2016 Annual Report

2016 Comanche CAD Annual Report

Introduction

The Comanche Central Appraisal District (CCAD) is a political subdivision of the state formed by the Texas Legislature in 1979.  The operation of the Appraisal District is governed by the Constitution of the State of Texas, the Texas Property Tax Code, and the Rules of the Texas Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division.

Mission

The mission of Comanche Central Appraisal District is to discover, list and appraise property as accurately, ethically and impartially as possible in order to estimate the market value of all property within the boundaries of the district for ad valorem tax purposes. The effective date for appraisal of real property is January 1^st.  A Personal Property Owner can elect to have their business personal property appraised as of September 1^st. The district must make sure that each taxpayer is given the same consideration, information and assistance as the next. This will be done by administering the laws under the property tax system and operating under the standards of:

• The Property Tax Assistance Division of the Texas State Comptroller’s Office (PTAD),
• The International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), and
• The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

Governance

The appraisal district is governed by a Board of Directors whose primary responsibilities are to:

• Establish the district’s office,
• Adopt its operating budget,
• Contract for necessary services,
• Hire the Chief Appraiser,
• Appoint the Appraisal Review Board (ARB)
• Provide advice and consent to the Chief Appraiser concerning the appointment of an Agricultural Advisory Board,
• Make general policies on the appraisal district’s operations, and
• Biennially develop a written plan for the periodic reappraisal of all property within the district’s boundaries.

To be eligible to serve on the board of directors, a person must have resided within the boundaries of the county for at least two years prior to their appointment. Their terms are not staggered. There are no legal limits to the number of terms a board member can serve. The Chief Appraiser is the chief administrator of the appraisal district and is appointed by the board of directors. The chief appraiser must be licensed (or actively working toward licensing) as a Registered Professional Appraiser (RPA) through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Members of the Appraisal Review Board are appointed by the Board of Directors. ARB members serve two year staggered terms, for maximum of 3 consecutive two year terms. Their responsibility is to settle value disputes.  Their decisions regarding value are binding to the chief appraiser for the tax years protested.

The Ag Advisory Board is appointed by the Board of Directors at the recommendation of the chief appraiser to aide them in determining typical practices, standards, lease rates and expenses for agricultural activities in the district. They serve at the will of the Board of Directors.

Taxing Jurisdictions

The Comanche Central Appraisal District is responsible for appraising 18,062 properties located within the 951 square miles of Comanche County. The following are the taxing jurisdictions with in the district:

1. City of Comanche
2. City of De Leon
3. City of Gustine
4. County Road
5. Comanche County
6. Hospital District
7. Blanket ISD **
8. Comanche ISD
9. De Leon ISD **
10. Dublin ISD **
11. Gorman ISD **
12. Gustine ISD
13. Hamilton ISD **
14. Hico ISD **
15. Lingleville ISD **
16. May ISD **
17. Mullin ISD **
18. Priddy ISD **
19. Rising Star ISD **
20. Sidney ISD
21. Zephyr ISD **
22. Trinity Water **

**These entities overlap into adjoining counties BUT only the portion in Comanche County is appraised by Comanche Central Appraisal District.  **

Property Types Appraised

CCAD staff is responsible for appraising 16,668 residential, commercial, land and business personal property accounts. CCAD contracts with Capitol Appraisal Group, Inc. to appraise 1,195 accounts which includes oil and gas properties, utilities, pipelines, industrial property, and industrial personal property in the district.

The Comanche Central Appraisal District 2015-2016 Reappraisal Plan designated property located primarily in De Leon ISD for the 2016 inspection.  This area contains 7 city drive outs and 17 rural drive outs consisting of the City of De Leon, communities of Downing and Sipe Springs, Proctor Lake subdivisions, Nabors Lake and the remaining rural properties.  During this inspection cycle, the over-lapping school districts of Dublin, Lingleville, Gorman and Rising Star are included.

The scope of work required inspection of all parcels within this area.  However SDE 15, 16 & 17 rural drive outs were not completed.

The following is the summary of property types and their certified values:

Property Discovery

The district seeks to discover all newly constructed or added property each year through examination of:

• City building permits
• Field inspections
• Filed Material/Mechanic’s Liens
• Deed records
• Sewer permits
• Mobile home reports
• Electric permits
• Newspapers
• Legal notices
• Sales information
• Prior year records
• Aerial maps
• Railroad Commission Reports (oil/gas)
• Renditions
• Assumed Names
• Vehicle registrations
• Realtor and Appraisers

Exemption Data

Property owners may qualify for a variety of exemptions as provided by the Texas Constitution. Some of the most commonly occurring exemptions are described below. Other less commonly occurring exemptions are available and described in the Texas Property Tax Code, Chapter 11.

Residential Homestead

The following chart represents the total exemption amounts available to   homeowners who qualify for this exemption on a home site with a maximum    of 20 acres:

For school tax purposes, the over 65, disability, and surviving spouse homestead exemptions create a tax ceiling prohibiting increased taxes on the homestead. (Any changes to or new areas added to the home site will cause the ceiling to be readjusted in the subsequent tax year.)

All homeowners who qualify for the residential homestead exemption are subject to the placement of homestead cap on their qualifying property which prohibits the increase of taxable value on the homestead property to ten percent per year. However, the market value may still be reflective of the local real estate market.

Disabled Veterans

In addition to the residential homestead exemption allowable to disabled veterans with a 100% service connected disability, disabled veterans are      allowed a general exemption on any property they own based upon the          percentage rating as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs.           Current exemptions amounts, based upon these ratings, are:

Notices of Appraised Value are mailed if:

• Property was reappraised that year
• Value increased more than $1,000 from prior year
• Property was new
• Ownership of property changed

I, certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief:

1. The statements of fact contained in this report are true and correct.
2. This report was prepared by Jo Ann Hohertz and the Comanche CAD staff.

Jo Ann Hohertz

Chief Appraiser

Comanche Central Appraisal District