By Libby Cluett
lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com

PALO PINTO – While some appraisals held steady this year, some went up, resulting in 4,117 protests out of 45,183 parcels of property on the Palo Pinto Appraisal District’s roll.

Chief Appraiser Donna Rhoades reported that the PPAD’s appraisal review board heard 478 protests in 26 days.

“The ARB heard 478 protests with 306 ordered no change and 172 ordered to be changed by the ARB. We still have 346 protests to be heard in October. Most of these are where property owners requested to be rescheduled and we did not have time to reschedule them before the July deadline,” said Rhoades.

After hearings concluded July 16 the appraisal district ran reports to certify values so taxing entities could start to form their budgets and determine tax rates.

PPAD sets values partly based on a specific area’s sales, which is why Rhoades said, “Some areas did go up, but many areas stayed the same.”

Overall, county proeprty market values went up by $393 million. The appraisal district certifies values based on real estate, industrial and mineral values. Rhoades said taxable value for the county’s minerals went up $37.5 million.

“By law, we’re supposed to be 95 to 105 percent of market value. The State Comptroller comes in each year and does a ratio study, a type of report card on market value. If we don’t make it at least 95 percent, it effects the school district’s funding,” she said.

In addition to the protests heard and those pending, Rhoades said a total of 2,561 protests were settled or withdrew their protest and 1,078 protests were no shows.

Rhoades said 61 percent of the protests came from Possum Kingdom Lake. She reported that Graford ISD rose $123 million in market value over last year. They also had 35 percent of the protests. She estimated that 95 percent to 98 percent of these involve PK Lake property.

Also affected by PK Lake property values is Palo Pinto ISD, which saw a $54.6 million increase in market value in the last year. PPISD properties comprised 26 percent of the appraisal district’s protests, with the majority being PK Lake property, according to Rhoades.

Mineral Wells ISD had 17 percent of the protests and a $136 million rise in market value.

“The main thing that went up was the rural land schedule for small tracts of land, mostly less than 25 acres,” said Rhoades. She added that some subdivisions went up in value and some went down. “The protests were in those that went up.”

Additionally, Santo ISD had some protests, amounting to 11 percent of the lot. Rhoades said increases were mostly to rural land based on recent sales. Market values went up in Santo by $43 million. Strawn ISD had 3 percent of the protests and a little over $2 million increase in market value.

Gordon ISD had 8 percent of the protests, mostly over 7-R Ranch property values, Rhoades said. The district’s market value increase was $11 million. According to Gordon ISD Superintendent Jon Hartgraves, this does not help out small districts like his. With a budget of $1.8 million target revenue, Gordon ISD is one local district that is edging closer to having to give money back to the state.

Portions of Palo Pinto County are also in Perrin-Whitt Consolidated ISD, Millsap ISD and Lipan ISD. Lipan’s market value went up $543,640 and values for Millsap ISD land in Palo Pinto County dropped by $468,510.

PWCISD was a different story, though. Palo Pinto County taxable values in the district rose by $23 million – over 150 percent of last year’s taxable value.

Superintendent Darren Francis attributed this to Barnett Shale oil and gas production, which has been busy in that part of Palo Pinto County.

“We’re looking at taxable values of over $335 million for Parker, Jack and Palo Pinto counties,” said Francis. “Real estate values continue to go up from 10 to 20 percent per year. Our fluctuations in value have been oil and gas related,” said Francis. “Last year was when we made the biggest increase in oil production, especially with a large gas-storage facility located north of town.”



Reprieve for a handful

The 14 homeowners whose property was damaged and destroyed in the April 9 fire on Possum Kingdom Lake’s West Side received a reprieve thanks to the county, the hospital, Graford ISD and the county’s emergency services.

By law all properties are appraised as of Jan. 1 of each year, according to Rhoades. However resolutions by taxing entities allowed the PPAD to reappraise the 14 properties that had structures severely damaged or destroyed.

Affected properties are located in the natural disaster area along Farm-to-Market Road 1148. Rhoades said this does not include properties that only had devastation to their leasehold land.



Suits for others

Other forms of protesting values take place by filing lawsuits.

“We have not received any new lawsuits as of yet. The property owners still have time to file their lawsuits,” Rhoades said.

Pending lawsuits, carried over from last year’s appraisals, involve the following individuals with property on or near PK Lake. The following are protesting their original 2008 notice of appraised value: Donald and Bobette Atwell of Breckenridge, Texas; John and Cheryl Fitzgibbon of Keller, Texas; Eual and Mary Ellen McQueen of Fort Worth; and Glenda Stickney of Richardson, Texas.

Despite a ruling by 29th District Judge Jerry Ray in favor of the PPAD, a group of four Brazos River Authority lessees took their consolidated suit against the PPAD to the 11th State Court of Appeals in Eastland, Texas, and have since filed for an extension. Their suit contends that the only way their property could be valued is by looking at the amount they pay in annual leases to the BRA versus its market value. The four parties named in the suit are Monte and Carolyn Land, of PK Lake, Robert Aldrich, of Fort Worth, Scott and Heather Wheatley, of Dallas, and Alvis and Deana Jackson of PK Lake.