax system to improve. I’m fired up! I have mixed feelings about how the election ended. Election Results Four out of the five incumbents were re-elected. The only newcomer to the board was former Fort Worth City Councilman Jungus Jordan.  The board members serving at TAD for the next two years are Tony Pompa, J.R. Martinez, Rich DeOtte, Kathryn Wileman, Jungus Jordan I stood before the board this past Friday and implored them to stand up for the taxpayers. Giving TAD a Piece of my Mind

  The Tarrant County Appraisal District (TAD) is having an election to decide who will oversee its organization.  Virtually nobody knows this election even exists. If we did nothing, this election would come and go. Nobody would notice. Nothing would change. We don't get to vote in this election, but we can make darn sure that we make our voices heard. The people that do get to vote need to know that we're watching and we care. My solution: I personally invited each candidate to sit down and record an interview with me. Five took me up on the offer. Many candidates either don't stand a chance at winning or don't give me confidence they will stand up for taxpayers quite like Rich DeOtte and Gary Losada. So, let's help elect DeOtte and Losada.  Update: The voting period has ended. The winners are: Rich DeOtte, Jungus Jordan, Kathryn Wileman, JR Martinez, Pompa I will provide more information shortly

[scroll down to see TAD candidate interviews] Right now, the Tarrant County Appraisal District (TAD) is holding an election to decide who oversees the organization. TAD is the same entity that sets your property tax value and sends out the blue value notice every April. If you care about how TAD conducts its business, then you need to pay attention to this election. This election is virtually secret and it has a pretty colorful history.  In the past five years since I volunteered to protest for thousands of people, I have discovered this secret election filled with a conflict of interest and loopholes that allowed a few to influence the election. I have testified in Austin again and again and worked with lawmakers (Rep. Matt Krause and others) to help change the law (law 1, law 2).   Now, what's still missing is education, accountability, and transparency.  That's why I'm taking action!  I offered for each of TAD candidates to record an interview with me so that I could share it with you. All the interviews are posted below.  Here's what you can do: Scroll down and watch the candidate interviews Pick the candidate you like Search to find contact information (click here) for your locally elected representatives Send an email like this: Dear Councilmember, Please vote for in the TAD board of directors election. Thank you for serving our community.  (in order according to who was first to agree to an interview request) Gary Losada - Resume   Rich DeOtte - Resume Rockie Gilley - Resume Wes Bullock - Resume   James "Jim" Austin - Resume These TAD BOD candidates have either declined or were unavailable to interview: Tony Pompa, Kathryn Wilemon, Jungus Jordan, Jim Griffin, Mike Leyman, Joe Ralph "JR" Martinez   More information can be found here about the TAD Board of Directors. The board is appointed by the taxing units to two-year terms. It consists of five directors and the county assessor-collector, who is not a voting member of the board.

Your monthly electricity bill is often the second-largest expense after your mortgage. Making some simple changes around your home could add up to big savings.  Here are 27 tips to cut energy costs    1. Shop for better electricity rates I saved a TON of money with Energy Ogre, so I welcomed the company as a sponsor. Average savings is $558/year. Take 2 minutes to see how much they can save you. When you sign up, the company contributes to our mission to fight the property tax system. I feel the love. It’s beautiful. Take 2 minutes to get a free quote-click here 2. Cut Out Phantom Energy Your TV, computer, Internet router, and kitchen appliances are making your electric bill higher. This is because they are continually working even while off.  Use power strips and turn them off when electronics are not in use. 3. Use Dimmer Switches Dimmer switches restart every 120 seconds, and the restart isn’t noticeable to the human eye. This essentially modulates how much energy is needed, saving energy and money! 4. Line Dry Laundry Dryers are energy hogs, and cutting them out of your home routine can save you quite a bit of money. 5. Keep Your Fridge and Freezer Full The food and drinks act as insulation, keeping your refrigerator from working so hard to cool things off. Energy saved! 6. Keep Refrigerator Coils Clean Dirty coils make your fridge work harder. Check them every three months and keep them clean to save electricity and lengthen the life of your refrigerator. 7. Use Ceiling Fans Ceiling fans help circulate air throughout your home and ease the job of your air conditioner. 8. Get an Attic Ceiling Fan You may notice how hot it gets in the attic or on the top floor of your home in the summer. Having an attic ceiling fan can reduce hot air and allow your home to be cooled faster. 9. Keep the Sun Out Direct sunlight can quickly crank up the energy consumption of your air conditioner. Close blinds and curtains on the sunny side of your home. 10. Get Annual HVAC Maintenance To ensure your HVAC is operating efficiently, get annual maintenance done on it. The inspection can identify any wear and tear that could be causing your HVAC system to be working harder than needed. 11. Clean HVAC Filters Cleaning your HVAC filter also promotes efficiency. Cleaning or changing your HVAC filter every 30 days can help you cut electricity costs. The added bonus is that your home will also have cleaner air flowing through it. This is a definite bonus during allergy season! 12. Turn Off Your Stove This is an easy tip to implement to help cut electricity costs. When you use your electric stovetop or oven, turn it off a few minutes before your food is done. The heat built up can continue to cook your food while you cook off a few dollars a year from your electric bill. 13. Use LED Lighting LED lights can reduce your lighting energy consumption by 90 percent. This can save you quite a bit of money long term! 14. Wash and Dry Dishes by Hand Limiting any appliance use in the kitchen, including your dishwasher, will ultimately save you money. 15. Turn Off Dishwasher Heat Dry If you can’t ditch the dishwasher, or if washing dishes by hand is not as cost-effective as your dishwasher,  turn off the heat dry selection on your dishwasher. 16. Insulate Electrical Outlets Install electrical outlet sealers behind outlets and switches to stop hot and cold air leaks. Want to go the extra mile? Place child-safety plugs into outlets after insulation is installed. 17. Install Storm Doors Storm doors can save you a little bit on your electric bill. Installing them also makes you eligible for a $500 tax credit. The average storm door costs around $200, but if you only need two or three of them, the tax credit alone makes it worth it. 18. Do Energy Saving Landscaping Planting trees to shade your home and your air conditioning unit can help naturally insulate your home, thus saving energy on heating and cooling. Decreasing the amount of rock and cement is also another great way to combine landscaping with energy efficiency. 19. Use Cold Water for Laundry Do you do your laundry using hot water? This is not uncommon, but it is also a cause for higher electric bills. Your washer’s energy consumption can be 90 percent less if you use cold water instead of hot. This is due to the decreased cost in heating the water. A cost saving method to definitely consider! 20. Go Low-Flow During Showers Less water flow during showers means less water to heat. This makes installing low-flow shower heads an easy way to start cutting your electric bill in half. 21. Buy Some Dryer Balls It’s no surprise that running your dryer less will help you cut electricity costs. Dryer balls are great for cutting drying times. In fact, dryer balls can cut drying time by 25 percent. If line drying your clothes is not possible, dryer balls are a great energy saving alternative. 22. Install Motion Sensors Lighting can drain energy fast, and it can be annoying to keep turning lights on and off as you move around your home. Installing light motion sensors can help.  23. Stop Preheating Your Oven Contrary to many recipes, food that requires a lengthy cook time doesn’t actually need or benefit from a preheated oven.  24. Get More Use Out of Your Microwave Microwaves use less electricity than your oven. And they also do not heat up your home, which is good if you are trying to reduce cooling costs in the summer. 25. Turn Your Lights Off This is a must if you want to cut electricity costs. Turning off your lights will reduce energy consumption related to lighting, as well as energy consumption used to cool your home. This is because most light bulbs produce heat, even CFL bulbs. 26. Maintain Ducts and Vents Yearly checks on your ducts and vents will help you identify any leaks and fix them. This can help you save big on your electric bill. 27. Turn Off Your Refrigerator Ice Maker Did you know that you could decrease your refrigerator’s energy consumption by turning off its ice maker? That’s right. By eliminating the ice maker you can decrease your fridge’s energy use by as much as 20 percent.   Thanks to Discover HomeSelfe and Real Simple Energy for many of these great tips   

  Take 5 minutes to call your lender… no really, it's easy. If your monthly mortgage payment has increased in the past year or so, it’s likely because your taxes and/or insurance have gone up. Your mortgage company likely uses a 12-month payment plan by default to pay off your escrow shortage, but they usually don't tell you that you have additional options. To help lower your payment, call your mortgage company and simply ask them if you can pay out the escrow shortage over 2-3 years. Most of the time they just say yes without any issue or pushback. A 10-minute phone call could drop your payment by hundreds.    Ask the Tax Assessor’s Office to split your tax payment throughout the year. The first installment must be paid on or before Nov. 30. The second installment must be paid on or before June 30. Those who qualify for the over 65 or disability exemptions may pay quarterly: Jan. 31, March 31, May 31 and July 31. Taxes not paid by Jan. 31 will incur penalties and interest unless the half payment or a quarterly installment is applied to the account. Contact the tax assessor before Nov. 30.    Triple check to make sure your exemptions are in place. The appraisal district can actually cancel your exemptions anytime without a great reason, such as, if mail they send you is returned undeliverable. This video shows how to verify your homestead exemption is in place in Tarrant County.  If you find out you need to file, this video provides the application link and, step by step instructions. Refinance your mortgage. Money is on sale! Interests rates are low and even lower. Get free quotes from your bank, an online company, and an independent lender. Then you can confidently choose who will meet the needs of your unique situation. We always recommend and trust Alex Varela, a branch manager for   Prime Lending. He's innovative and magical to get you into your dream home. Fill out this form if you would like more information.   Ask us for a free insurance quote. Your house payment includes taxes, insurance, principle, and mortgage interest. If your payment has increased, there is a good chance your insurance rates have increased. Many people are significantly overpaying. Talk with one of our expert insurance agents on staff to get you a free quote for home and auto. We shop A-rated insurance carriers to get the best coverage for best rate. Fill out this form .   Reduce your utility costs. Chandler saved a bunch of money with Energy Ogre, so he partnered with them to offer the same service to you.    Reduce your utility consumption. Your monthly electricity bill is often the second-largest expense after your mortgage. Making some simple changes around your home could add up to big savings. We have 27 tips to cut energy costs here.    

  Click Here for Crime Rate Map Fort Worth Tx Example of crime map   Buying a house can be stressful, especially if you don't know the area well. Before investing a ton of money in a house, it is smart to do a little research about the neighborhood you are planning to live in. Feeling safe in your home is a foundational requirement for anyone looking to find a place to live. One of the things that you want to look at is the crime rate of the area.  You also need to understand whether a specific crime is known in the area or just a one-time mere coincidence.Here is a video guide Chandler has prepared to help you know if a neighborhood you are interested in is the kind of home you want to live in. You can navigate, filter, and get the exact information that you need to search the area you are interested in.  

    https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494

  I fear that tax values are going to skyrocket this year. I recorded this video to share what you need to know:     I bookmarked the video here: HUGE Announcement 0:45 Real estate market update 3:55 Property tax disaster exemption application 9:00 New tax protest deadlines - 10:04   Next Steps: Business Leaders, Sign up here Personally support Chandler Crouch  How to support 3 bills to permanently improve property taxes   I am just ONE person. But TOGETHER we make up an army. A coalition. A force for good! Please help spread the word

  Scroll down to see a video overview of this info  Step 1 Send an email and call Morgan Meyer, the chairperson for the Ways and Means Committee (contact info below). Say this: Please schedule a hearing on House Bill 2403 and House Bill 2311.  HB 2403 What it does: Eliminates loophole used to rig elections for the appraisal district board of directors election HB 2311 What it does: Creates a better homestead exemption so values can only be increased by 5%   Morgan Meyer morgan.meyer@house.texas.gov   morgan@morganmeyerfortexas.com Ph 1: (512) 463-0367 Ph 1: 469-554-0428 3131 McKinney Avenue #649, Dallas, TX 75204   Step 2 Send an email and call Harold Dutton, the chairperson for the Education Committee (contact info below). Say this: Please schedule a hearing on House Bill 2944 HB 2944 What it does: Curtails State pressure on appraisal districts to artificially inflate values   Harold Dutton Jr harold.dutton@house.texas.gov Ph 1: (512) 463-0510 Ph 2: (713) 692-9192 8799 N. Loop East, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77029  

How emergency preparedness features in your house affect your property value. After last week's crazy-snow-apocalypse without water and electricity for days on end, we’re all asking ourselves what can we do differently to prepare so we can avoid or mitigate against those kinds of situations in the future? The price tags for some of these features are really really high. So the question is “If we can spend money on these emergency preparedness items, will it increase the property value? For how much?”   3 Factors That Influence Your Property Value:   1 - How people make purchase decisions First I want to explain a dynamic which most everybody can understand. It's a dynamic of how a swimming pool adds value to your property. Ex. You have spent $80k to install a really awesome swimming pool. However, most everybody understands that the entire $80k is not going to be recouped whenever you go resell the house. You might only get $20k out of the value of the swimming pool - the cost of installing the swimming pool exceeds the amount of value that's added to the property by adding the swimming pool. On the same level, that same dynamic exists for a lot of these emergency preparedness items such as a storm cellar, solar panels with batteries, private water wells, or a whole house generator, or the same kind of item will apply to those. You probably won't have as much bank for your buck for these emergency preparedness items as you would in a swimming pool and it all comes down to how people make decisions whenever they buy a house. People, in general, make decisions emotionally, and then they justify logically. Most everybody will begin the home purchase process by setting some parameters in just a simple form.  Ex. They may say they are looking for a house between $350k-$400k, then see all the homes that fit inside the price range. This is the logical process. After that, they will start scrolling through looking at nice photos and when you see a pretty house you say “Oh my gosh, I want that one! Let’s go set up a viewing!” It's the 13 different shower heads, the really nice upgraded countertops, the awesome hardwood floors, and the thing that makes you (from the emotional level) say ooh that is an awesome house! - then you go through and justify it logically. Unfortunately, people are not going to stop and go crazy about solar panels, energy-efficient features. We wanted to work that way but it just doesn't 2 - How real estate is valued in general. Real Estate is valued on a Sales Comparison approach. Appraisers will look at homes and compare what a house sold for vs another house sold for that is similar in some basic features, geographic location, lot area, etc.  Appraisers will then start considering other small details like solar panels, storm cellars, etc. these items will make a difference with the price value and may go up and down within that set of homes. Appraisers are not going to look at the total cost and features installed in a home but will look at the sales prices of the home. If there’s a lot of demand for a house for a certain set of features then the price of that house will be driven up. The demand comes from the people's buying decisions and that doesn't come from solar panels, storm cellars, and that sort of thing.  It comes from nice and pretty, and is an attractive home. You will get a little more out of your home. It will increase the property value but just wouldn't be as much as what you spend on your home. This is just something to justify the decision-making process like preparing for the next emergency.  "This is not the only factor you should consider. Family safety has to come above profit." 3 - Time The demand for houses right now is off the charts. It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Whenever we went through the 2008 financial crisis - the housing bubble issue, we won't hit that hard except for certain little pockets here in DFW metro where builders build way too much and get stuck with inventory and become trigger shot and quit building so many houses. That is the reason why the real estate market is going insane because there’s a lack of inventory and demand is increasing like crazy. Interest rates are super low and so people can afford more houses than ever. And so they are just gobbling up the inventory and that's causing prices to shoot to the roof even if your homes are not fixed up to the 9’s or even if you don't have the features that make people want to buy. The mere fact of the timing of how the market is going to increase property values more than anything ever could.  And so, that is going to weigh much heavier than any of these things that we’re talking about     Q&A with Chandler Crouch How about being on the hospital part of the power grid? Power is never going to be shut off if a property is near a hospital. House values near hospitals are going to increase tremendously this week because we are all driven emotionally from the pain of last week. People will do whatever they can to avoid that and if we can avoid that by making some simple decisions then we’re going to do that. And the emotion of that is really high. I just have a feeling that 3 or 4 weeks of 7-degree weather is not going to have the same emotional impact to drive that decision-making power that will increase your home value substantially. Buying a home near a hospital is a good decision for you and your family. Stay in the logical zone and make sure that you're making logical decisions in your next home purchase. Why does Houston have a huge property tax discount? It goes to the decisions that the City Municipalities are making. They got pretty good tax exemptions themselves. It's just what they voted in, what their city decided that they could survive off. That's going to depend really more on the budgets for the little areas that received that property tax revenue. If they can survive on less then they don't have to generate as much property tax revenue.

Chandler found this article through our electricity partner and thought it was vital information to share.   There is a lot of misinformation out there about what happened during the recent Texas freeze with power outages and what is happening now.   Misinformation examples include: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeFPSod4/ (Don’t use automatic payments with your provider, she was on a wholesale pricing plan, those on fixed-pricing don’t need to worry)   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7TpzX79dV4&feature=youtu.be (ERCOT controlling power)   While we understand the frustration and confusion, Energy Ogre CEO Jesson Bradshaw who has been in the electricity industry for over 20 years can share his unbiased thoughts, what actually transpired and what consumers need to know.   Below are some answers he has directly addressed for Energy Ogre members and others asking for answers. He is available to your audience either live or online should you like to have a conversation. We have a blog post addressing many of these questions here.   Feel free to use clips from Jesson’s interview here as we have provided unedited footage for your use: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10XQX-Na0GnN8ONRid-71c6njaluAtegh/view?usp=sharing     Can the fixed rate in my contract be changed by my provider, ERCOT, or the PUCT? Are my bills going to skyrocket because of the storm? No, your fixed-rate energy charge cannot be changed during the term of your contract and you should not expect a drastic increase in your bill. The terms of service allow for minor administrative changes in TDSP fees but your energy charge is locked into a fixed price. Energy Ogre enrolls members in fixed-rate plans ONLY. You are not subject to wholesale market prices and your bill will only increase when your usage increases. Who or what is to blame for the electric grid failure in Texas? Energy Ogre CEO Jesson Bradshaw explains that no one thing or entity, in particular, is to blame for the electric grid failure that left millions of Texans without electricity for hours and/or days. There were several problems, and he asks people consider them all—especially how rare this weather storm was. According to Jesson, the storm broke some records dating back to the 1800s.  What happens if my provider goes out of business? What is a POLR? When a provider is forced to shut its doors, a regulated process enforced by the PUC transfers its customers to a POLR or Provider of Last Resort. Online disinformation has reported that while on a POLR you could pay extraordinarily high prices as high as $9.00/kWh. This is completely FALSE. In the past, POLR rates have been slightly higher but tended to stay around 18c to 20c/kWh. If you are transferred to a POLR you may incur slightly higher charges for a short amount of time, while Energy Ogre works to immediately transfer you to a new provider and put you in the lowest rate available in the market. If you are not an Energy Ogre member, we strongly recommend you look for a new and less expensive provider.  Should I take my card off of autopay before I get an outrageous bill? If you are an Energy Ogre member and are on autopay, you can rest assured that you will not see drastic price increases in your bill since you are in a fixed-rate contract. If you are not an Energy Ogre member and are currently in a variable, index, or wholesale rate, you will want to call your provider to determine what options are available to you. Removing a payment method has the potential to leave someone without power, and unable to get power from a new provider if money is still owed to the former provider! Of course, Energy Ogre members can depend on us to figure this stuff out for them and do most of the work necessary to undo the switch hold.  My contract expires in March/April/May, how will the freeze affect my new contract rate? Currently, rates for March/April/May don't seem materially impacted by this short-term and outlier weather event as the power grid has already returned to normal market operations. If you are an Energy Ogre member, we are confident we will be able to find new or renewal rates that are as market competitive as possible. It is the same adage that we cannot control market prices, but we surely can work to place folks in the lowest ones available. For now, the wholesale market looks to have stabilized, but there we can anticipate investigations/ bankruptcies/ potential rule changes ahead.    About Our Relationship with Energy Ogre: Energy Ogre uses an advanced algorithm to help people find the lowest electricity cost for only $10/mo. When you sign up through our this link, you get a free month. Chandler personal uses Energy Ogre to save hundreds on his electric bill.   

Watch Chandler's disclaimer video Passed Schwertner R, et al: SB 725 Effective on 9/1/21 Relating to the qualification of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as agricultural land and the liability for the additional tax imposed on such land if the use of the land changes as a result of a condemnation.   Meyer R: HB 2429 HRO Bill Analysis Effective immediately. Relating to the alternate provisions for ad valorem tax rate notices when the de minimis rate of a taxing unit exceeds the voter-approval tax rate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent to the Secretary of State Campbell R, et al: SJR 35  HRO Bill Analysis Proposing a constitutional amendment to allow the surviving spouse of a person who is disabled to receive a limitation on the school district ad valorem taxes on the spouse's residence homestead if the spouse is 55 years of age or older at the time of the person's death. Ellzey R: HJR 125 HRO Bill Analysis Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent to the Governor Nelson-R SB 63 HRO Bill Analysis Chandler likes. The law currently limits email delivery to only primary residences. This bill would remove the restriction so notices could be delivered via email for all property types. It says "unless the notice is required to be sent by certified mail..." I'd like to see a citizen be able to waive the right for it to be sent via certified mail. This costs money and maybe completely pointless if the owner isn't home to receive it. It broadens email communication to include the ARB, not just CAD. Limits CAD board members to 3 terms. Terms are 2 years, so this would limit the total years served to 6 years.  I like term limits in general on just about any government position Gives the CAD board the ability to fire ARB members (ie the jury in a protest hearing) I like this, but I also realize my experience is limited to just a handful of counties. Some small counties may have a LOT more problems than mine, and I might not want the CAD to be able to mess with the ARB members. Right now the hiring/firing is too far removed from people that have day to day knowledge of the operations of protest hearings, so I like bring it a little closer to home. I just can't help but wonder what issues came up that caused the legislature to pass a bill that moved hiring and firing authority to a completely separate entity. In the end, I'd support this. Forces a CAD to respond to exemption applications within 90 days of being submitted. Requires the reason for denial to be stated. I like efficiency. The quicker the better. I'm happy to put pressure on them. No pressure, no diamonds. Requires hearings to be conducted within 90 days of filing - I like Simplifies the protest form - I like   Guillen D: HB 1544  HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the eligibility of land to continue to be appraised for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land if the land is temporarily used for sand mining operations; authorizing a fee. Campbell R, et al: SB 611 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty. Campbell R, et al: SB 611  HRO Bill Analysis Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty. Burrows R: HB 1869 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the definition of debt for the purposes of calculating certain ad valorem tax rates of a taxing unit. Walle D: HB 1931 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to requirements for beneficial tax treatment related to a leasehold or other possessory interest in a public facility used to provide multifamily housing. Birdwell R: SB 742 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to installment payments of ad valorem taxes on property in a disaster area. Campbell R: SB 794 Relating to eligibility for the exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence homestead of a totally disabled veteran. Sanford R: HB 2535 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of real property that includes improvements used for the noncommercial production of food for personal consumption. Burns R: HB 2941 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the appointment of appraisal review board members. Creighton R: SB 1088 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the applicability of provisions entitling certain lessees to receive a copy of a notice of appraised value delivered to a property owner by the chief appraiser of an appraisal district. Perry R:  SB 1245 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the farm and ranch survey conducted by the comptroller for purposes of estimating the productivity value of qualified open-space land as part of the study of school district taxable values. Birdwell R: SB 1257 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the information required to be provided by the chief appraiser of an appraisal district to the comptroller in connection with the comptroller's central registry of reinvestment zones designated and ad valorem tax abatement agreements executed under the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act. Bettencourt R: SB 1421 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the correction of an ad valorem tax appraisal roll and related appraisal records. Gervin-Hawkins D: HB 3610 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the applicability of certain laws to open-enrollment charter schools. Lucio D: SB 1315 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the determination that certain property is used as an aid or facility incidental to or useful in the operation or development of a port or waterway or in aid of navigation-related commerce for purposes of the application of certain ad valorem tax laws. Bettencourt R:  SB 1427 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the applicability of the temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of a portion of the appraised value of certain property damaged by a disaster. Bettencourt R, et al: SB 1449 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of income-producing tangible personal property having a value of less than a certain amount. Bonnen R: HB 3629   HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the date a deferral or abatement of the collection of ad valorem taxes on the residence homestead of an elderly or disabled person or disabled veteran expires. Bettencourt R: SB 1438 Relating to the effect of a disaster on the calculation of certain tax rates and the procedure for adoption of a tax rate by a taxing unit. Holland R: HB 3788 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the training and education of appraisal review board members. King, Phil R: HB 3833 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the additional ad valorem tax and interest imposed as a result of a change in the use of certain land. Meyer R: HB 3971 Relating to the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of residential real property located in a designated historic district. Alvarado D: SB 1679 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the creation of an urban land bank by certain municipalities. Holland R: HB 3786 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the authority of the comptroller to send, or to require the submission to the comptroller of, certain ad valorem tax-related items electronically. Powell D: SB 1854 Relating to an appeal through binding arbitration of an appraisal review board order determining a protest concerning a residence homestead for which the property owner has elected to defer the collection of ad valorem taxes. Lucio D:  SB 1919 Relating to the authority of a property owner to participate by videoconference at a protest hearing by an appraisal review board. Bettencourt R: SB 1764 HRO Bill Analysis Relating to the payment of delinquent ad valorem taxes on property subject to a tax sale. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still Pending All of Middleton's bills seem to just be necessary to facilitate everything he's proposing in HB 1395. Skip straight to that one to get the big picture. Middleton-R HJR 77 Chandler likes? I think? Wait a second... Did this bill just make it possible for a taxing entity to exempt the homeowner's primary residence from having to pay property taxes entirely? I don't know if I read that right, but if I did, this bill is awesome. It doesn't mandate the exemption, it just makes it possible for the exemption to go from a max of 20% up to 100%. I'm curious where the tax entity would get their revenue from, but if they think they can get away with no property tax, why not let them. I'm all in.  I read commentary saying this bill may only apply to elderly and disabled people. I may be missing it, but I don't read that limitation in the bill. The only limitation I see is limiting it to properties with a homestead exemption.   Middleton-R HJR 76 This appears to be identical to HJR 77, but only applies to Chambers County or Galveston County.  Middleton-R HJR 75 I think this is necessary just because he filed HB 1395. Go to my commentary on 1395 to see details. No appraisals, only purchase price. No more personal property tax. Who is going to pay the missing revenue? Legislature appoints members Middleton-R HB 1393 Chandler likes. Allows a taxing entity to exempt 100% of the property value from being taxed Middleton-R HB 1392 Its the same as HB 1393, but only applies to Galveston County. Middleton-R HB 1395 Chandler has mixed feelings. You can read my notes below. Its so much I decided to record this short video to provide some commentary. First, this bill is 114pgs long. It seems this bill is necessary to change some of the terms used to match changes that occur in other bills (changing the governing structure to eliminate the appraisal district renaming it to appraisal office and governance lead by a board of directors instead to the county tax assessor) and eliminate phrases prohibited in other bills (eg taxing personal property). It must go through every mention of these things and strike through them... that takes a lot of pages. It puts a lot of power in the hands of the tax assessor. It may spread his/her a little thin. The chief appraiser would still exist, but it would make the chief appraiser accountable to the tax assessor instead of a board of directors. I like that the leader (tax assessor) would be elected by the people. This may ruffle the feathers of the city, county, and school districts because it changes the accountability structure. Currently, the appraisal district is ultimately accountable to the tax entities. This would shift ultimate accountability one step closer to the citizens.  This eliminates CAD board of directors The tax assessor could act as the chief appraiser or appoint a chief appraiser to be eligible to be appointed as a chief appraiser, the person would need to be certified as a registered professional appraiser, but I'm not positive that the tax assessor would have to meet the same qualification if they decided to hold the office themselves I'm curious if the tax assessor would receive the chief appraiser's salary if they didn't appoint someone if appointed, the tax assessor gets to choose the salary of the chief appraiser. This makes the power of the taxing entities to hold the appraisal district accountable equal to every citizen There will still be an appraisal office. I think he changed the word "district" into the word "office" just so he could legitimately say that this bill abolishes the appraisal district.  The tax assessor gets to pick how many ARB members they have (ie jury that decides the outcome of a protest) ARB members would be appointed by state legislators instead of a local administrative district judge it's kind of silly for the legislators to be so involved in something local like this.  To remove an ARB member the state legislators would need to vote... I think this is crazy. The taxpayer liaison would report to the legislators, also crazy. It should be more local. Businesses would gain a ton from this bill because it eliminates personal property taxation I don't like BPP being taxed any more than I like real estate being taxed, but this would cause a big drop in revenue. Where would the missing revenue come from? You would not be forced to disclose your property value, but if you did, you could file to limit the amount of increase. If you ever make a substantial improvement to your property (eg adding on a room), they are supposed to just value the add on and add it to your purchase price, but I bet they'd actually revalue the entire property. If you're replacing dilapidated structures, you must document the condition prior to improving/rebuilding the structure or else they might think you're improving the value. This would cause a huge decrease in revenue which someone will still have to pay. I like the idea of not needing to appraise property, especially if it would allow us to get rid of the entire appraisal district system, but all of the same exact functions of the appraisal district would still exist. It would decrease the size of the appraisal district, but it wouldn't go away. The missing revenue will be shifted onto fewer people. People will not want to move as often and upgrade their house as often.  There's a section that omits portions of statute concerning unequal protests that I think might have a greater impact than I realize during this brief reading. It omits language by protesting on an unequal basis as a ratio of unequalness, but leaves the unequal basis as an absolute number... I don't fully understand it. I'm having trouble articulating it. I just think it is worth noting and coming back to if this bill makes progress. Its probably a necessary component caused by allowing people's appraised values to be capped by their purchase price.  There are sections at the end of this bill that discuss amending language regarding the environmental protection agency, oil, oil spills, and all sorts of crazy stuff. I'm thinking these changes are either things that are snuck into the bill that actually don't pertain to anything else, or they are necessary changes because taxation of personal property is being eliminated. I'm not really sure. Its seems out of place, but what do I know. I don't think this bill stands a chance being on the heels of passing SB2, the major tax reform bill. It's just too radical of a chance so soon after other major changes.  I love this bill because someone just sat down and dreamed up a scenario that attempts to solve a bunch of problems. Its bold and audacious, which I like. I don't know that its right, but I love the proactive approach. It starts a new conversation. Now, the idea must go through the legislative process. I doubt it passes, but if it does, it will surely be changed quite a lot. I can't say I love the bill, but I can say I love that this conversation is going to take place. Kolkhorst R: SB 489 Chandler loves. Reduces the maximum tax value increase per year from 10% down to 5%. On paper, the change is only a few characters, which I really like. In reality, the net affect to my pocket book would be HUGE. The original law that caps at 10% wasn't written with the thought we could be living in a time like we are in right now. This one change fixes a TON. Great job Kolkhorst! Kolkhorst R: SJR 31 Chandler loves I think this is just a necessary step if you want SB 489 to pass. I think it requires this constitutional amendment. It basically serves the same function as SB 489 by just allowing SB 489 to happen.  White R: HB 528 More comments soon to come: Caps commercial property Chandler dislikes. White R: HJR 30 Necessary to make HB 528 possible Cain R: HB 1421 More comments soon to come: Temporary exemption for property affected by disaster Dutton D: HJR 74 More comments soon to come: Necessary for HB 1335. Proposing a constitutional amendment requiring the periodic review of state and local tax preferences and the expiration of certain tax preferences if not reauthorized by law. Dutton D: HB 1335 More comments soon to come: Relating to a periodic review and expiration dates of state and local tax preferences. Bucy D: HJR 79 More comments soon to come: Necessary for HB 1420. Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in an incident directly related to the member's military service while serving on active duty. Bucy D: HB 1420 More comments soon to come: Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in an incident directly related to the member's military service while serving on active duty. HB 1469: More comments soon to come: Relating to the appraisal of land for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land following a transfer between family members. SB 524: More comments soon to come: Relating to the applicability of the law governing the provision of state aid to certain local governments disproportionately affected by the granting of ad valorem tax relief to disabled veterans. Davis R: HB 1577  Relating to a temporary limitation on the appraised value of certain real property in specified areas for ad valorem tax purposes. Davis R: HJR 81 Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to permit certain political subdivisions to adopt a temporary limitation on the appraised value for taxation of certain real property located in specified areas. Allison R: HJR 83  Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing a local option exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the appraised value of the residence homesteads of certain peace officers. Murphy R: HB 1556 Relating to the Texas Economic Development Act. Middleton R: HB 1567 Relating to the system for appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes. Middleton R: HB 1568 Relating to the school district property value study conducted by the comptroller of public accounts. Raymond D: HB 1628 Relating to the correction of an ad valorem tax appraisal roll and related appraisal records Hinojosa D: SB 594 Relating to the provision of solid waste disposal services by certain counties; authorizing a fee. Zaffirini D: SB 613 Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of real property owned by a charitable organization for the purpose of renting the property at below-market rates to low-income and moderate-income households. Rodriguez D: HB 1858  Relating to the authority of the governing body of a taxing unit that adopts an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a percentage of the appraised value of an individual's residence homestead to set the minimum dollar amount of the exemption to which an individual is entitled in a tax year. Middleton R: HB 1881  Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of certain real property leased to and used by certain educational organizations. Rodriguez D: HJR 91 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the governing body of a political subdivision that adopts an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a percentage of the market value of an individual's residence homestead to set the minimum dollar amount of the exemption to which an individual is entitled in a tax year. Martinez Fischer D: HB 1828 Relating to the payment in installments of ad valorem taxes on a residence homestead. Johnson D: HB 1762 Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the total appraised value of the residence homesteads of certain elderly persons and their surviving spouses. Vasut R: HB 1789 Relating to the authority of an appraisal review board to direct changes in the appraisal roll and related appraisal records if a residence homestead is sold for less than the appraised value. Allison R: HB 1797 Relating to ad valorem and franchise tax credits for donations to school districts to create or support career and technical education programs or courses. Shaheen R: HB 1798 Relating to the effect of a disaster declaration on the ad valorem tax rate of a taxing unit other than a school district and the appraised value of certain property in the taxing unit. Johnson D: HJR 88 Proposing a constitutional amendment to exempt from ad valorem taxation the total market value of the residence homesteads of certain elderly persons and their surviving spouses. Allison R: HJR 89 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district on property owned by a business entity that donates money to the district to create or support career and technical education programs or courses. Shaheen R: HJR 90 Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary limitation on the appraised value for ad valorem tax purposes of real property located in a political subdivision any part of which is located in an area that at any time during the preceding tax year was declared a disaster area. West D: SB 638 Relating to the definition of "indigent defense compensation expenditures" for purposes of the adjustment of a county's no-new-revenue maintenance and operations rate to reflect increases in those expenditures. Springer R: SB 670 Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of real property leased to and used by certain schools. Seliger R: SB 671 Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of certain property owned by a charitable organization and used in providing housing and related services to certain homeless individuals. Seliger R: SJR 38 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation real property leased to certain schools organized and operated primarily for the purpose of engaging in educational functions. Lucio III D: HB 2014  Relating to ad valorem taxation. Leman R: HB 2043 Relating to the qualification of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as agricultural land and the liability for the additional tax imposed on such land if the use of the land changes as a result of a condemnation. Paxton R: SB 734 Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of property owned by a charitable organization that provides services related to the placement of a child in a foster or adoptive home. Cason R: HB 2084 Relating to the eligibility of property used for renewable energy electric generation for ad valorem tax benefits under the Texas Economic Development Act. Shaheen R: HB 2074 Relating to reducing school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes through the use of certain surplus state revenue. Muñoz, Jr D: HB 2212 Relating to the selection of the board of directors of an appraisal district; authorizing the imposition of a fee. Shine R: HB 2245 Relating to notice to a property owner by an appraisal district of a change in the account number assigned to the property by the district for purposes of the appraisal records. Schofield R: HB 2294 Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of a dollar amount or a percentage, whichever is greater, of the appraised value of a residence homestead, a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed by a school district on the homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any increase in the exemption amount, and the protection of school districts against the resulting loss in local revenue. Schofield R: HJR 107 Proposing a constitutional amendment providing for an exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes of a dollar amount or a percentage, whichever is greater, of the market value of a residence homestead and providing for a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for those purposes on the homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any increase in the exemption amount. Zwiener D: HB 2342 Relating to installment payments of ad valorem taxes imposed on residence homesteads. Middleton R: HB 2280 Relating to the sale, development, or acquisition of certain property by certain navigation districts, including the Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, Texas; removing authority to own certain property, acquire certain property, and make related changes to the board of commissioners and name of the navigation district; requiring the sale or development of certain property. Shine R: HB 2413 Relating to the authority of a property owner to bring suit to compel an appraisal district, chief appraiser, or appraisal review board to comply with a procedural requirement applicable to an ad valorem tax protest. Krause R: HB 2403 Relating to the procedure for selecting the members of the board of directors of an appraisal district. Murr R: HB 2428 Relating to the calculation of net to land in the appraisal of open-space land for ad valorem tax purposes. Slaton R: HB 2372 Relating to decommissioning requirements for certain solar facilities. Hall R: SB 829 Relating to decommissioning requirements for certain solar facilities. Goodwin D: HB 2488 Relating to disclosure under the public information law of certain records of an appraisal district. Eckhardt D: SB 887 Relating to the authority of the governing body of a taxing unit to adopt a local option residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation of a percentage or a portion, expressed as a dollar amount, of the appraised value of an individual's residence homestead. Eckhardt D: SJR 42 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the governing body of a political subdivision to adopt a residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation of either a percentage or a portion, expressed as a dollar amount, of the market value of an individual's residence homestead. Martinez D: HJR 115 Proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the maximum tax rate that may be imposed on property in an emergency services district. Rogers R: HB 2804 Relating to notice by an appraisal district to an owner of the surface estate of real property of the owner's right to file a report of decreased value. Patterson R:  HB 2832 Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the residence homesteads of certain disabled first responders and their surviving spouses. Patterson R: HJR 119 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homesteads of certain disabled first responders and their surviving spouses. Huffman R: SB 1029 Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation for certain solar or wind-powered energy devices. Hughes R:  SB 1034 Relating to the inclusion in a notice of appraised value of a property owner's residence homestead delivered to the owner by the chief appraiser of an appraisal district of information regarding the sales prices of other single-family homes in the same neighborhood. West D: SB 1027 Relating to the authority of an owner of certain residential real property to pay the ad valorem taxes imposed on the property in installments. Shine R: HB 2959 Relating to the appeal of a determination by the comptroller of public accounts of a protest of the comptroller's findings in a study of school district property values. Geren R: HB 2980 Relating to the duty of an appraisal review board to determine a motion or protest filed by a property owner and the right of the owner to appeal the board's determination. Krause R: HB 2944 Relating to the study of school district property values conducted by the comptroller of public accounts. Shine R: HB 2958 Relating to the scope of the review of an appraisal district by the comptroller of public accounts. Cason R: HB 2971 Relating to the repeal of the Texas Economic Development Act. Morrison R: HB 3040 Relating to the continuation and application of the Texas Economic Development Act. Creighton R: SB 1096 Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation. Kolkhorst R: SB 1104 Relating to the verification of information provided to the comptroller and contained in reports on compliance with agreements under the Texas Economic Development Act. Creighton R: SJR 46  Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to set a lower limit and provide for more than one limit on the maximum appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation. Ellzey R:  HB 3070 Relating to the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation to which certain disabled veterans and the surviving spouses and children of certain veterans are entitled. Slaton R: HB 3171 Relating to the selection of the chief appraiser of an appraisal district; authorizing a fee. Moody D: HB 3230  Relating to the continuation and application of the Texas Economic Development Act. Ellzey R: HJR 124 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation of property owned by certain disabled veterans and the surviving spouses and children of certain veterans. Paxton R: SB 1131 Relating to the calculation of "last year's levy" for purposes of calculating certain ad valorem tax rates of a taxing unit. Capriglione R: HB 3236 Relating to the temporary exemption of certain tangible personal property related to certain colocation data centers from sales and use taxes. Thierry D: HB 3260 Relating to ad valorem taxation, including the disclosure of the sales price of real property to use in appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes and the effect of an unfunded mandate on the use by a political subdivision of ad valorem tax revenue. Metcalf R: HB 3322 Relating to the selection and administration of an appraisal review board in certain counties; authorizing a fee. Metcalf R: HB 3317  Relating to a limitation on increases in the appraised value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes. Metcalf R: HB 3321 Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation. Bernal D: HB 3328 Relating to the periodic review and expiration dates of state and local tax preferences. Rodriguez D: HB 3359 Relating to the authority of the governing body of a taxing unit other than a school district to adopt an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a portion, expressed as a dollar amount, of the appraised value of an individual's residence homestead and the treatment of such an exemption in the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates. Deshotel D: HB 3439 Relating to the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of certain nonexempt property used for low-income or moderate-income housing. Thierry D: HJR 129 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the governing body of a political subdivision to adopt a residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation of either a percentage or a portion, expressed as a dollar amount, of the market value of an individual's residence homestead. Metcalf R: HJR 131  Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to limit the maximum appraised value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes. Metcalf R: HJR 132 Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to set a lower limit on the maximum appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation. Rodriguez D: HJR 136 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the governing body of a political subdivision other than a school district to adopt an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a portion, expressed as a dollar amount, of the market value of an individual's residence homestead. Hall R: SB 1207  Relating to the requirements for eligibility for a limitation on the appraised value of property for school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax purposes under the Texas Economic Development Act and the imposition of a penalty for failure to meet certain eligibility requirements. Kolkhorst R: SB 1211 Relating to the determination of the total taxable value of property in a school district that has entered into an agreement under the Texas Economic Development Act. Meyer R:  HB 3376 Relating to the effect of a disaster on the calculation of certain tax rates and the procedure for adoption of a tax rate by a taxing unit. Goldman R: HB 3437 Relating to the authority of a taxing unit other than a school district to establish a limitation on the amount of ad valorem taxes that the taxing unit may impose on the residence homesteads of individuals who are disabled or elderly and their surviving spouses. Meyer R: HB 3509 Relating to the system for appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes. Shine R: HB 3680 Relating to public notice of the availability on the Internet of property-tax-related information. Bettencourt R: SB 1436 Relating to the appeal of a determination by the comptroller of public accounts of a protest of the comptroller's findings in a study of school district property values. Shine R: HB 3540 Relating to the eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits of individuals who serve on the appraisal review board of an appraisal district. Meyer R: HB 3585 Relating to information regarding certain noncompliance by an appraisal district in the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records of a professional property tax appraiser serving as chief appraiser for the district. Paxton R: SB 1413 Relating to the electronic delivery of certain communications and payments required or permitted under the Property Tax Code; authorizing a fee. Bettencourt R: SB 1422 Relating to the number of days that certain tangible personal property that is exempt from ad valorem taxation due to its location in this state for a temporary period may be located in this state for the purpose of qualifying for the tax exemption. Bettencourt R: SB 1428 Relating to the applicability of the exemptions in the event of a disaster from certain limitations on the ad valorem tax rate of a taxing unit. Bettencourt R: SB 1432 Relating to the eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits of individuals who serve on the appraisal review board of an appraisal district. Bettencourt R: SB 1435 Relating to the scope of the review of an appraisal district by the comptroller of public accounts. Bettencourt R: SJR 57 Proposing a constitutional amendment to extend the number of days that certain tangible personal property that is exempt from ad valorem taxation due to its location in this state for a temporary period may be located in this state for the purpose of qualifying for the tax exemption. Rose D: HB 3482 Relating to the definition of "indigent defense compensation expenditures" for purposes of the adjustment of a county's no-new-revenue maintenance and operations rate to reflect increases in those expenditures. Deshotel D: HB 3490 Relating to the authority of an owner of residential rental property on which a tenant has defaulted on the obligation to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic to pay the ad valorem taxes imposed on the property in installments. Bettencourt R: SB 1423  Relating to the prepayment of ad valorem taxes. Bettencourt R: SB 1431 Relating to the assessment and collection of ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district. Paxton R: SB 1412 Relating to an additional ad valorem road tax for the maintenance of county roads. Bettencourt R: SB 1433 Relating to tax increment financing. Bettencourt R: SB 1424 Relating to the date for ordering or holding an election to ratify the ad valorem tax rate of a school district; making conforming changes. Button R:  HB 3890 Relating to the creation and maintenance by an appraisal district of a publicly available Internet database of information regarding protest hearings conducted by the appraisal review board established for the district. Geren R: HB 3995 Relating to the award of attorney's fees to a prevailing property owner in a judicial appeal of certain ad valorem tax determinations. Rogers R:  HB 4004 Relating to a study by Texas A&M University of the appraisal of agricultural land for ad valorem tax purposes. Springer R: SB 1735 Relating to the eligibility of a person to serve on the appraisal review board of certain appraisal districts. Shaheen R: HB 3694 Relating to a limitation on the appraised value of certain rapidly appreciating residence homesteads for ad valorem tax purposes. Button R: HB 3795 Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation for certain solar or wind-powered energy devices. Lucio III: HB 3811 Relating to ad valorem taxation. Romero, Jr. D: HB 3910 Relating to the authority of the chief appraiser of an appraisal district to consider sales of property to governmental units when using the market data comparison method to determine the market value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes. Talarico D: HB 3939 Relating to a requirement that a purchaser of commercial real property disclose the sales price of the property to the appraisal district and to the use of that information by the appraisal district; creating a criminal offense. Crockett D:  HB 3978 Relating to a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed on property on which certain solar energy devices have been installed. Allison R: HB 4024 Relating to a limitation on the appraised value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes. Howard D: HB 4033  Relating to late applications for exemptions from ad valorem taxation for disabled veterans. Collier D: HB 4046  Relating to the ad valorem tax appraisal of an older residence homestead located in or near a tax increment financing reinvestment zone. Crockett D: HJR 144 Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed on property on which a solar energy device has been installed based on the cost of acquiring and installing the device. Allison R: HJR 145 Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to limit the appraised value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes to the value when the owner acquired the property and to provide for determining that value on the basis of the purchase price of the property, if applicable. Collier D:  HJR 146 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide that the officials responsible for appraising property for ad valorem taxation in a county may exclude from consideration the value of new or substantially remodeled residential property when determining the market value of an older residence homestead located in or near a tax increment financing reinvestment zone. Creighton R: SB 1644 Relating to the determination of the market value of property for ad valorem tax purposes. Springer R: SB 1711 Relating to state and local taxes and fees; imposing a tax; imposing fees. Springer R: SJR 63 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation by a school district a portion of the appraised value of an individual's residence homestead. White R: HB 3770 Relating to the repeal of or limitations on certain state and local taxes, including ad valorem taxes, the enactment of state and local value added taxes, and related school finance and administration reform; imposing taxes. Muñoz, Jr. D: HB 3824 Relating to the calculation of the penalty imposed on a delinquent ad valorem tax. Cole D: HB 3841 Relating to the adjustment of the voter-approval tax rate of a taxing unit to reflect public spending necessary to correct a deficiency in the first response capacity of a fire or police department of the taxing unit. Herrero D: HB 3945 Relating to the authority of the governing body of a taxing unit to waive penalties and interest on delinquent ad valorem taxes imposed on property located in a disaster area. Goldman R: HJR 141 Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize a political subdivision other than a school district to establish a limitation on the amount of ad valorem taxes that the political subdivision may impose on the residence homesteads of persons who are disabled or elderly and their surviving spouses. Meyer R: HB 2100 Relating to the system for appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes. Bonnen R: HB 4179 Relating to the procedures to be used by an appraisal district in resolving a protest following the filing of a notice of protest by a property owner. Hull R: HB 4269 Relating to the procedure to be used by an appraisal review board to conduct a hearing on a protest. Meza D: HB 4060 Relating to eligibility for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a historic site. Sanford R: HB 4148 Relating to the repeal of the additional ad valorem taxes imposed as a result of certain changes in the use of certain land. Buckley R: HB 4150 Relating to the applicability of the law governing the provision of state aid to certain local governments disproportionately affected by the granting of ad valorem tax relief to disabled veterans. Lopez D: HB 4151 Relating to the actions required to be taken by tax officials before taking action to collect delinquent ad valorem taxes on the residence homestead of an individual who is elderly or disabled. Spiller R: HB 4152 Relating to the qualification of certain land that is adjacent to other qualified open-space land for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land. Allison R:  HB 4206 Relating to a study of the desirability, feasibility, and effects of limiting the appraised value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes to the value when the owner acquired the property and determining that value on the basis of the purchase price of the property, if applicable. Murr R: HB 4209 Relating to the valuation of appraised value of qualified open-space land. Meyer R: HB 4242  Relating to the extension of the expiration of certain parts of the Texas Economic Development Act. Perez D: HB 4253 Relating to the procedure for qualifying for the exemption from ad valorem taxation of pollution control property. Craddick R: HB 4315 Relating to the eligibility of a county assessor-collector to serve on the board of directors of an appraisal district. Stephenson R: HB 4317 Relating to the adjustment of the limitation on the amount of ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district on the residence homestead of an elderly or disabled person if the school district adopts, changes the amount of, or rescinds a local option residence homestead exemption. Shine R: HB 4319 Relating to the eligibility of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land based on its use to raise or keep bees. Shine R: HB 4320 Relating to the appraisal of land for ad valorem tax purposes on the basis of its productive capacity. Zwiener D: HB 4348 Relating to an increase in the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district, a reduction in the amount of the limitation on school district ad valorem taxes imposed on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect the increased exemption amount, and the protection of school districts against the resulting loss in local revenue. Moody D: HB 4351 Relating to the purposes for which property must be used to be eligible for ad valorem tax benefits under the Texas Economic Development Act. Deshotel D: HB 4460 Relating to certain requirements regarding the creation of qualifying jobs for the purpose of eligibility for a limitation on appraised value of property for ad valorem tax purposes under the Texas Economic Development Act. Murphy R: HB 4495 Relating to the allocation for ad valorem tax purposes of the value of vessels and other watercraft used outside this state. Sanford R:  HJR 149 Proposing a constitutional amendment repealing the provision that subjects land designated for agricultural use to an additional tax when the land is diverted to a purpose other than agricultural use or sold. Gates R: HJR 157 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed on the property of certain businesses that are required to close by an order, proclamation, or other instrument issued by a state or local official as a result of a disaster. Eckhardt D: SB 1840 Relating to the system for appraising property for ad valorem tax purposes. Eckhardt D: SB 1841 Relating to the school district property value study conducted by the comptroller of public accounts. Powell D: SB 1850 Relating to a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district on the residence homesteads of certain educators who purchase school supplies. Blanco D: SB 1906 Relating to the purposes for which property must be used to be eligible for ad valorem tax benefits under the Texas Economic Development Act. Paxton R: SB 1953 Relating to the procedures for requesting or applying for certain ad valorem tax refunds and exemptions. Hughes R: SB 1993  Relating to imposing a tax on the value of tax preferences received by wind and solar electric generators. Springer R: SB 1994 Relating to the eligibility of land for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land based on its use to raise or keep bees. Springer R: SB 1995 Relating to the appraisal of land for ad valorem tax purposes on the basis of its productive capacity. Powell D: SJR 65 Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a credit against the ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district on the residence homesteads of certain educators who purchase school supplies. Middleton R: HB 4170 Relating to a requirement that the voter-approval tax rate of certain taxing units be adjusted to reflect changes in the amount of money received by the taxing unit directly from the federal government. Guillen D: HB 4563 Relating to notice of the form to be used by a person to request a written statement stating whether there are any delinquent ad valorem taxes owed by the person to certain taxing units. Campbell R:  SB 1886 Relating to the manner in which an individual who has elected to defer collection of a tax, abate a suit to collect delinquent tax, or abate a sale to foreclose a tax lien on the individual's residence homestead is listed on the delinquent tax roll of a taxing unit. Johnson, Jarvis D: HB 4065 Relating to the creation of an urban land bank by certain municipalities. Stephenson R: HJR 155 Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the adjustment of the limitation on the amount of ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district on the residence homestead of an elderly or disabled person if the school district adopts, changes the amount of, or rescinds a local option residence homestead exemption. Eckhardt D: SB 2030 Relating to requirements for beneficial tax treatment related to a public facility used to provide affordable housing. King, Tracy D: HB 4429 Relating to notice of water and wastewater requirements for the foreclosure sale of residential properties by certain political subdivisions. Zaffirini D: SB 1924 Relating to notice of water and wastewater requirements for the foreclosure sale of residential properties by certain political subdivisions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dead Hancock-R SB 449  Chandler likes, but I'm a bit confused. I think this bill allows someone to sue to implement different procedures for a protest hearing. If I'm right it seems like an example would be that it would allow someone to, for example, sue to force the board to allow each side to take 30 min to present their case. Or, perhaps I could sue to allow the owner to provide additional clarifying statements to the board after their deliberations have started. It could present a problem if too many of these suits are filed. I have a feeling it would be rarely used, but I think this is a great thing to pass so that a protest that requires something outside the box can be heard fairly. Middleton-R HB 1391 Chandler likes. Clarifies to ensure the max rate a voter gets stuck with is the no new revenue rate if voters vote down the proposed new rate. It ensures a refund check will be issued according to the lower rate Allison R: HB 1601  Relating to a local option exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the appraised value of the residence homesteads of certain peace officers. Deshotel D: HB 1502 Relating to the extension of the expiration of certain parts of the Texas Economic Development Act. Schofield D: HB 1705 Relating to the establishment of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that taxing units may impose on the residence homesteads of individuals who are disabled or elderly and their surviving spouses. Schofield D: HJR 84 Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that political subdivisions may impose on the residence homesteads of individuals who are disabled or elderly and their surviving spouses. White R: HB 2288 Relating to the repeal of the additional ad valorem taxes imposed as a result of the sale or change in the use of land appraised as agricultural or open-space land. Landgraf R: HB 2292 Relating to the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of a real property interest in oil or gas in place. Krause R: HB 2311 Relating to limitations on increases in the appraised value for ad valorem tax purposes of residence homesteads and single-family residences other than residence homesteads. White R: HJR 106 Proposing a constitutional amendment repealing the provision that subjects land designated for agricultural use to an additional tax when the land is diverted to a purpose other than agricultural use or sold. Krause R: HJR 108  Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to establish a lower limit on the maximum appraised value of residence homesteads for ad valorem tax purposes and to establish a limit on the value of single-family residences other than residence homesteads for those purposes. Cook R: HB 2489 Relating to a restriction on the authority of an appraisal district to increase the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes for a specified period after a tax year in which the appraised value of the property is lowered as a result of an agreement, protest, or appeal. Creighton R: SB 1099 Relating to the selection and administration of an appraisal review board in certain counties; authorizing a fee. Shine R: HB 3193  Relating to the applicability of provisions entitling certain lessees to receive a copy of a notice of appraised value delivered to a property owner by the chief appraiser of an appraisal district. Shine R: HB 3243 Relating to the payment of delinquent ad valorem taxes on property subject to a tax sale. Birdwell R: SB 1255 Relating to the Texas Economic Development Act. Birdwell R: SB 1256 Relating to the eligibility of certain property for an ad valorem tax abatement under the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act if certain renewable energy devices are installed or constructed on the property. Kuempel R: HB 3267 Relating to a restriction on the use of money in the tax increment fund for a tax increment financing reinvestment zone created by certain home-rule municipalities. Bettencourt R: SB 1434 Relating to public notice of the availability on the Internet of property-tax-related information. Bettencourt /Springer R: SB 1366 Relating to ad valorem tax sales of personal property seized under a tax warrant. Bettencourt R: SB 1429 Relating to the alternate provisions for ad valorem tax rate notices when the de minimis rate of a taxing unit exceeds the voter-approval tax rate. Gutierrez D: SB 1446 Relating to the collection of delinquent property taxes. Birdwell R: SB 1586 Relating to the governance and administration of an appraisal district. Murr R: HB 4099 Relating to an interim study of the appraisal of agricultural land for ad valorem tax purposes. Rodriguez D: HB 4270 Relating to the procedures for requesting or applying for certain ad valorem tax refunds and exemptions. King, Tracy D: HB 4411 Relating to the property tax appraisal option of rural utilities for rendering market value for property which falls into multiple tax jurisdictions. Last updated 06/02/2021 at 4:20 pm.

14 Property Tax Code Proposed Solutions 0:46 Exemption Improvements Cap taxable value growth on homesteads to 5% maximum increase per year Create a single-family residential exemption capping taxable value growth at 10% per year 6:23 Improve accessibility to free help Turn "may" into "shall" Sec. 6.16.  RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY OWNER ASSISTANCE. (a) The chief appraiser of an appraisal district may maintain a list of the following individuals who have designated themselves as an individual who will provide free assistance 7:44 Define permissible grounds to recall a CAD board member Amend section 6.03 L to include a provision that says: Must provide "permissible grounds for a recall." For reference. Commentary on the bill when it was passed in 1985. See the section on pg 2 "Opponents say". #1 concern is that no reasons are given.  https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/hroBillAnalyses/69-0/HB1202.pdf 10:19 Require Tax Entities to provide accurate contact info to CAD's When Tax Entities report tax data to the county website as required by the new statutes, require them to provide accurate contact information for voting members of the Tax Entity 11:54 Protect homeowners from tax deferral revocation. If a homeowner's mortgage is sold from one lender to the next, the new lender may revoke the owner's property tax deferral. Protect them with one of these options: Prohibit a homeowner from getting a deferral if they have a mortgage Create a "Truth in Deferral" statement clearly disclosing the danger in getting the deferral to the owner Prohibit a lender from revoking a tax deferral if it was approved by the previous lender Prohibit assessor from foreclosing if the owner of the property was previou7sly granted a deferral 16:27 Encourage/allow CAD's to use the common terminology Terminology is used by CAD's that don't align with the common usage of the terms. A law needs to be passed to allow/encourage appraisal districts to use terminology that doesn't match the tax code for clarification purposes. Terminology in conflict: Market value, appraised value, taxable value, assessed value 19:48 Eliminate loopholes in CAD board of director voting system When electing a new CAD board of directors, the largest entities must vote at their 2nd meeting after the voting window opens 22:17 Create term limits for CAD board of directors Appraisal District board of directors must have a maximum term limit of      years 23:28 Make it easier for notices to be sent electronically. I will have specific suggestions soon. 25:11 Make it so that property owners and the CAD can go back the same number of years to correct an error. Currently, CAD's can correct an error over the past 5 years and owners can only correct an error over the past 2 years. 26:09 VALUE RATIO STUDY INTRODUCTION     27:17 Value Study Ratio: Window of sales Currently, the window of sales that CAD's are held accountable to are from July of the previous year to July of the current year, however, they must produce their report in January of the current year. This forces them to project high. The window of sales should be adjusted to be from January of the previous year to January of the current year. 29:16 Value Study Ratio: Improve tolerance levels Currently, the tolerance level that CAD's are held to is 5% +/- the market value. This tolerance level should be adjusted to be 5% over or 10% under. 31:14 Value Study Ratio: Eliminate Alternative Sales Test  The "Alternative Sales Test" tolerance is currently set at 3%. This criterion should be removed. 34:32 Agricultural exemption Change from 5 to 1 year Require agricultural use only for one of the preceding years instead of 5 of 7 Article VIII, Section 1-s-1, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 23, Subchapter D, Texas Property Tax Code CONCLUSION 36:14 How I can afford to do this

There are little nuances and loopholes in the law that politicians and taxing entities use to increase your taxes.  This blog post is a compilation of different concerns people bring to me (in their own words) identifying these issues. I cannot vouch for the validity of these comments. I just feel that this is an important conversation and these concerns need to be brought to light and affirmed then fought or debunked and dismissed. Here you go:   Anticipation Notes are the new product for getting around the Voter-Approval Tax rate. Contribution by JH:  The Voter-Approval Rate is figured using this calculation: (No-New-Revenue Maintenance and Operations Rate x 1.035) + (current Debt Service Tax Rate). Increases in the Debt Service Rate are not applied towards the Voter-Approval Rate calculation.   In light of the restrictions placed on local government entities by the recent passing of legislation, bond counsels and bond dealers have discovered a new way of using Anticipation notes to fill local government entities need to fund expanding government.  Bond counsel, like Bickerstaff’s David Mendez, are advising local government entities to forego the traditional pay-as-you-go approach to budgeting and begin using M&O funds -Anticipation notes- to pay for items that Mendez calls "routine capital items." According to him, these are things like "law enforcement vehicles," "gravel and road base material," "computers, or office equipment." This clever loophole allows local entities the ability to spend over the Voter-Approval rate and not be subject to a rollback election. Here is an article in the August 2020 Texas County Progress, titled ‘Using Anticipation Notes to Finance Capital Expenditures’ by David Mendez explaining it. https://dashboard.mazsystems.com/webreader/68481?page=20 Because the Voter-Approval rate does not take the Debt Service rate into account, entities can borrow as much money as the want each year as long as the financial market sees fit. And because Anticipation notes repayments can be back-end loaded, governing bodies can issue notes that do not hit taxpayers’ pocketbooks until years after they are passed. Or in the case of Aransas County, 5 years. How can taxpayers be expected to hold elected officials accountable for their actions when the actions took place 5 years prior, and the required notification was an agenda item on a 72-hour meeting announcement?     The Legislature tried to help local citizens get government spending under control. Instead, I fear, what it really did was lead us more down the path of debt slavery. ___________ MUD's PID's and MMD's Contributed by FT: I have some issues with all the Special Local Law districts, created legislatively with little or no accountability to residents or the Counties and Municipalities they were created within. They are another way to hide true costs of taxes from homeowners. Some of these assessments are as high as $5000/year to an individual homeowner. Additionally administrative costs can be increased each year.  http://www.texas-statutes.com/special-district-local-laws-code Municipal Management District  (MMD) Can be funded by an ad valorem tax (MUD) or assessment (PID). Usually created by State Legislature or Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. They are usually administered by law firms. At issue is assessment and notification of buyers at contract, and cost controls in future years. Take a look at this MMD document that “shall be” attached to home purchase contracts. This is from the MMD I just got out of. It contains a decent explanation. Many don’t see it until Title/Closing, which is typically too late. If used as designed and specified buyers would be fully aware and there would be NO issue with notification. Approximately 70% of buyers don’t recall being informed. It’s still a government COST to buyers with little to no accountability or control of increases. It’s also lien-able if not paid. Homebuyers who sell to others MUST disclose, but builders and developers typically don’t. That’s the primer, 30,00 foot view.

Our broken property tax system affects everybody - no matter income level, political party, homeowner, tenant or landlord. The Texas legislature isn't going to pass anything to help unless you and I let our representatives know what we care about. Everything except property tax is getting attention this year. Thank God Robert Montoya is bringing property tax issues to the forefront. He just published an interview with Chandler in this article and does a great job revealing the massive problem we're up against.  

  My tax bill is too high. I can’t afford the house!!! Here is a list of options to consider... Reduce your insurance cost. Your house payment likely includes taxes, insurance, principle, and mortgage interest. If your payment has increased, there is a good chance your insurance rates have increased. Many people are significantly overpaying. We have expert insurance agents on staff that shop A-rated insurance carriers and get them to compete to provide the best quote… for free. We save some clients a ton of money. Just send us an email and we’ll be happy to get you a free quote.   Reduce your utility cost. This company is saving Chandler over $250/mo on average (and it only costs $10/mo!!!). It’s borderline magical. We wanted to offer the same service to you, so we partnered with them. Use this link to sign up, and you get the exact same service paying the exact same as you would if you went directly to them. The only difference is by using our link they agree to contribute $2 to help fund our free tax protest service for every person that signs up. Go here to see how much you can save.  Drop your PMI. Ask your lender if they are charging you mortgage insurance (or PMI). This is a cost that lenders charge if you have less than 20% equity. With house prices increasing so rapidly, there's a good chance you already have enough equity to force the lender to drop PMI even if you purchased your house last year. All you have to do is call them and ask what documentation they need. It may be much easier thank you think.  Reduce your utility consumption. Here are 50 ideas that can help reduce your electricity consumption.  Ask your mortgage company to spread out your escrow shortage over 24 months. If you have a mortgage and your monthly payment has increased in the past year or so, it is likely due to an escrow shortage because your taxes and/or insurance have gone up. Your mortgage company likely uses a 12-month payment plan by default to pay off your escrow shortage, but they usually don't tell you that you have additional options. To help lower your payment just call your mortgage company and simply ask them if you can pay out the escrow shortage over 2-3 years. Most of the time they just say yes without any issue or push back. A 10-minute phone call could drop your payment by hundreds. I’m keeping track of which companies agree to this and which ones won’t. Please let me know if your mortgage company agrees to spread out your escrow shortage or refuses. It will help me help others. Here’s what I have so far: Status on Mtg co’s Triple check to make sure your exemptions are in place. The appraisal district can actually cancel your exemptions anytime without a great reason, such as, if mail they send you is returned undeliverable. This video shows how to verify your homestead exemption is in place in Tarrant County.  If you find out you need to file, this page provides the form you need, step-by-step instructions, and a video to that answers all your questions.  Go here to get the form you'll need and a tutorial video that will answer all your questions and demonstrate how to fill out the form.  Buy a smaller house - Obvious, but it's still an option. Hard times call for hard decisions. Moving far enough away so you would be in a different tax district. Either a… Different county Different school district Move out of your neighborhood if it has a PID (public improvement district) Move to a rural area so you avoid city tax all together Rent. Would it help if I had a list of every rent house and every apartment in the area that fits your price range? Move into a house that doesn’t have an HOA Move-in with a friend/family Buy bigger so you can rent out rooms Buy a house with a garage apartment and rent out the apartment Live in an RV (sounds crazy, but I routinely sell houses because people are doing this more and more) Consider a condo or townhouse Buy a barndominium Move into a tiny house Build a shipping container house Buy with land so you can raise animals, crops, eggs, and sell stuff to offset housing expenses. Rent out your current house and move into another home to create extra income. Biggest issue: Solve the cash-flow crunch by making extra income This article & video covers at-home in-quarantine ideas Sell your possessions (garage sales / online classifieds etc) Eliminate debt Cut down on luxury items Rent out space in your garage to allow (item or vehicle) storage for other people Rent out an extra bedroom on Airbnb  Start an in-home business - childcare, adult care (skilled nurses/caretakers), pet care (boarding, walking), sell home-baked goods, make crafts to sell on Etsy, volunteer to host parties for MLM friends Profit from your yard: Plant berries, vegetables, flowers to sell, make compost from worms Provide fulfillment (boxing and shipping) services for other home-based entrepreneurs Allow people to shoot movies/film at your house: https://gov.texas.gov/film/page/your_property_in_films Have more ideas? We want to share them. Please email them to us at chandler@chandlercrouch.net Options we’re trying to avoid, but are still viable options to consider Stop making payments… forbearance, bankruptcy, foreclosure

Why your property taxes are high and what you can do about it (other than protesting) Your property taxes do not go to the state but to the local entities such as: City County School Hospital College Other special taxing district depending on County What can you do about your high taxes? A. Reduce government spending About 60% of average property tax goes to the School budget which is divided into two: Maintenance and Operations Fund- Paying teachers, bills, etc. Interest and Sinking Fund - payoff debt from school bonds where we all voted for, buying equipment, buildings, etc When the tax district campaigned for the school bonds in the county to build buildings, instead of explaining everything that comes with it such as maintaining a certain level of tax rates to pay off these debts, they asked the public if we support the teachers and if we do we need to vote yes to the bonds. Because of this scheme, the public was not given the opportunity to check if these bonds are really necessary at this time or to look for a more efficient way to keep the expenses low but still help schools, teachers, and students as a whole. They kept asking for bonds for the building then another bond for the air conditioning and many more that caused more and more debt that the taxpayers needed to pay for a longer period of time. As per our investigation, when you look at financial reports which are publicly available, you will see that Political Action Committees who supported and funded the campaign for the approval of these bonds are the same contractors who got the projects for these buildings which got more payment than what they donated before. Recapture is an element of the school property tax system. If the state legislation limits the spending increase to 4%  and everything above that is used to pay the current debts, in 10 years, recapture will be almost entirely gone. The only way taxes will go down is when the spending of the local government goes down.   B. Show up to the budget meetings and hearings.   levy/bill = (Value - Exemption) x rate   How the tax rate is being determined Appraisal values are set - like a wishlist $ Budget Workshops The proposed budget and tax rate Public hearings twice - to discuss tax % and budget Budget and tax rate adopted and implemented   What can the public do to fix this? The best way is to be involved. Be an advocate. Show up. Be diligent. Let your voice be heard. Prepare a statement. Ask why is it necessary to spend on each budget etc. Each budget needs to be justified. Attend the workshops and hearings. You can also just show up and wear a sticker on the shirt to show you support a lower tax rate when you attend the hearing. Attend budget workshops or watch the video feed available, get a copy of the proposed budget, analyze it, and see where every money is going. The schedule will be posted on the county's website. Attend the public hearing that happens in September. Anybody can show up and speak up against the proposed budget and tax rate. The schedule will be posted on the county's website. Respectfully reach out to them. You can also email, call, tweet, etc. to let them hear your voice. C. Pass a new bill to use the surplus budget for property taxes Last year, the government had a surplus. Make a bill to make the surplus goes to our property taxes.        

We are at the final stage of this year's tax protest. Everybody's tax protest results will be available soon. TAD's sent a little yellow postcard with a web address and it means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! It has caused unnecessary stress and concern to everybody. It was part of the SP2 bill that was passed.  TAD was required to provide transparency into who receives the money when you pay your tax bill. That website is an attempt to give you an idea of where you're money is going to and what you can do if you want to protest the tax rate.  I've got videos here that explain how you can go about protesting the tax rate.  There's nothing to be concerned about. The website they made is good but they just need to work on the bugs out of it. It seems to be changing every now and then. We will get your protest results soon and just watch your email. We should have it on your inbox in about a week.