Here are the headlines Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe read on-air this week:
About those three new races on the local ballot
Voters will start heading to the polls on Monday as in-person early voting begins for local elections on May 4.
But those voters casting their ballot by mail have already noticed the change: there are three brand new, countywide races. Six candidates are vying for the three newly created seats on the Denton Central Appraisal District board.
In amending the state constitution last November, Texans gave themselves a temporary tax break. But a big change was buried in that statute in how appraisal districts are governed. According to a Texas Tribune report back in January, even some legislators were surprised by the change.
Back in the late 1970s, state officials reformed the property tax code and set up central appraisal districts to increase the efficiency and transparency of determining property values for the tax rolls.
But in the past five years, property values skyrocketed along with people’s tax bills, affecting not only individual homeowners, but the cost of leasing an apartment or business space, too. What’s more, some taxing entities, particularly school districts, are still getting squeezed with less cash, even as the state treasury ballooned.
Taxpayers began questioning the tax system’s efficiency, equity, adequacy, feasibility and transparency. In some counties, both taxpayers and the taxing entities themselves expressed growing concerns over how their central appraisal districts were being run.
Until now, district board members were appointed by the taxing entities. Beginning this year, the 50 most populous counties will have eight-member boards, with five appointed and three elected.
The Denton Central Appraisal District board currently has five members. After the election, the district will have eight members whose primary duties are to hire the chief appraiser and oversee a $20 million annual budget. Board members have no say in property valuations themselves. But the board appoints local residents to a review board that does have that authority.
According to campaign finance reports, Denton County’s appraisal district candidates have varying campaign strategies for a government job that does not pay. For example, Angie Cox, a former member of the Lewisville school board, filed a modified report pledging not to raise or spend more than $1,080. At the other end of the spectrum, Denton resident and longtime political volunteer Jordan Villarreal raised about $16,000 for his campaign.
The candidates file their finance reports with the county elections office. Those reports and information about early voting times and locations can be found at votedenton.gov.
More information about the appraisal district board at dentoncad.com.
Local voter’s guide includes appraisal district candidate info
To help voters in this new election, the Denton chapter of the League of Women Voters sent questionnaires to the appraisal district candidates. The questionnaires test the candidates’ knowledge and qualifications for these new positions, including what promises they might be able to make to the voters.
In addition, the voter’s guide includes candidate information in the city council and school board races. More information lwvdt.clubexpress.com.
If more property tax cuts ahead, then where will the money come from?
In other property tax news, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick released his interim charges to the Texas Senate—those issues he considers a priority for study and legislation in the next session. His top priority for the Senate Finance Committee includes the possibility of additional property tax cuts, along with a study and report on eliminating all property taxes.
Patrick’s interim charges ask for a report on how much and where the money would come from if local governments could no longer assess a property tax. Critics of the school financing system in Texas say that school taxes are an ersatz state property tax.
More information at ltgov.texas.gov.
New dates for state-supported living center plan, public comment
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services rescheduled a public meeting on the state-supported living centers to April 22.
The agency will receive public comment on a draft, long-range plan for the centers that are home to about 3,000 Texans with developmental disabilities, including the center in Denton.
The draft plan was supposed to be released April 3, but an agency official told Local News that it will now be released on April 17. More information at hhs.texas.gov.
Local News currently airs each Wednesday at 10 a.m. on KUZU 92.9 FM-LP in Denton, Texas, with rebroadcasts airing at 3 p.m. Thursday, and 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday. The Weekend Edition of Local News airs each Saturday at 4 p.m., with rebroadcasts at 9 p.m. and midnight; and 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday.
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Local News and Weekend Edition scripts are published on Substack. Subscribe for free at peggyheinkelwolfe.substack.com and follow live microblogging of Local News on Mastodon @phwolfe940@denton.social. Peggy is an award-winning, veteran journalist and a Denton County resident since 1993.