JAMES VALADEZ: GOOD MORNING. I'D LIKE TO CALL THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO
ORDER. THE TIME IS 11:30 ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023. WE'RE CONDUCTING THIS MEETING AT TCAD HEADQUARTERS, LOCATED AT 850 EAST ANDERSON LANE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND A QUORUM IS PRESENT. WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING TO PROVIDE THIS MEETING THROUGH ONLINE BROADCAST AS A COURTESY. THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS CITIZENS COMMUNICATIONS. DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. THESE ITEMS MAY BE ACTED UPON BY ONE MOTION. NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OR VOTE ON ANY OF THE ITEMS WILL BE HAD UNLESS REQUESTED BY A BOARD MEMBER. THE CONSENT AGENDA INCLUDES THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 20 AUGUST 24, 2023 REGULAR MEETING, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 24, 2023 PUBLIC HEARING, THE SECTION 2525B REPORT, THE ACCOUNTING STATEMENTS, BUDGET LINE ITEM TRANSFERS, PERSONNEL REPORT, AND THE TAXPAYER LIAISON REPORT. I'LL GIVE THE BOARD MEMBERS SOME TIME TO REVIEW THESE ITEMS, AND IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO PULL SOME FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION, WE'LL PULL THAT AND THEN TAKE ACTION ON THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. BRUCE ELFANT: I ALWAYS LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE TAXPAYER LIAISON, BUT IT DOESN'T LIKE THAT LOOK LIKE THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. LEANA MANN: SHE'S ON VACATION THIS WEEK. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, MOVED BY DR. O AND SECONDED BY MISS MONTOYA. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR REGULAR AGENDA. FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS FIVE A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON REPORT FROM THE TAXPAYER LIAISON SUBCOMMITTEE. WE'LL TAKE ALL THREE OF THOSE, A, B AND C IS SUMMARY TOGETHER, AND THEN IF ANYONE HAS ANY COMMENTARY ON ANY OF THEM, WE CAN CAN HAVE THAT AT THAT POINT. BUT SO ITEMS FIVE, A, 5B AND 5C DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON REPORT FROM TAXPAYER LIAISON SUBCOMMITTEE. THE TLO SUBCOMMITTEE MET AND WE DISCUSSED LAW CHANGES AROUND THE NEED FOR TLO REVIEW TO TAKE PLACE ANNUALLY, AND THIS IS BASED ON NEW STATE LAW THAT'S COMING INTO EFFECT AT THE BEGINNING OF 2024. WE ALSO REVIEWED THE JOB DESCRIPTION THAT WE HAVE FOR THE TLO POSITION AND BEGIN WORKING ON CREATING AN EVALUATION FORM FOR THE TAXPAYER LIAISON ANNUAL REVIEW. SO WHAT THE SUBCOMMITTEES WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS A GRADING METRIC OR RUBRIC ASSOCIATED WITH THE ANNUAL REVIEW PROCESS. AND THEN WE ASKED STAFF TO ALSO GATHER COMPENSATION INFORMATION FROM OTHER PEER METROS, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR SALARY THAT WE HAVE BUDGETED FOR THAT POSITION IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER PEER CATS. AND SO I BELIEVE THE COMMITTEE IS INTENDING TO MEET AGAIN. I THINK BETWEEN NOW AND OUR DECEMBER MEETING. MOVING ON TO 5B WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON, I GUESS, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENT ON THE TLO? WE WILL MOVE ON TO 5B WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON REPORT FROM BOARD OPERATING POLICY SUBCOMMITTEE. AND THE THINGS THAT THE BOARD POLICIES SUBCOMMITTEE DISCUSSED WAS THAT WE MET WITH LEGAL COUNSEL TO REVIEW THE EXISTING POLICIES OF THE BOARD, AND WE DISCUSSED BILLS THAT ARE TO BECOME LAW SOON IN THE FIRST OF THE YEAR THAT CAME OUT OF THIS
MOST RECENT LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND COMMITTEE BEGAN TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AS NEEDED BASED ON THOSE RECENT CHANGES AT THE STATE LEVEL TO BRING OUR BOARD POLICIES IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS FOR WHAT OUR BOARD POLICIES NEED TO LOOK LIKE MOVING FORWARD, AND THEN WE HAVE A DRAFT AND HOPE TO MEET AGAIN BEFORE THE DECEMBER MEETING TO FURTHER FINE TUNE THAT DRAFT AND BRING IT FORWARD FOR FULL BOARD REVIEW, EITHER IN DECEMBER OR POSSIBLY IN JANUARY. ANY COMMENT ON THAT? AND THEN FOR 5C WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON REPORT FROM CHIEF APPRAISER SEARCH COMMITTEE. THE SEARCH COMMITTEE MET TO REVIEW ALL THE APPLICATIONS WE RECEIVED FROM OUR POSTING OF THE CHIEF APPRAISERS POSITION. WE WORKED TO NARROW THOSE APPLICANTS THROUGH THE DATA PRESENTED IN THE APPLICATIONS, AND WE WORKED WITH CONSULTANTS TO ADMINISTER FURTHER ASSESSMENTS AND PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS OF THE REMAINING APPLICANT POOL. THE COMMITTEE THEN REVIEWED THIS NEW DATA COLLECTED AND FURTHER NARROWED OUR CANDIDATE POOL TO OUR GROUP OF FINALISTS, AND WE ARE WORKING TO SCHEDULE INTERVIEWS OF THE FINALISTS WITH THE COMMITTEE SOON, AND I THINK WE'LL REPORT BACK IN DECEMBER. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTARY ON THE SEARCH COMMITTEE REPORT? OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: YEAH, I DO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIRMAN. I HAVE SOME OBSERVATIONS IN LINE WITH THE 5C ON THE CHIEF APPRAISAL SEARCH SUBCOMMITTEE. NUMBER ONE, I FELT THAT THERE SHOULD BE A KIND OF DOCUMENTS THAT WE SHOULD BE SPEAKING TO, LIKE A HARD COPY, YOU KNOW, TO SPEAK TO THEIR REPORTS. ONE, BECAUSE THE COST OF PRESENTATION, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE PAPER RIGHT BEFORE ME. OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY APPLICATIONS CAME IN? YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS THAT CAME ON BOARD AND HOW MANY WERE SHORTLISTED. BECAUSE I REMEMBER WE SAID THAT BEFORE THE FINAL INTERVIEW, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK AT SOME OF THESE THINGS AS A BOARD. SO DON'T KNOW WHETHER THERE'S A DOCUMENT FIRST ON THAT. DO WE HAVE JUST LIKE TLO HAS A DOCUMENT? WHAT ABOUT THE LAST SUBCOMMITTEE? DO THEY HAVE DOCUMENTS? JAMES VALADEZ: ARE YOU? ARE YOU REQUESTING? WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE YOU REQUESTING? OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: YES, LIKE A DOCUMENT THERESA BASTIAN: IKE THE JOB DESCRIPTION? OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: YES, NO, LIKE A DOCUMENT FROM THE REPORTS, AS IT WERE, YOU KNOW, THE COMMITTEE MET, THE COMMITTEE MADE, AND THEY SHOULD HAVE A DOCUMENT LIKE THIS SHOWING SO THAT WE CAN SPEAK TO THE PAPER. JAMES VALADEZ: YEAH AND I THINK OUR UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT THE COMMITTEES WOULD MEET AND THEN FORMULATE A RECOMMENDATION, AND THAT'S NOTHING THAT ANY OF THE COMMITTEES ARE DOING AT ANY OF THE LEVELS ACROSS THE THREE COMMITTEES THAT WE FORMED, OR BINDING DECISIONS. AND THAT'S PER OUR POLICIES NOTE, NO COMMITTEE CAN MAKE A BINDING DECISION FOR THE FULL BOARD, RIGHT? AND SO WHEN THE COMMITTEE IS READY TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION, WILL ABSOLUTELY BRING THAT FORWARD. BUT UNTIL THAT TIME, THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE, IS THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE, AND NO DIFFERENT THAN THAN YOUR WORK WITH TLO, ISN'T, YOU KNOW, SUBJECT TO THE FULL SCOPE, FULL SCOPE OF THE BOARD AT THIS TIME, UNTIL THE RECOMMENDATION IS DONE, TO BRING THAT INFORMATION FORWARD. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: OKAY, HOW MANY APPLICATIONS CAME IN? ABOUT APPLICATIONS THAT CAME IN? JAMES VALADEZ: I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF THE I DON'T KNOW IF THE COMMITTEE IS READY TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION AT THIS TIME. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: THE BOARD IS NOT ENTITLED TO KNOW THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THAT CAME IN AND THE SHORT LISTING, BECAUSE FROM WHAT WE JUST SAID, SO MANY APPLICATIONS CAME IN AND SOME HAVE BEEN SHORTLISTED. THERE'LL BE AN INTERVIEW. I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY MARYA CRIGLER: MR. VALADEZ, I THINK SOME OF THESE VERY SPECIFIC PERSONNEL QUESTIONS SHOULD PROBABLY BE TAKEN UP IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THERESA BASTIAN: I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THE SUBCOMMITTEE WORK WAS NOT BROUGHT UP TO THE FULL BOARD, BECAUSE IT IS HR RELATED. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, SO WE CAN MOTION TO HAVE 5C PUT IN DISCUSSION FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON 5C OKAY, THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS FIVE 5D DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE NUMBER OF
APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD MEMBERS FOR 2023. LEANA MANN: I'VE PROVIDED A DRAFT RESOLUTION THE BUDGET FOR 2024 ALLOWS FOR 74 BUDGETED ARB MEMBERS. WE ARE REQUESTING THAT THE BOARD APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF UP TO 100 MEMBERS TO HOPEFULLY ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE ATTENDANCE ISSUES AND SCHEDULING PROBLEMS WE HAD. JAMES VALADEZ: DO WE NEED ACTION ON THAT TODAY? WE DO. OKAY. IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MISS MONTOYA AND SECONDED BY MISS BASTION. IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS 5E DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON LITIGATION AND APPEALS RELATED TO PENDING AND ANTICIPATED LAWSUITS, TO INCLUDE APPROVAL OF THE FILING OF COUNTER CLAIMS BY TCAD FOR TAX YEAR 2023. I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS UP IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, AND THEN THE NEXT ITEM IS ON OUR AGENDA IS 5F DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE ATTORNEYS FEES ORDERED TO BE PAID BY THE APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD AND CAUSE, D, 1G, N, 18, 007116, LAKE HILLS CHURCH V. TCAD. THIS IS ALSO AN ITEM THAT WILL TAKE UP AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. SO I HAVE ITEMS 5C 5E AND 5F FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO RECESS THE REGULAR MEETING AND GOING TO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS ITEMS 5C 5E AND 5F? IT'S BEEN MOVED, MOVED AND SECONDED BY DR O AND MISS MONTOYA. AT 11:42 THE TCAD BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL RECESS AND GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS ITEMS 5C, 5E FIVE, IAN, 5F CITING SECTION 551071, AND SECTION 551074, OF
OKAY. THE TIME IS 12:24 ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER, 6 2023, AND WE
ARE BACK FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION WHERE WE DISCUSSED ITEMS, 5C, 5E
AND 5F. WE NEEDTO TAKE ACTION ON 5E DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE
ACTION ON LITIGATION AND APPEALS RELATED TO PENDING AND
ANTICIPATED LAWSUITS, TO INCLUDE APPROVAL OF THE FILING OF
COUNTER CLAIMS BY TCAD FOR TAX YEAR 2023. DO I HAVE
OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: MR. CHAIRMAN, YES, PLEASE. I WANT TO QUICKLY
USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SINCERELY APPRECIATE THE COMMITTEE, ESPECIALLY AS IT CONCERNS 5C YOU KNOW, FOR THE CHIEF APPRAISAL SUBCOMMITTEE, FOR THE GREAT WORK THEY ARE REALLY PUTTING AND TO MAKE THE ENTIRE SAYS SEAMLESS. AND I MUST
SAY, THIS IS AN AWESOME JOB. AND, YEAH, I GIVE THEM KUDOS. JAMES VALADEZ: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. YEAH, SO THAT WAS OKAY. IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MISS MONTOYA, SECONDED BY MISS BASTIAN. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THAT? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5F, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE ATTORNEY'S FEES ORDERED TO BE PAID BY THE APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD IN CAUSE. D, 1G, N1, 8007116, LAKE HILLS CHURCH V. TCAD. CAN DO I HAVE A MOTION ON THAT ITEM? NICOLE CONLEY: SO MOVED. I MOVE APPROVAL OF ITEM 5F JAMES VALADEZ: AND THAT IS FOR WHAT ACTION THAT IS FOR. NICOLE CONLEY: HE USED TO BE PAID BY THE APPROVAL REVIEW BOARD CAUSED AND JAMES VALADEZ: BUT THAT IS FOR STAFF TO DRAFT A LETTER. OKAY, OKAY, MOVED BY MISS CONNELLY, SECONDED BY MISS BASTIAN. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO 5G DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO ADD ITEMS TO FUTURE AGENDAS. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ITEMS THAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE APPEAR AT THE DECEMBER MEETING? I KNOW THAT WE CAN ANTICIPATE REPORTS COMING BACK FROM ALL OF OUR SUBCOMMITTEES, SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THOSE RECURRING AGAIN ON OUR REGULAR AGENDA. THERESA BASTIAN: TO BRUCE'S POINT EARLIER, IF WE COULD MAKE SURE TO INVITE THE TAXPAYER LIAISON OFFICER, SINCE WE DIDN'T GET TO HEAR FROM HER TODAY, ABSOLUTELY. JAMES VALADEZ: AND THEN I THINK WE NORMALLY GET END OF YEAR TRANSFERS ON. LEANA MANN: WE'LL HAVE AN END OF YEAR BUDGET AMENDMENT. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, SOUNDS GOOD. ANYTHING ELSE? OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: MR. CHAIRMAN, I WANT TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY ALSO TO IS NOT ON AGENDA, TO ALSO COMMEND THE EFFORT OF MARYA CRIGLER FOR A JOB WELL DONE. MARYA CRIGLER: THANK YOU OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: IN THE ORGANIZATION SHE HAS DONE SO WELL. I'M PROUD OF HER ANY DAY, ANYTIME SHE HAS BEEN SO AWESOME. JAMES VALADEZ: WE'LL TRY AND WORK THAT ONTO THE AGENDA. ANYTHING ELSE, OKAY, NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS 5H WHICH IS ADJOURNMENT. SO AT 12:27 ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023 THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS STANDS ADJOURNED, MOVED BY DR O AND SECOND, SECONDED BY MISS BASTIAN.