DALLAS — A lot has already been said about the election this year.
Wait, let’s clarify that: A lot has already been said about the November election this year. You might not have heard much about the May election, though. And that one could affect you in important ways, explains Texas Real state Broker Chandler Crouch.
"When America was founded, we had this principle that there's no taxation without representation," Crouch told us on the latest episode of our Y'all-itics podcast. "That's one of the reasons why this country formed was for taxation principles."
Crouch, who -- for years -- has become a notorious ally for thousands of homeowners fighting their property appraisals, says that whole taxation without representation problem has in recent years re-established itself at local appraisal districts across Texas, where the boards that run the districts were comprised of unelected members.
"Up until now, it's been the same exact people that set your tax rates and set the budget are the ones that have been appointing the board of directors -- and that's just not fair," he said. "We don't want government bureaucrats back scratching and making, you know, the good old boy system, you know, by putting the people that they want on those boards."
Texas voters agreed with that. Last year, they approved a measure to require three of the nine appraisal district board members in the state’s 50 largest counties to be elected rather than appointed.
"I'm really excited about it because when something goes wrong at the appraisal district or if they're doing something I don't like, then I can now hold them accountable directly with my vote and they have a reason to listen to me because now I get to hold them accountable," Crouch says.
Some critics worry that even though these elected offices are non-partisan, it might inject partisan politics into the appraisal process.
Crouch says the politics has already been there for years, though.
"That won't be a big change," he said. "I think now we just get to participate in that political environment."
Perhaps the biggest change created by the new elections will be that appraisal district board members select the appraisal review boards, who decide on disputes between appraisers and homeowners who protest their valuations.
"These are the people that are going to oversee our protests and make the determination on whether or not the value protest is in favor of the homeowner or the appraisal district," Crouch explains. "And, so, the entire board gets to vote on that. But if two out of the three of these publicly elected members don't agree with the overall decision, then that person doesn't get hired."
It remains to be seen how that will materially change the annual appraisal process for Texas homeowners.
It also remains to be seen how many voters will even cast ballots in these local races, considering that May election turnout is often anemic, and these are new positions featuring candidates with whom voters are totally unfamiliar.
But Crouch is making the case for voters to participate. You can hear it by listening to this week’s episode of Y’all-itics.