Williamson Central Appraisal District

Board of Directors Meeting

Minutes of March 9, 2023

Harry Gibbs, Vice Chairman, called the regular meeting of the Williamson Central Appraisal District Board of Directors to order Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 9:04 AM. Board members present; Lora Weber, Hope Hisle-Piper, Mason Moses, and Larry Gaddes. Quorum declared. Harry Gibbs attended virtually. Jon Lux was absent.

Some of the District’s management staff were in attendance.

Pledges of Allegiance

Receipt of Public Comments

There were no public comments.

Taxpayer Liaison Officer’s Report

Report on Property Owner Contacts

Glenda Williams, the District’s Taxpayer Liaison Officer, was present to report on the status of her contact with property owners. She reviewed the calls she had received.

Gibbs left the meeting at 9:15 AM. Weber took over his role for the remainder of the meeting.

Consider approval of minutes of the Board of Directors for the regular meeting – February 9, 2023.

Moses made a motion to approve the February 9, 2023 minutes as presented. Hisle-Piper seconded. The motion carried.

Consideration of Monthly Financials

The January 2023 financials and expenditures were reviewed and filed for audit.

Chief Appraiser’s Report

WCAD Presentations

Lankford mentioned a presentation made by Chris Connelly, the District’s Deputy Chief Appraiser. During the annual Texas Association of Appraisal District’s (TAAD) Conference, Connelly had presented alongside other Deputy Chief Appraiser’s. He indicated that this year’s presentation addressed employee morale and how the District goes about boosting that morale.

Lankford announced that all three presenting Appraisal Districts had received the Top Workplace award. He also indicated that, during the Conference, he had a number of engagements serving his final Conference as TAAD President.

WCAD Initiatives

Lankford displayed the previously discussed tax rate addition on the District’s website and mentioned that, in general, residential property values had gone up, while most property owner’s taxes had gone down. He mentioned the recent storms that had caused damage to properties and indicated that the District had done more of a targeted approach for this event, mailing information to individual property owners with damage.

Lankford congratulated Jamie Radke, the District’s Customer Service Manager and her team for achieving their goal of getting 4.6 Google stars. He thanked her and her staff for this accomplishment, indicating that the comments received on these individual staff members were outstanding. Lankford announced that Radke, who is also the District’s Social Media Officer, had also provided valuable property owner information on the recently acquired county wide Nextdoor neighborhood network.

Notice of Appraised Value

Lankford displayed the 2022 and 2023 notice of appraised value documents, highlighting the changes made from year-to-year. He reviewed these changes.

Deferred Compensation

Lankford mentioned the Chief Appraiser deferred compensation associated with the compensation plan previously discussed by the Board. He indicated this to be the 401A program and announced that the plan the District was looking into would be with Nationwide. He indicated that Moses had reviewed this plan.

Methods & Assistance Program Review

Lankford announced that each District is studied each year by the Comptroller’s office; one year the property value study is conducted and then the opposite year the District has its Methods and Assistance Program (MAP) review. He announced that this year the Comptroller’s office would be in the office to conduct the MAP review, where they review the District’s procedures.

Legislation Update

Lankford reviewed some legislation and mentioned two major property tax bills: House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3. He announced that this Senate Bill is proposing an increase in the homestead exemption. It also recalculates freezes and ensures schools get additional state aid for their loss in revenue. Lankford mentioned that there were a large number of exemption bills being presented. He mentioned other proposed legislation.

Lankford announced that he would continue to alert the Board of proposed legislation as things progress and alert them to any items of concern or interest. Discussion followed.

Updated Meal Per Diem Amounts

Lankford announced that the District was in the process of updating its meal per diem amounts. He indicated that meals during required travel for staff and Board members would be increased as follows: Breakfast would move up to $15, lunch would increase to $20 and dinner to $25. He announced that this follows the average for other Appraisal Districts and the General Services Administration. Lankford announced that employees and Board members would be reimbursed for travel up to these amounts.

Board Member Property Verification

Lankford asked that Board members verify the property they owned in Williamson County. He announced that the District asks this to be done by District staff as well as Board members each year.

WCAD Entity Meeting Reminder

Lankford announced that the District’s annual Entity Meeting would take place on March 30^th. He asked that the Board members RSVP by March 14^th. He indicated that, during this meeting, he would be sharing with attendees information regarding property values for this year.

2023 TAAD Conference

Lankford inquired of any follow up from the Board members who had attended this year’s TAAD Conference. He announced that this year’s Conference Committee had done an excellent job of obtaining speakers and presenting new information during breakout sessions.

Lawsuit, Arbitration and SOAH Reports

Lankford reviewed the lawsuit and arbitration reports. There were no State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) on which to report. Lankford announced that the District’s lawsuit team had been doing an excellent job.

Board Agenda Additions for Future Meeting

The Board asked that Lankford provide legislation updates as these items progressed.

Board Announcements

There were no Board announcements.

The Board had previously set their next meeting dates as follows:

• Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 9 AM
• Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 9 AM

The Board also set the following meeting dates:

• Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 9 AM
• Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 9 AM
• Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 9 AM
• Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at 9 AM
• Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 9 AM

The regular meeting adjourned at 10:05 AM.

Respectfully,

Jon Lux, Chairman                                   Lora H. Weber, Secretary