Williamson Central Appraisal District
Board of Directors Meeting
Jon Lux, Chairman, called the regular meeting of the Williamson Central Appraisal District Board of Directors to order Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 9:00 AM. Board members present; Jon Lux, Lora Weber, Hope Hisle-Piper, Mason Moses, and Larry Gaddes. Harry Gibbs attended virtually. Quorum declared.
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 these calls. Williams indicated that many of the calls she had been receiving were from owners whose mortgage payments had increased. Gaddes shared that the tax office was receiving many of these calls as well. He indicated that most affected were those who had purchased their home in 2021 and those with investment properties. It was also mentioned that insurance increases were causing escrow accounts to have a fund deficiency for homeowners.
2024 Budget Workshop
2024 Budget Review
Lankford reviewed the 2024 budget. He reminded the members that the proposed budget would be approved at their June 8th meeting, and by that meeting, the District attempts to make any necessary adjustments. Lankford also announced that the District’s retirement provider, as well as the financial auditor, planned to present to the Board at their June meeting. He reminded the members of the importance of their September meeting as September 14th is the deadline to send the District’s final budget to the taxing units.
Lankford announced that the District was not seeing a large surplus in funds this year and therefore he did not believe the budget buy down would be able to occur as it had in previous years. He indicated that the District was hoping to hire three new employees for 2024. He went on to explain the need for these additional staff members. Lankford presented a proposal to the members on a paid time off (PTO) buyback program. He indicated that this program would be limited to those employees with twenty years of service or more and who have 624 hours of PTO. He explained the importance of the positions generally held by these key personnel and the fact that, due to their positions, taking leave becomes more difficult. He expressed that they could end up not able to take the time they earned and need to use a large amount of time close to retirement. Lankford proposed to the Board buying back four weeks of PTO for these staff members each year. Discussion followed.
Lankford discussed the possibility of adding into the budget monies for the District’s Taxpayer Liaison Officer (TLO) to attend the Texas Association of Appraisal District’s (TAAD) conference. Lux asked that this item be included.
Lankford also mentioned the Cyclomedia street level imagery that the District had normally done once every six years. He discussed the importance of this imagery and announced that this would be due to be conducted in 2024. Lankford discussed payment options for this imagery; indicating that it could either be placed in the District’s budget every six years or he suggested obtaining a government loan. He announced that all taxing units would have access to this imagery and that a note could be taken to budget across five years. Discussion followed.
Lankford also discussed the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) budget which he had reviewed with the ARB chair. He announced that he anticipated continuing to budget for a total of 70 ARB meetings. He also announced that, when the District’s building had been paid off, the building reserve account had been depleted. He thought it would be prudent to place monies back into this account.
Building Short Lived Items
Lankford reviewed the building short lived items and reminded the members that the District sets aside monies in the building reserve account for items that wear out. He expressed that the District anticipates the need for about $35,000 to replace two heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units.
Major Equipment Replacement Items
Lankford also reviewed items on the major equipment replacement schedule indicating that monies are set aside for these as well. He announced that the District had three of its computer servers that were at their end of life. He mentioned a total replacement cost for these of around $57,000.
Consent / Possible Action Items
The consent agenda includes non-controversial and routine items that the Board may act on with one single vote. Any Board member may pull any item from the consent agenda in order that the Board discuss and act upon it individually as part of the regular agenda.
Consent Agenda Items:
Approval of Minutes of the Board of Directors for the regular meeting – April 6, 2023
Monthly Financials
Quarterly Investment Report
Quarterly Taxing Unit Payments
Moses moved to approve the items A-D on the consent agenda as presented. Weber seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Executive session began at 10:20 AM. The Board returned to open session at 10:44 AM.
Chief Appraiser Performance Objectives
Consideration and possible action on items discussed in Executive Session
Chief Appraiser Performance Objectives
There was no motion made.
Building Short-Lived & Major Equipment Replacement Items
Hisle-Piper moved to approve the short-lived items for an amount of $35,000 for the replacement of two HVAC units as well as the major equipment replacement for three computer servers for a total of $57,631. Moses seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Chief Appraiser’s Report
WCAD Presentations
Lankford announced several presentations that he had done recently including a virtual interview with Independence Title. This company plans to send this video to their clients across the state.
Lankford discussed a number of media interviews including interviews with KVUE, KXAN and Community Impact, along with others. He also mentioned the videos that were produced by the Cummings Group, which are posted on the District’s website.
Legislative Updates
Lankford noted a few legislative bills. He mentioned House Bill 1283 that would add additional training for the TLO. He briefly discussed Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 2 which address the homestead exemption as well as a homestead cap. Lankford informed the Board that there would be an addition to the District’s appraisal notices regarding the assessed value increasing.
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.
Property Owner Surveys
Lankford thanked K.C. McDade, the District’s Director of Operations, for his work in reformatting the property owner surveys. These surveys are submitted on survey cards or online. These are then scanned and forwarded to Quantinite, one of the District’s vendors, for data entry. When they are not answering phones, they are entering data.
Lankford announced that the survey results were as good as they had ever been. He complimented the District staff for their work indicating what great customer service employees had been providing.
2023 WCAD Christmas Party
Lankford asked the Board members to mark their calendars for the District’s annual Christmas Party. This event is scheduled for Saturday, December 2nd and will take place at the American Legion Hall in Round Rock.
Generator Update
Lankford announced that the rental generator, which had been in place since February, was still in place. He provided an update indicating that originally the wrong delivery system was shipped and most recently, the shipment received did not contain all the correct parts. He announced that it would be at least another month before the new permanent generator was working.
Board Agenda Additions for Future Meeting
The Board requested an item be added to their June meeting agenda as follows:
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- Executive session for Chief Appraiser Performance Objectives
Board Announcements
There were no Board announcements.
The Board had previously set the following meeting dates:
- Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 9 AM
- Wednesday, July 12, 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 11:04 AM.
Respectfully,
Jon Lux, Chairman Lora H. Weber, Secretary
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