Public election of appraisal district board members — a historical first — will come at a hefty price tag for the Tarrant Appraisal District.
Voters will head to the polls May 4 to elect three new members of the appraisal district’s board of directors, at an estimated administrative cost of $645,470. That money is coming straight from the district’s own coffers; the constitutional amendment that created the positions didn’t supply any funds.
“This is an unfunded mandate by the state Legislature,” board chair Vince Puente Sr. said. “I don’t think they often know what the cost is going to be of something they legislate.”
At their April 22 meeting, current board members approved a contract with Tarrant County Elections to administer the election across 180 polling locations and signed off on a $484,110 deposit. The remaining costs are due after the election, but there’s a chance the final tab could be more or less expensive than estimated. The estimated cost has already risen from $300,000 in January.
The appraisal district is also planning to send a notice to taxing entities advising them of the budget amendment required to pay for the election.
Puente said while it’s great that the Legislature created the new positions, the way it was done has its drawbacks. He said $645,000 is a great deal of money to spend. It amounts to about $215,156 per open seat, or $80,683 per candidate for this election.
Costs are also higher because of the timing of the election. If more entities were having their elections concurrently, costs could have been split further, Chief Appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt said. As it is, the appraisal district is bearing the brunt.
“We’re also running up against runoff elections, we’re running up against local elections, so that’s a very confusing time for the public,” Puente said. “I don’t think it serves us well in that sense.”
That timeline won’t always be a stumbling block. Matthew Tepper, an attorney who offers legal services for the appraisal district, said moving forward there will be an election every other year in November. The election will fall in either presidential election years or gubernatorial election years.
“We will be sharing the cost of that election with all the other entities that come out, and so that $645,000 number ought to come down to something much smaller,” Tepper said.
Tarrant County isn’t the only appraisal district being hit with unexpected election costs. The Harris County Appraisal District has approved $4.1 million for the county clerk to administer the appraisal board election on its behalf.
Eight candidates are running for seats on the Tarrant Appraisal District’s board in May; three in Place 1, two in Place 2, and three in Place 4. Voters can choose one candidate for each seat.
Those elected will join five board members elected by taxing entities, alongside the tax assessor-collector, who is also elected through a countywide vote. The board will expand to a total of nine members.
Emily Wolf is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at emily.wolf@fortworthreport.org or @_wolfemily.
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