“I think it will be down from years prior,” he said.
Thus far the Appraisal District of Bell County has received 400 protests, but he knows more will arrive by the June 1 deadline.
“With the deadline coming up I expect them to come crashing in,” he said. “With personal property, the businesses’ tax agent representatives usually file on the last day.”
The last day to file protests is June 1 or 30 days after a notice was mailed, whichever comes later. The appraisal district mailed about 115,000 appraisal notices earlier this year. Owners only received a statement if a property’s value goes up, the owner files a statement as to what he or she estimates as the property’s value, the property is new to the tax roll or the property has a new owner.
In 2006, the district received 3,400 protests from property owners. Of those, 2,000 were scheduled for hearings before the Appraisal Review Board, an independent panel that hears information from the property owners and the property appraisers before deciding whether to uphold or lower the appraisal. However, a much smaller percentage actually attends the hearings. In previous years, about 60 percent failed to show up for their appointed hearing time.
“We’re talking to a lot of property owners coming in and having informal hearings,” Hahn said. “Oftentimes we work out an agreement.”
For those that cannot work out an agreement, the board is scheduled to begin hearings on July 1.
“They will meet however long it takes to hear protests, which we think will be two to three weeks,” Hahn said.
Those that wish to protest their property’s appraised values, should bring evidence to support their arguments, Hahn said. He suggested information such as selling prices for properties similar to theirs or property prices in their neighborhood.
“Also if they have interior problems that we’re not aware of such as a crack in the slab, they should bring some pictures,” he said.
If property owners are unsatisfied with the board’s decision, they may request binding arbitration or may file suit in district court. In 2006, the district had one case go to binding arbitration and about 25 lawsuits.
“Some of those have been worked out,” he said.
The board must certify appraisal values by July 20 and the district has until July 25 to certify its tax rolls.
District employees will then work with the 27 taxing entities to calculate effective tax rates before publishing and applying those rates. The district will mail tax statements to property owners by Oct. 1. Property owners then have until Jan. 31 to pay their taxes with penalties begin to accrue on Feb. 1 for those who are delinquent.
jsicking@temple-telegram.com
