TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — The three new Tarrant Appraisal District board members, the first to be elected by Tarrant County voters at large, wasted no time making changes to the county's appraisal policies.
In its first meeting since the trio took office, the board gave initial approval Monday to plans that will likely soften property tax increases. The full plan still needs to be finalized by Sept. 15 to take effect.
The district aims to freeze residential property values until 2026, then conduct appraisals every other year. Currently, properties are appraised annually.
The board also approved a measure that would make it harder to increase a home's value by more than 5%. Under the proposal, the district would have to provide more evidence to justify such an increase.
State law caps appraisal increases at 10%.
"Some things are going to stay the same and some things are going to change," said realtor Chandler Crouch, who's helped thousands of Tarrant County residents protest their property valuations. "The spirit is in the right direction. It's pro-homeowner."
If finalized, the new policies would affect Tarrant County residents' 2025 property tax bills. Current appraisals would "roll over" to next year. New construction, including renovations to existing structures, would still be subject to appraisal.
Crouch noted that the changes' impact depends on the real estate market.
"If our real estate market is increasing value... then it really benefits the homeowner if the appraisal district doesn't re-appraise every year," he said. "If values drop, we want the appraisal district to re-appraise because then our values can go down. If they're only re-appraising every other year, then that hurts homeowners."
Crouch said it's a "safe bet" property values will increase. But he noted homeowners would still be able to protest their property tax bill each year, no matter when their home was last appraised.
Several Tarrant County school districts cautioned the board's proposal would complicate their budgets, or even force them to raise their tax rates. In Texas, school budgets are tied directly to property values.
Representatives from Azle ISD, Crowley ISD, Birdville ISD, and White Settlement ISD opposed a version of the plan that would've limited appraisals to every three years. The board settled on two years as a sort of compromise.
Still, the districts warned their debt payoff plans assume property values will increase year-to-year. Katie Bowman, Birdville ISD associate superintendent of finance, warned "stagnant property growth could mean a higher I&S tax rate is needed to meet annual debt service payments."
Other districts worried the changes would make tax revenue harder to predict, potentially affecting the institutions' bond ratings - comparable to an individual's credit score.
“While I understand the concept behind considering it, I think there are a lot of other factors involved that need to be considered," Azle ISD chief financial officer Matt Adams told the board.
The newly-elected board members pushing the proposed changes, Eric Morris, Callie Rigney, and Matt Bryant campaigned on providing property tax relief and accepted endorsements from several Republican elected officials, including Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare. The Tarrant Appraisal District is a non-partisan entity.
"It's my responsibility to the taxpayers of Tarrant County, not the taxing entities," Rigney said. "I understand the school districts are having to do more with less, but so are our taxpayers. Taxing people out of their homes needs to stop."
Crouch said other appraisal districts are watching TAD to see what happens. The board must give final approval to the plan by September 15.