Appraisal Review Board Procedures
1. The following categories of property
owners are entitled to receive a Notice of Appraised Value as described in
Section 25.19 of the State Property Tax Code, and given an opportunity to
appeal to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB).
a. owners
of business personal property.
b. all
accounts appraised by Pritchard & Abbott Appraisal Firm.
(minerals, utilities, etc.)
c. new
owners.
d. owners
whose property was not on the appraisal roll in the
preceding year. (New accounts)
e. owners
whose appraised value increased by $1000 or more over
the preceding year.
f. owners
who rendered in writing. (The rendition
period is from
January 1st to April 15th)
2. Appraisal District employees will make
extra efforts to discuss matters with property owners and possibly resolve
situations without the appellant having to file a protest and meet with the
ARB. On all protests filed, the
applicable appraiser will first review the protest and depending on the nature
of the protest, etc., determine whether or not to make contact with the
appellant prior to his/her hearing date. However, under no circumstances will a person’s right to file a
protest or to have a hearing before the ARB be violated. Appraisers will prepare an Appellant
Interview Form during all interviews with taxpayers.
3. Property owners in the categories listed
in paragraph 1 above will have a deadline of May 31st or thirty (30)
days from mail out date of appraisal notices, whichever is later, to file a
formal protest. For those mailing in a
protest the correspondence must be postmarked not later than
midnight
of the deadline date. If the deadline
date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the deadline is postponed until
midnight
of the next business day.
4. Property owners entitled to receive a
Notice of Appraised Value but who did not receive one due to an error on the
part of the Appraisal District may file a late protest up until the tax
delinquency date according to Chapter 41 of the Property Tax Code.
5. Property owners who were mailed a
Notice of Appraised Value but did not file a timely protest due to unforeseen
circumstances (serious illness, death in family, etc.), and who desire to
protest to the ARB, must submit a letter to the Chairman of the ARB at the
Appraisal District address in addition to filing a formal protest. This request must be filed before the ARB
approves appraisal records and must explain the unforeseen circumstances. The Chairman of the ARB will decide on
whether or not to hear the protest based on documentation presented.
6. After the protest is filed the taxpayer
must be given fifteen (15) days before his scheduled hearing date to prepare
his/her case. An exception to this
fifteen (15) day period may be made only if the appellant signs a waiver
requesting that he/she be scheduled at an earlier date. For those filing a late protest described in
paragraph 5 above, the fifteen (15) day period starts from the date the
Chairman of the ARB decided to hear the protest.
7. All appeals to the ARB must be in
writing, either by use of protest form or by letter. All protests must be signed and, as a minimum, contain the
identification of the property owner, identification of the property, and basis
for the protest.
8. The ARB will only consider appeals
which the appellant has listed on the protest form or in his/her letter. Any appellant, or his authorized
representative, scheduled to appear before the ARB who fails to appear or fails to submit a notarized affidavit, will not have his/her case reviewed by
the ARB. The minutes will reflect that
the appellant failed to appear as scheduled, and failed to submit a notarized
affidavit. If failure to appear is the
result of an unforeseen circumstance the appellant must send a letter to the
ARB Chairman requesting another hearing. The Chairman will decide to hear the case or not based on individual
circumstances.
9. Details of cases to be presented to the
ARB will not be discussed between appraisers and board members prior to the
hearing. Before the ARB convenes, the
board recorder will provide the applicable appraiser with a copy of the
protest. At the hearing, the board
recorder will provide documents to each ARB member and the appellant relating
to the scheduled hearing after the appellant enters the boardroom and is
seated. The ARB Chairman will insure
that the appellant, witnesses, and the Appraisal District Representatives are
sworn in and will insure that all required Ex Parte Affidavits are signed by
each of the Board Members present. The
Chairman of the Board should advise the appellant that the Board is not part of
the Appraisal District nor taxing entities, and that the board is an
independent body merely acting in a judicial capacity to determine cases based
on evidence presented to the board.
10. At the hearing, the property owner will
be the first one to present evidence. The Appraisal District representative then presents the District’s
position after which the appellant may present rebuttal evidence. Values from prior years or the decision of
previous review boards do not bind the current ARB; each year stands alone.
11. The ARB has full authority to make
changes in appraisals but should not make changes merely through emotion. Facts and evidence presented at the time of
the hearing must dictate changes. In
order to maintain fairness and impartiality to all taxpayers, the ARB must
respect the policies and procedures of the Appraisal District and guidance
provided by the State Comptroller.
12. There is not to be any confrontations
between appellants and Appraisal District representatives. All must present their testimony to the ARB,
not to one another. The Chairman of the
ARB must at all times maintain control of the board and all participants.
13. If it is determined by the ARB during the
hearing that additional information or research (field inspections, subpoenas,
etc.) is necessary, then the hearing may be rescheduled. The appellant will be given a new hearing
date and time, in writing, for a future hearing.
14. Prior to all protest hearings an agenda
must be posted at required locations and all aspects of “Open Meetings Act” must
be strictly complied with at all times.
