DCAD board appoints new chief appraiser

The Denton Central Appraisal District Board on Thursday voted to appoint a new permanent chief appraiser.

Hope McClure was removed from her position as chief appraiser in September after a majority of Denton County taxing entities disapproved the district’s budget and criticized her leadership. The deputy chief appraiser, Don Spencer, was named interim chief appraiser during that Sept. 13 board meeting.

Since then, a new slightly lower budget was approved by the board, and negotiations over McClure’s separation agreement have been finalized. Her separation will become official on Tuesday, and the following day, Spencer will have the “interim” removed from his title.

“We chose not to conduct an outside search because Don came to us through the search we did at the time the Board hired Hope,” DCAD Board Chair Roy Atwood said in an email. “He and Hope were the top candidates from a state-wide search and we were very pleased we were able to hire both. The Board believes he is extremely well qualified and knows the issues that need to be addressed and will be able to address them successfully.”

Spencer said honesty and transparency is important to him, and he’s open-minded to employees and residents who want to see improvements.

“I want everybody to know that I’m open to change in any way it needs to happen,” Spencer said. “I want to be receptive to new ideas and to continue to grow this organization with the county, and start to have a proactive approach to the growth and opportunities here.”

Spencer praised the DCAD employees who “have been through a tremendous amount of adversity over the last few years.”

“This team, already being short-staffed, has continued to pull together, and they deserve credit for that.”