When Denton County residents head to the polls for the May 4 General Election, they’ll see Denton Central Appraisal District board members up for election for the first time.
Last November, voters approved the ballot measure that set a temporary maximum on appraised property values and increased the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000, according to The Texas Tribune. But included in the ballot language was a major tweak to how appraisal district board members – usually appointed by local elected officials – are chosen. In May, for appraisal districts with populations over 75,000, the transition period will begin that will ultimately result in eight board members — three elected, five appointed — serving four-year terms, plus the county assessor-collector serving as an ex-officio director.
In Denton County, each new at-large seat on the ballot drew two candidates: In Place 1, former Lewisville ISD Trustee Angie Cox is running against Attorney Peter Mungiguerra; in Place 2, Sophia Anwar (currently the district director for Salman Bhojani, the Democratic Representative for District 92 in the Texas House) is running against Denton Realtor Lisa McEntire; and in Place 3, Frisco Realtor Rick Guzman is running against Jordan Villarreal, the interim chief of staff for Bhojani. To learn more about each candidate, click the links above to go to their websites/Facebook pages.
Appraisal districts determine annual property valuations based on market value, which helps local taxing entities calculate how much tax revenue they can receive in a given year, and set their tax rates and budgets. Since 1980, these districts have included a property tax appraiser and an appointed board.
Directors who are elected on May 4 will take office on July 1 and serve a term expiring Dec. 31, 2026. The seats will next appear on ballots in November 2026, with the winners taking office on Jan. 1, 2027, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
For the five appointed board members, their terms will end on Dec. 31, 2024. The taxing units entitled to appoint directors must appoint five directors to serve terms beginning on Jan. 1, 2025 — two will be appointed to serve one year, while the other three will be appointed to a three-year term. After this, all appointed directors will serve four-year terms.
According to state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican and the author of Senate Bill 2 that became Proposition 4 on the November ballot, Texas lawmakers were overrun with questions regarding taxpayer input into the county appraisal district governance.
“Now when you look historically over this, there’s never really been elected representation ever on the appraisal district board of directors,” he said.
Whether a board is elected or appointed, board members don’t make decisions regarding property values, which is the issue voters primarily complain about according to Bettencourt. The board does decide what members are appointed to the appraisal review board, which is not required to lower property values but has the option to.
Early voting in the May 4 General Election begins Monday and runs through April 30. Click here for more information.
Part of this news story originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. For the full story, go to https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/11/texas-appraisal-district-board-elections/.
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