TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — You may have heard of Chandler Crouch by now -- he's the guy, who for the last few years, has been helping people protest their property values, which ultimately determine how much they pay in property taxes.
Well, the Tarrant Appraisal District has apparently heard of him, too.
And the top two employees of TAD don't seem to like him very much, as they filed a personal complaint against Crouch on county time and with a Texas Department of licensing and Regulation letterhead.
As a result, TAD officials are meeting Thursday to consider terminating Randy Armstrong, TAD's director of residential appraisal and author of the complaint, and TAD Chief Appraiser Jeff Law, who was reportedly aware of Armstrong's complaint filing.
The complaint accused Crouch of "misrepresentation of facts and abuse of his dual positions as both at property tax consultant" and realtor, saying he misled members of the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board during an appraisal hearing last year.
The complaint said Crouch had a property listed for about $2.5 million in Colleyville, while he testified to the review board that the market value of the home of was around $880,000.
But Crouch, in a response posted on his website, said it's not a violation "to list a house for sale and represent the client in a protest hearing," as happened for the Colleyville home.
And Crouch said the $2.5 million figure on his online listing was a combination of three property tax accounts, not just the one house. The properties included two homes, two barns, 4.72 acres and an apartment.
"This is not close to an equal comparison," Crouch said of the TAD members accusing him of valuing a $2.5 million listed property at $880,000.
The complaint also accused Crouch of "mockery of the current tax system," claiming he "will bring shame to the Texas Association of Property Tax Consultants, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Institute for Professionals in Taxation and the Texas Property Tax Industry as a whole."
Crouch wrote that the complaint was absurd, illogical and purely emotional.
"How are any of these other entities relevant to anything concerning a TDLR complaint?" Crouch said.
Armstrong's complaint said that Crouch would potentially harm TAD's annual property value performance study, that his tactics and continued mocking and criticism of the property tax system shouldn't be allowed, and that he believes these actions warrant a thorough and serious investigation.
Crough agreed there should be an investigation, but into the TAD instead. And he claimed Armstrong trying to stop him from mocking and criticizing the tax infringement system was a First Amendment rights violation.
TAD board members will meet to discuss the issue at 9 a.m. Thursday at 2500 Handley-Ederville Road in Fort Worth.
When asked for a statement, a TAD spokesperson said it was currently reviewing the matter and wouldn't comment until the review process was complete.
WFAA has interviewed Crouch several times in recent years to explain to process of protesting property values in North Texas. In April, he told WFAA that North Texas homeowners should protest their tax appraisals, saying "about 50% of houses are overvalued if you just look at it."
In 2021, Crouch's realty business helped 22,000 people protest their property tax values, getting values knocked down about 90% of the time.
“Everyone should protest every single year, for a few reasons," Crouch said. "Number one, you just don’t have anything to lose.”