Home, land values will change

The Bandera Central Appraisal District, Bandera Independent School District and Medina Independent School District recently received notice from the state comptroller that the districts were not in compliance with state standards of appraisal.

According to a press release, homes and land fell below the required levels of appraisal, so state funding is in jeopardy if appeals of the Property Value Study are not successful.

“Low interest rates, the Covid pandemic, and migration to Texas from other states are all issues that have driven the prices upward,” said Richard Petree, Interim Chief Appraiser for Bandera County. “Unfortunately, we must move values again this year to try to mirror what is going on in the market.”

Petree said he is seeing large demand for homes on small tracts or for vacant land.

“Prices of those types of real estate have gone crazy throughout the hill country,’ he said.

According to a press release, taxpayers will be mailed notices of value in May and will have the opportunity to protest the value and meet with a staff member to discuss the issues. If an agreement cannot be reached, the taxpayer may take his appeal to the Appraisal Review Board.

“We will certainly listen to taxpayers and make appropriate adjustments to value based on the evidence they bring in,” said Petree. “Recently, closing statements, repair estimates of structural issues, pictures on the interior, or other evidence will be considered in making adjustments. Our goal is to accurately appraise all property. We are not trying to raise values to raise more money, but to accurately value all parcels so that the schools of the county are fully funded, and each person pays according to what they have.”

Two proposed Texas Constitutions amendments on the upcoming May 7 ballot could impact this situation.

The first proposition would authorize the Texas Legislature to cut the property tax limit for homesteads of elderly or disabled residents to reflect any statutory reduction from the preceding tax year.

Ballotpedia.org says the measure, which passed unanimously in both chambers during a Special Session, would result in a reduction in revenue of $467.5 million in the first two years it is implemented.

The second proposed amendment would increase the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $25,000 to $40,000. That measure, approved by the Legislature in October during a Special Session, also passed unanimously.

State Senator Paul Bettencourt, who authored the amendment, said, “People see the need for property tax relief, and Texans are going to cry out for that continuously. This is a great way to bring that home to all of the taxpayers of Texas.”