Virginia S. Gilstrap, reporter/ managing editor
No one commented at the July 16 public hearing of the DeWitt County Tax Appraisal Board on its 2025 Preliminary Budget. After Chief Appraiser Denise Moore reviewed the proposed budget, the board passed it on third reading.
One of the main increases in the budget was for Mobile Assessment Software that will help the county assessors out in the field. The initial cost is $35,951.40 and the annual update is $7,000.
The total budget of $1,418,014 had the biggest increase in operating expenses, up $56,950 from last year.
Moore said DeWitt County has 100,000 parcels to evaluate. She said there are 10 employees working for the appraisal office and they have a contractor for the oil & gas appraisals. The budget requested an increase of $14,000 in merit raises for the staff. The oil & gas appraisal estimated increase is $20,000.
Sixteen entities support the DeWitt County Tax Appraisal office: Cuero ISD, Yoakum ISD, Yorktown ISD, Nordheim ISD, Meyersville ISD, Westhoff ISD, City of Cuero, City of Yoakum, City of Yorktown, City of Nordheim, DeWitt County, Ecleto Watershed District, DeWitt Medical District, Green DeWitt Drainage District, Yoakum Hospital District and Pecan Valley Water District.
After the budget approval, Moore updated the board of directors on the annual Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hearings, which concluded on July 17. If a resident, after consulting with an individual county tax appraiser still wants to challenge their valuation, they may schedule a hearing before the ARB. Moore said the number of review hearings was down about 3,000 this year compared to last year when there were 14,000 challenges.
Members of the ARB panels are paid for their time and that rate increased from $75 to $150 a day to meet the rates of surrounding counties.
Moore told the board that her office will certify appraisal valuations on July 22. She said they are generally higher. In the 2024 Mass Appraisal Report,which is posted on the district’s website, half of the parcel evaluations (55,603) are oil and gas market values, totalling $6,453,089,710. The total market value of the county is $9,315,334,861.
The next meeting of the DeWitt County Tax Board will be on Aug. 20.
