Annual Report 2011

 ANNUAL REPORT

2011

BAILEY CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT

One of the oldest and most firmly established forms of taxation as well as a principal source of income for the counties, cities and school districts of the State is that of ad valorem or property taxation.

Chapter 6, Subsection 6.01 of the Texas Property Tax Code provides for the establishment of an appraisal district in each county and further states that the district is responsible for appraising property in the district for ad valorem tax purposes of each taxing unit that imposes ad valorem taxes on property in the district.

Ad valorem taxes are imposed upon specific properties in this State, at a rate of 100% of the market value of the said properties.

For the property tax system to achieve its intended purpose of providing funds for those activities that are essential to the public welfare, not only must the entire process be fair and equitable to all taxpayers, and to each taxpayer individually, it must be so perceived by them and the public at large.

Persons registered with the board shall perform their duties in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and shall avoid the act or appearance of improper influence, conflict of interest, discrimination, abuse of powers, or misuse of titles.

Introduction 

The Bailey Central Appraisal District is a political subdivision of the state. The Constitution of the State ofTexas, the Texas Property Tax Code, and the Rules of the Texas Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division govern the operations of the appraisal district.

Mission

The mission of Bailey 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 of each appraisal is January 1^st, unless the property owner has elected 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,
• Approve contracts with appraisal firms selected by the chief appraiser to perform appraisal services for the district,
• 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.

Members to the Appraisal Review Board are appointed by the Board of Directors. ARB members serve two year staggered terms. They are limited by law to serving three consecutive 2 year terms. They must be certified by the Texas Comptroller. Their responsibility is to settle value disputes between the taxpayer and the chief appraiser. 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 him in determining typical practices and standards for agricultural activities in the district. They serve at the will of the Board of Directors.

Taxing Jurisdictions

The Bailey Central Appraisal District is responsible for appraising all properties for each of the taxing jurisdictions that have territory located within the 873 square miles of Bailey County. Following are those taxing jurisdictions with territory located in the district:

• Bailey County/Farm Market Road
• City of Muleshoe
• Muleshoe ISD
• Hi-Plains Water District
• Sudan ISD
• Farwell ISD
• Muleshoe Area Hospital District

Property Types Appraised 

BCAD staff is responsible for appraising residential, commercial, land, and business personal property. BCAD contracts with Pritchard and Abbott, Inc. (P & A) to appraise utilities, pipelines, industrial property, and industrial personal property in the district.

The following represents a summary of property types and their certified values for 2011:

PTAD

Property Discovery 

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

• City building permits
• Field discovery
• Filed Material/Mechanic’s Liens
• Mobile home installation reports
• Electric connection reports
• Advertisements
• 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 homesites with a maximum of 20 acres:

For school tax purposes, the over 65, disability, surviving spouse, and 100% disabled veteran residential homestead exemptions create a tax ceiling prohibiting increased taxes on the homestead on existing buildings. (Any new areas added to the homesite will cause the ceiling to be readjusted and set in the subsequent tax year.) All homeowners who qualify for the residential homestead exemption are subject to the placement of a 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 (as described above), 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: