TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — As homeowners grapple with rising property taxes, many are looking for potential solutions.
Linda Hanratty, a Fort Worth resident, feels overwhelmed by the appraisal process.
“I have no idea how they set my property value,” Hanratty said.
It’s why she attended Wednesday evening’s candidate forum for the Tarrant Appraisal District Board of Directors.
Three newly-created non-partisan seats are open for public election.
It’s the first time Tarrant County residents will have the opportunity to elect TAD board directors, per a new Texas state law. Voters will elect the new directors in the May 4 election. Early voting begins April 22 and ends April 30.
During the forum held by the League of Women Voters and Fort Worth Report, candidates spoke directly to attendees and shared potential solutions to recent problems at TAD.
“I’m a problem solver,” said Place 2 candidate Eric Crile. “Right now, TAD has a lot of problems. I want to change the culture and add transparency.”
Crile’s opponent, Callie Rigney didn’t attend the forum. Crile, a firefighter, said he hopes to increase transparency at TAD. He believes residents TAD could do a better job of guiding residents through the appraisal review process.
“We need to be having workshops to learn how the appraisal review process works,” Crile said.
During the discussion, candidates discussed TAD’s recent issues including soaring appraisals, technology problems and a data breach.
Place 3 candidate Lee Henderson, a Fort Worth native and national public policy and advocacy strategist, said TAD is broken. He has spoke out about the recent ransomware attack and said TAD must do a better job of ensuring residents receive appraisal notices on time.
“We have to simply get the right contracts with people who will clean it up,” Henderson said. “What’s been happening is not okay.”
Two other Place 3 candidates, Matt Bryant and Chuck Kelley, weighed in on the issue.
Bryant is a property owner and former Carroll ISD school board member.
“Let’s make sure this never happens again,” Bryant said. “We need to look at other populous counties to see what they're doing correct.”
Bryant said TAD could benefit from the use of more data to communicate how it’s arriving at appraisal values.
Kelley, an IT consultant/architect agreed, adding residents should have more access to any TAD data. Kelley served as a councilmember in Colleyville for six years and spent two years on the city’s planning & zoning commission.
He said he plans to increase transparency at TAD through enhanced communication and holding town hall meetings. His hope, Kelley said, is to help residents better understand the appraisal process.
“We have to understand the process,” Kelley said. “It’s a matter of making it accessible. It has been made inaccessible.”
All eight candidates vying to be elected as directors agree on one idea: They believe TAD must be more transparent.
“TAD has to stop meddling in the review process,” Place 1 candidate Sayeda Syed said. “We need to have separation of powers.”
Syed is a Colleyville resident who is a former Appraisal Review Board member.
Place 1 candidate Trae Fowler, a lifelong Tarrant County resident and former Haltom city mayor and council member, proposed the idea of biannual appraisals.
“This is critical to all of y’all,” Fowler said. “This is the largest investment you’ll make. It’s critical that we figure out how to make this process more user-friendly.”
Place 1 candidate Eric Morris, who currently serves as a council member in Haltom City, said TAD could enhance its transparency by bringing discussions out of executive session.
“It is the job of the appraisal district to be an accurate source of information,” Morris said.
Doreen Geiger, a Fort Worth resident, said the forum was helpful, and she know who she’ll vote for.
“I do think it’s a step in the right direction,” Geiger said. “We the public can vote for people to represent us on the TAD board for the first time ever. I think they all want the same thing: more transparency and the problems of the past fixed.”
Every Tarrant County voter can cast ballots for all three TAD seats.