Property taxes.
Taxes paid by the board members of the
Harris County ARB (appraisal review board).

February 2002.
Protest your taxes to save money. Be informed. The HCAD tax accounts for members of the Jury...and more information which will inform you of the facts.

Bulletin Bulletin Bulletin: The TEA "E" Audit as of February 2002 is in!

Click here to find out the Jurors List.

We want you to get to know even more about the current members of the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD). Appraisal Review Board (ARB). These members are commonly referred to as either "the jury" or "the Board Members".

When you protest your property taxes, you first go to Harris County Appraisal District for an informal hearing; then, you go to the Harris County Appraisal District's Appraisal Review Board (ARB). HCAD and its arm for protesting, the ARB are in conflict with each other! Does the left arm know what the right arm is doing?

WHY ? TWO DIFFERENT GOALS!

ONE FOR H C A D AND AN ANOTHER FOR APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD ?

H C A D 'S "MISSION GOAL" IS EQUITABLE APPRAISAL !

A R B 'S "OBJECT GOAL" IS MARKET VALUE ?

THAT CONFLICT CREATES CONFUSION & HIGHER TAXES FOR YOU, THE TAXPAYER. $$$

HCAD's Mission

is to adjust values using....

Equitable Appraisal.

Conflict

and

Confusion.

Appraisal Review Board's (ARB) Object

is to consider only...

Market Value.
(...not equity, which is...
equitable appraisal).

duh.....

"WHITE PAPER REPORT"

"WAYS & MEANS OF PROTESTING TAXES"

Why (and to whom) did about 1/3 of your 2001 HCAD Appraisal Review Board members/jurors protest their property's appraisals? What were the protest results for their appraised values and therefore tax bills?

Remember that you must protest to HCAD’S ARB and your tax jurors must also protest to their other friendly associates on HCAD’S Appraisal Review Board. Taxpayers for Equal Appraisal provides a few examples of protesting inside the HCAD Appraisal Review Board by associate members of the jury panel!

Before Protests

After Protests

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5

Example 6

Example 7

Example 8

$165, 200

$211 ,500

$112,800

$172 ,200

$330,000

$181,800

$127,400

$292,700

$148 ,000

$195 ,000

$ 96,500

$151 ,200

$275,200

$175,700

$106,400

$268,800

Taxpayers who review the above results might ask, "If 1/3 of a random group protest and most often get the kind of results you see above, does that indicate a large % of errors in HCAD appraisals or 'something else'?"

duh...

Taxpayers who review or audit the 2002 Harris County Appraisal District Budget will discover in "round numbers" that of the 38 million dollar total, (to run the HCAD office where there are about 500 employees), $25 million is spent on salaries, employee benefits and retirement which is very understandable! (or is it?)

Retirement benefits come in various ways and means for HCAD employees and appraisal review board members. ARB members who protest their appraisal values and lower their market values for that current year benefit long range for years in the future by restarting the 10% Homestead Cap.

Protesting makes sense and pays cents $$$.

By the way, on other related protest issues T.E.A. (your favorite website) provides a copy of the January 10, 2002 letter from Jim Robinson, Chief Appraiser of HCAD, which was mailed to special taxpayers. Why was not a notice given to all taxpayers?

Why not? News Release to Papers, TV & Radio?

Set out below is the exact content of the Letter from Jim Robinson, Chief Appraiser to select taxpayers:

Harris County Appraisal District
2800 North Lop West, Houston, Texas (zip code is not on the letterhead)
Telephone: 713-812-5800
Information Center: 713-957-7800
Mailing Address:
Customer Service Division
P.O. Box 922004
Houston, TX 77292-2004

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF APPRAISER

January 10, 2002

Dear Property Tax Consultant or Company Representative:

During the past several years, particularly in the hearings season, a number of issues have arisen regarding undue familiarity between current and former HCAD employees. Some of these situations have led to complaints from other property owners and, in a few instances, criminal investigations and/or prosecutions by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

After careful consideration, a decision has been made to restrict former HCAD employees from participating in an informal hearing for three (3) years from the date the employee in question left the district’s employment. This differs from the five (5) year exclusion that was originally considered.

This policy will be in effect for informal hearings held on or after April 1, 2002. While informal hearings are a courtesy made available by the district, law guarantees the right to a formal hearing before the ARB. Accordingly, former employees are not restricted from participating in ARB hearings.

Respectfully,

Jim Robinson

Chief Appraiser.

THINK ONE MAN CAN’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE ? THINK AGAIN AS YOU READ MR. BRUCE SLEDD’S LETTER SET OUT BELOW OF FEB. 11, 2002 TO TAXING UNITS .

February 11, 2002

Taxing Units

The attached letter (see letter above) from Jim Robinson, Chief Appraiser of the Harris County Appraisal District, dated January 10, 2002, implicates past and present employees with fraud through "undue familiarity" among the individuals. This letter is the latest in a series of public pronouncements by Mr. Robinson and others, concerning the problem of under-valuation of properties by employees, for non-professional reasons.

Over the past ten years many properties have been significantly under-valued through fraud. It is time for taxing units to take action to insure fairness and uniformity in the tax collection process by engaging outside experts to identify under-valued properties. Such services should be on a "successful effort" basis, i.e. payment for services should not be made until the taxing units collect the additional taxes.

As a licensed senior property tax consultant, I am available to answer your questions as to when and how much more taxes should be collected.

Sincerely,

Bruce Sledd

TSPTC # 2162

P.O. Box 920521

Houston, Texas 77292-0521

713-934-8250

Sometimes:

"It’s not what you know but who you know."

However! With the help of Taxpayers for Equal Appraisal
(www.hcadtea .org ), it can work the other way!

"It's not who you know but what you know.

Set out below is information written by your Harris Country Appraisal District
(HCAD) as its guide which is given to each member on the Appraisal Review Board.

CONSTRUCTIVE REMINDERS TO BOARD MEMBERS

[For the Members of the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) of the Harris County Appraisal (HCAD) District, "The Board" or "The Jury".]

Hearings begin at 8:00 A.M. Please be on time.
If you arrive more than 15 minutes early, you will be required to adjust your time sheet accordingly.
Conduct the hearing only on the account number protested. Do not get unprotested accounts.
Stay on the issue of value. ARB has no jurisdiction over taxes.
Do not decide legal issues. Should you need a legal opinion, we have legal counsel.
Make property owners feel comfortable. Be extremely polite and courteous to the property owner or their representative.
Be open minded, receptive to the property owner's remarks and documentations.
Express your opinions in a firm manner, but don't be antagonistic.
Avoid adversarial relationships - Treat others like you would want to be treated.
Stay calm, be attentive, unemotional.
A formal relationship between the ARB panel & the HCAD appraiser must be evident when a property owner is present! A property owner must feel like he's getting a fair hearing.
ARB's objective is to obtain The Market Value of the property based on the evidence submitted at the hearing.

(Now, note the difference for you, the taxpayers: HCAD'S MISSION STATEMENT: " OUR MISSION IS TO COURTEOUSLY AND EFFICIENTLY SERVE THE PROPERTY OWNERS AND TAXING UNITS OF HARRIS COUNTY BY PRODUCING AN ACCURATE , COMPLETE AND EQUITABLE APPRAISAL ROLL ." )
The hearings should always be directed at listening to the facts from each party. ARB members should not attempt to appraise any property.
Agent are representatives of the property owner. As such, they are to be accorded the same courtesies and held to the same conduct & standards.
All discussions regarding subject property during a hearing must be held inside the hearing room with the appraiser & property owner/agent present.
Once the hearing is concluded, please proceed as quickly as possible to the next hearing.
Breaks are left up to discretion of the chairman. Don't be excessive.
Telephone is not to be used for conducting business & should be limited to necessary calls.
Make sure there are no scheduled hearings left prior to leaving at 4:30 or 5:00 P.M.
Remember [the] chairman is in charge of the hearing. Any disagreement should not be discussed openly.
[The] chairman should state for the record: noticed value as determined by ARB, and the reason for arriving at this value.

HARRIS COUNTY APPRAISED

FAMILIAR WITH THE VARIOUS TAXING AUTHORITIES WITHIN HARRIS COUNTY

NONE JEANNETTE MALVEAUX 4505 UNIVERSITY OAKS NO VALUE NO EXEMPTION

Protesting makes sense and pays cents $$$.

Harris County
Appraisal District

**Now, see how much they pay on their houses' appraised values, less their exemptions.**