[00:11:26] JAMES VALADEZ: GOOD MORNING. I'D LIKE TO CALL THE REGULAR MEETING [1. Call to Order] [00:11:28] OF THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO [00:11:30] ORDER THE TIME IS 11:31 ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2024. WE'RE CONDUCTING THIS MEETING AT TCAD HEADQUARTERS LOCATED AT 850 [2. Establishment of Quorum] 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. FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA CITIZENS COMMUNICATION. DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS SIGNED UP? WE DON'T [3. Citizens Communication] HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR OF OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. THESE ITEMS MAY BE ACTED [4. Consent Agenda] 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 CONSISTS OF THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 5, 2024 REGULAR MEETING, THE SECTION 2525B REPORT, ACCOUNTING STATEMENTS AND BUDGET LINE ITEM TRANSFERS, AS WELL AS PERSONNEL REPORT, TAXPAYER LIAISON REPORT. I'LL LET THE BOARD HAVE SOME TIME TO REVIEW THOSE ITEMS. AND IF ANYONE HAS ANY ITEMS THEY'D LIKE PULLED, WE CAN DO THAT AND THEN ALSO ENTERTAIN A MOTION. LEANA MANN: AND JUST TO NOTE, THE TAXPAYER LIAISON REPORT IS INCLUDED IN CONSENT. MS. THOMPSON'S NOT HERE TODAY. JAMES VALADEZ: NOTED. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A MOTION? MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. JAMES VALADEZ: IT'S BEEN MOVED BY DEBBIE AND SECONDED BY BLANCA. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, AYE. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM FIVEA OF OUR REGULAR [5. Regular Agenda] AGENDA, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT, AND I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE DANIEL FOR A SUMMARY OF THE COMMITTEE'S WORK. SHENGHAO WANG: YES, SO OKAY, MYSELF, DICK LAVINE, AND JETT HANNAH, THE MEMBERS OF THE ARB SUBCOMMITTEE CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS OF THE CANDIDATES FOR THE ARB CHAIR AND SECRETARY POSITIONS, WITH THE ASSISTANCE AND I GUESS, ATTENDANCE AND INPUT OF TCAD BOARD CHAIR, JAMES VALADEZ, WE CONDUCTED THESE INTERVIEWS HERE ON OCTOBER 22. WE HAD A TOTAL OF FIVE CANDIDATES FOR THE ARB CHAIR POSITION, TWO CANDIDATES FOR THE ARB SECRETARY POSITION, AND UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WAS ONE OTHER CANDIDATE FOR THE ARB SECRETARY WHO COULD NOT ATTEND THE SCHEDULED INTERVIEW TIME BECAUSE THEY WERE OUT OF THE COUNTRY TRAVELING, AND WE WERE UNFORTUNATELY UNABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR SCHEDULE IN OUR INTERVIEW, SCHEDULING JUST WITH ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAD TO ATTEND. HOWEVER, I'M VERY HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THE SUBCOMMITTEE IS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDING ONE CANDIDATE FOR CHAIR, ONE CANDIDATE FOR SECRETARY. FOR CHAIR. THAT WOULD BE BARRY MCBEE. HE HAS HAD AN OUTSTANDING CAREER IN PUBLIC SERVICE, HAS FORMALLY RUN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WITH 1000S OF EMPLOYEES, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN THEIR BUDGET. FOR THOSE OF Y'ALL WHO KNOW WHO HE IS, I THINK I AM PERSONALLY VERY HAPPY THAT SOMEONE WITH OUTSTANDING CREDENTIALS AND EXPERIENCES HIM IS WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, A SERVE ON OUR ARB AND THEN BE TAKE THAT EXTRA STEP AND SERVE AS THE CHAIR OF THE ARB. AND THEN FOR THE SECRETARY POSITION, WE RECOMMEND MEG BROOKS. SHE ALSO HAS SERVED ON THE ARB FOR SEVERAL YEARS, HAS [00:15:03] EXPERIENCE AND TENURE ON THE ARB, SERVES ON THE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE, AND ALSO WE BELIEVE THAT HER KIND OF VIEWS COMPLEMENT WELL WITH THOSE OF MR. MCBEE FOR THEIR PLANS FOR THE ARB. ALMOST WE HAD AN OUTSTANDING SLATE OF CANDIDATES. ALMOST ANY ONE OF THEM COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY WELL QUALIFIED ARB CHAIR SECRETARY, BUT WE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE TWO THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WANT THIS FORMALLY STRUCTURED IN TERMS OF A MOTION TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATION, OR I'LL DEFER TO YOU FOR THAT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I'M SO GLAD THAT Y'ALL HAD THE OPPORTUNITY JAMES VALADEZ: QUESTION FROM MS. CARTWRIGHT. TO MEET WITH THOSE PEOPLE AND SORT OF GET AN IDEA OF THEIR PLANS FOR 2025. WAS THERE ANY PARTICULAR THING THAT IMPRESSED YOU THE MOST REGARDING THEIR PLANS FOR MOVING THE ARB PROCESS FORWARD NEXT YEAR? SHENGHAO WANG: DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? TO TAKE GO, BUT IT LOOKED LIKE YOU WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING. SO I THINK ALL BUT ONE OF THE CANDIDATES THAT WE INTERVIEWED HAD JUST STELLAR THINGS TO SAY ABOUT OUR OUTGOING ARB CHAIR. I THINK ONE OF THEM SAID, YOU KNOW THAT THIS WAS A WEIRD THE HIGH POINT OF THE ARB PERFORMANCE, AND THAT THEY VIEW WHOEVER YOU KNOW COMES NEXT, THAT THEIR JOB WOULD BE SIMPLY TO KEEP ON KEEPING ON WITH THE ARB. WE HAD ONE CANDIDATE EXPRESS A FEW CONCERNS THAT YOU KNOW, NOTHING MAJOR, BUT OVERALL, THE ARB THIS PAST CALENDAR YEAR, BY ALL ACCOUNTS, PERFORMED EXCEPTIONALLY WELL, AND THEY JUST WANTED MOSTLY TO EXPAND THE TRAINING THAT THAT HAD THE PROGRESS THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN. THEY WANTED TO BUILD UPON THE EXISTING PROGRESS TO MAINTAIN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ARB GOING FORWARD. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: DID THEY HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT SCHEDULING? ARE THERE PLANS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY MEET CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS? SHENGHAO WANG: I THINK THEY CAME IN A LITTLE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE THIS YEAR. I THINK THERE WAS SOME DESIRE TO IMPROVE THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE OR KIND OF SYSTEMS TO AUTOMATE SOME THINGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY MANUALLY HANDLED, BUT IN TERMS OF THE SO, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE THINGS MORE EFFICIENT. BUT I THINK IN TERMS OF OUTCOMES, THERE WASN'T HUGE, ANY, ANY KIND OF CONCERNS. JETT HANNA: YEAH, ONE THING THAT WE, OBVIOUSLY, THREE OF US ON THE COMMITTEE, ARE FAIRLY NEW TO THE BOARD, HADN'T BEEN OR HADN'T BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE, AND WE WERE REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE EFFORTS THAT APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN MADE ON TRAINING. AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY HELPFUL. AND IN PARTICULAR, THE CANDIDATES THAT WE WERE CHOSE WERE FOCUSED ON TRAINING. ANOTHER THING THAT I THINK WILL BE REALLY GREAT IS A WRITTEN REPORT. APPARENTLY, THEY HAD BEEN ENCOURAGING THE CURRENT ARB CHAIR TO DO THAT, AND WE'RE AT LEAST HAVE THE PROMISE OF GETTING ONE. SO THERE WERE SOME REALLY GOOD THINGS THERE. IT REALLY FELT LIKE PEOPLE WERE IN A GOOD FRAME OF MIND ABOUT THEIR PUBLIC SERVICE THAT THEY'RE DOING THERE, AND IT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEE WITH REGARD TO THEIR WORK? WITH REGARD TO AN ACTION ON THIS, DO WE NEED TO HAVE NO ACTIONS NEEDED SINCE TODAY? OKAY, SO WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5B OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION POSSIBLE ACTION ON REMOVAL OF 2024 APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVE RESIGNED WITH NO ACTION TAKEN BY THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT JUDGE. LEANA MANN: AND THIS IS AN ITEM BROUGHT FORWARD BY MS. THOMPSON. THERE ARE TWO MEMBERS THAT HAVE RESIGNED, BUT IT WAS IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE REMOVING THEM AND THE BOARD TAKING THAT ACTION OVER. SO THERE. CHRISTINA CLAY AND LAURA JORDAN HAVE BOTH RESIGNED AND NEED TO BE REMOVED FROM THE ARB. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: MR. CHAIRMAN, IF YOU NEED A MOTION ON THE RESOLUTION? I'M WILLING TO DO THAT. I MOVE APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 20231031 DASH 5B, ON PAGE 82 OF OUR AGENDA TO REMOVE CHRISTINA CLAY AND LAURA JORDAN FROM THE APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD. JAMES VALADEZ: IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MS. CARTWRIGHT AND SECONDED BY DR. O. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5C OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA DISCUSSION POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE NUMBER OF APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD MEMBERS [00:20:03] FOR 2025. LEANA MANN: AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS, EACH YEAR NEEDS TO APPOINT OR SET A NUMBER OF ARB MEMBERS TO BE APPOINTED. LAST YEAR, THERE WAS A BUDGETED MEMBERSHIP OF 74 MEMBERS, WITH MEMBERSHIP IN TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED 100 MEMBERS. OUR 2025 BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES THOSE SAME NUMBERS, AND THERE'S A DRAFT RESOLUTION ON PAGE 84 OF YOUR PACKET THAT HAS THOSE NUMBERS IN IT. BUT THE BOARD, OF COURSE, CAN DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT. JAMES VALADEZ: MS. CARTWRIGHT DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: MS. MANN, AT OUR LAST BOARD MEETING, MR. PHIFER GAVE A REPORT AND THE FORMER ARB CHAIR, AND SEEMED TO THINK THAT THESE WERE INSUFFICIENT NUMBERS. CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT ISSUE PLEASE? LEANA MANN: I THINK THE 74 MEMBERS TO WORK DURING THE ONE DAY IS SUFFICIENT. I THINK WHERE WE HAVE TROUBLE IS WE HAVE A LOT OF FALLOUT IN BETWEEN JANUARY, DECEMBER, JANUARY, WHEN YOU'RE APPOINTING MEMBERS, AND WHEN THEY START WORKING IN APRIL OR MAY. AND SO MAYBE INCREASING THE TOTAL MEMBERSHIP BY 25 WOULD ALLOW THEM TO HAVE MORE CAPACITY FOR SCHEDULING PURPOSES. DICK LAVINE: YEAH, I'M AFRAID I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF BUDGETED MEMBERS AND THE TOTAL MEMBERSHIP. LEANA MANN: SO 74 FULL TIME EQUIVALENT. SO IN ONE DAY THEY COULDN'T PAY MORE THAN 74 MEMBERS. HOWEVER, HAVING THE CAPACITY FOR SCHEDULING AND BEING ABLE TO PULL IN MEMBERS ON DIFFERENT DAYS WOULD ASSIST IN HAVING A FULL 74 COMPLIMENT THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR THE DAY. DICK LAVINE: I GUESS I WOULD HAVE EXPRESSED IT DIFFERENTLY, BUT THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO, SO I'M LIKE, YOU DICK, I NEED TO CLARIFY THAT A LITTLE MORE, THERE WOULD BE 100 OR 125 PEOPLE ON THE LIST THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY US, BUT ONLY 74 WOULD BE BUDGETED FOR PURPOSES OF SCHEDULING. JAMES VALADEZ: 125 ON THE ROSTER, 75 CAN PLAY OR 74 CAN PLAY AT A GIVEN TIME, RIGHT? LEANA MANN: THAT'S CORRECT. JAMES VALADEZ: YEAH. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: SO, SO WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD? LEANA MANN: I THINK 74 MEMBERS, SINCE THAT'S WHAT WAS BUDGETED FOR 2025 THAT'S SUFFICIENT. BUT INCREASING TO 125 ON THE ROSTER WOULD BE HELPFUL TO THE ARB. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: SO YOUR RECOMMENDATION'S LEANA MANN: WELL, I DON'T HAVE A RECOMMENDATION ON THIS BECAUSE, AS THE IF THIS IS A FUNCTION OF THE BOARD, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THE 2025 BUDGET AND WHAT WOULD BE COVERED IS 74 MEMBERS BEING PAID EACH DAY. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: OKAY, THANK YOU. JETT HANNA: IS, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU SEE THAT IS ON THE HORIZON THAT COULD INCREASE THE NEED FOR MEMBERS? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I'M THINK, YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE ANY KIND OF DRASTIC MARKET CHANGE RIGHT NOW THAT MIGHT LEAD TO MORE APPEALS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. LEANA MANN: NO. JETT HANNA: JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, YEAH, LEANA MANN: I THINK THE MARKET WILL REMAIN RELATIVELY STABLE. WE SEE AN INCREASE EVERY YEAR IN THE NUMBER OF PROTESTS, BUT THOSE ARE MAINLY AGENT REPRESENTED, AND ARE A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENT IN THE PROCESS. SO I THINK STAYING STATUS QUO FROM LAST YEAR WOULD BE FINE. JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CONLEY. NICOLE CONLEY: YES. CAN YOU REMIND ME, IF WE MOVED MEMBERSHIP TO 125, WHAT THE BUDGETARY IMPACT COULD POSSIBLY BE? IS THERE AN IMPACT OR I MEAN, TYPICALLY, I'M SURE WE UNDERSPEND AND OVER PERFORM IN THIS AREA. SO, BUT WITH 125 DOES IT CREATE A POTENTIAL BUDGET PRESSURE? LEANA MANN: IT WOULD BE A VERY SMALL AMOUNT. THE ONLY THING IS FOR TRAINING PURPOSES. SO ON THE DAYS THAT THEY HAVE MANDATORY TRAINING WITH COMPTROLLER, YOU'D HAVE TO PAY ADDITIONAL MEMBERS SO THAT THEY'RE PREPARED FOR HEARINGS. BUT ACTUAL HEARING DAYS, THERE WOULD BE NO BUDGET IMPACT. NICOLE CONLEY: THANK YOU. BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: MR. CHAIRMAN JAMES VALADEZ: BLANCA. BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: SOME OF THESE MEMBERS RESIGN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER, RIGHT? SO IT ALTHOUGH YOU HAVE A ROSTER OF 125, YOU MIGHT PROBABLY END UP WITH 90 TO WORK WITH. OKAY? AND AS TO THE MARKET, THE MARKET HAS BEEN SLOW, VERY SLOW. SO I DO ANTICIPATE A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING TO PROTEST, AND MAYBE WITH AGENTS OR WITHOUT AGENTS, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SEEING OUT IN THE MARKET. LEANA MANN: THANK YOU. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SHENGHAO WANG: CAN I ASK A PRACTICAL QUESTION? SO AS THE ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ARB COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE,SO MY UNDERS, WHAT WOULD BE THE DEADLINE FOR, FOR HIRING ALL THESE 125 PEOPLE LIKE, WOULD WE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOW, IN WHAT IF WE, LET'S SAY WE HIRE 100 ON THE ROSTER, AND THEN IN MARCH, [00:25:04] WE FIND OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, 20 THEM ARE GOING TO SAY, OH, I'M OUT. WOULD IT BE TOO LATE AT THAT POINT TO SOLICIT MORE APPLICANTS? OR, YOU KNOW, IS THERE, IS THERE KIND OF A, KIND OF FORMAL DEADLINE BY BY WHICH WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE OUR ROSTER FINALIZED? LEANA MANN: THERE'S NOT A FORMAL DEADLINE. I THINK WE'RE YOU WANT TO HAVE THEM ALL APPOINTED IN TIME TO RECEIVE THE ADDITIONAL TRAINING THAT THE ARB IS GOING TO DO. I THINK THEY TYPICALLY DO THAT BEGINNING IN MARCH. THE ARB SECRETARY IS HERE RIGHT NOW. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. OKAY, SO MARCH IS WHEN THEY START TRAINING. SO ANY MEMBERS APPOINTED AFTER THAT, THEY WOULDN'T GET ALL OF THE FULL COMPLEMENT OF TRAINING. SHENGHAO WANG: UNDERSTOOD. THANK YOU. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AGAIN, JUST TO MAKE SURE, I'M SORRY, JIE LI: OKAY. AND ANOTHER QUESTION FOR YOU IS THAT, IN TERMS OF THE TRAINING, I'M GUESSING IT'S IN PERSON TRAINING. IS THERE ANY WAY TO RECORD THOSE SO THAT FOR WHATEVER ADDITIONAL HIRES, THEY CAN ALSO GET THE INFORMATION, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO BE PRESENT? LEANA MANN: SO THE COMPTROLLER'S REQUIRED TRAINING IS PROVIDED REMOTELY, AND THEY CAN WATCH IT JUST ON AN INTERNET WEBSITE. THE ARB TRAINING THAT THEY DO THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT CAN'T BE INVOLVED IN THAT AT ALL. IT'S PROHIBITED FOR US TO BE INVOLVED IN THE TRAINING. SO THAT WOULD BE MAYBE A DIRECTIVE THE BOARD COULD GIVE THE NEW ARB CHAIRMAN. JIE LI: SORRY, JUST TO CLARIFY, I THINK WHAT I'M NOT QUITE FOLLOWING IS THAT WHY THE ADDITIONAL HIRES WOULD NOT GET THE FULL SET OF TRAINING IF IT'S ALL DONE SORT OF REMOTELY VIA VIDEO AND WHATNOT OR PRE RECORDED TRAINING. LEANA MANN: SO THEY HAVE REQUIRED COMPTROLLER TRAINING, AND THEN THEY HAVE ADDITIONAL IN HOUSE DAYS WHERE THEY BRING IN AN MAI OR AN ATTORNEY THAT TRAINS ON THEIR SPECIFIC PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES. AND SO THOSE ARE THE DAYS THAT THEY WOULD MISS OUT ON. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I NEED TO MAKE SURE TO CLARIFY FOR YOUR BENEFIT, ISN'T THERE A DEADLINE THAT THE COMPTROLLER WANTS EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THEIR REMOTE TRAINING? THOUGH, IS THAT WHENEVER THE A OR B HAS ITS REMOTE TRAINING, DOESN'T THE COMPTROLLERR SAY IT NEEDS TO BE DONE BY JUNE 1 OR SOMETHING? LEANA MANN: I THINK IT'S BY THE DATE THAT THE ROLL IS TURNED OVER TO THE ARB, WHICH IS GENERALLY MAY 15. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: YEAH, SO THERE IS A DATE INVOLVED THAT THEY HAVE TO DO IT, EVEN IF IT'S REMOTE, YEAH. YEAH. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS? WE NEED ACTION ON THIS TODAY? LEANA MANN: WE WOULD NEED AN ACTION ON THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: WANT ME TO MAKE THE MOTION? I'D LIKE TO, FIRST OF ALL MOVE TO AMEND RESOLUTION 20231031, DASH 5C THAT IS ON PAGE 84 TO CHANGE THE NUMBER FROM 100 TO 125 MEMBERS WHO WOULD BE ON THE APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD NEXT YEAR. NICOLE CONLEY: I SECOND JAMES VALADEZ: IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MISS CARTWRIGHT AND SECONDED BY MISS CONLEY. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND NOW WANT TO MOVE TO APPROVE THE AMENDED RESOLUTION 20231031 DASH 5C. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I MOVED TO APPROVE IT. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY. MOVED BY MISS CARTWRIGHT, SECONDED BY MISS LI. 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 ITEM 5D OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE APPOINTMENT OF APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD CHAIRPERSON, SECRETARY FOR 2025. LEANA MANN: WE'VE PROVIDED A DRAFT RESOLUTION THAT JUST ALLOWS US TO FILL IN THE NAMES FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION. JAMES VALADEZ: AND SO WE DON'T NEED, WE DO NEED AN ACTION ON THIS, BUT WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN THE PRESENTATION. SO SHENGHAO WANG: DO I NEED TO MOVE THAT WE AMEND THE DRAFT OR JUST THAT WE INSERT THE NAME? OKAY, SO I'M MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THIS RESOLUTION. RESOLUTION 20231031 DASH, 5D PAGE 86 OF THE MEETING MATERIALS. THE. THE CHAIRPERSON TO BE BARRY MCBEE [00:30:01] AND FOR THE SECRETARY TO BE MEG BROOKS. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, IT'S BEEN MOVED BY DANIEL, SECONDED BY DR. O. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA WHICH IS 5E DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON CHIEF APPRAISER'S REPORT TO INCLUDE THE 2025 CALENDAR, 2025 FIELD WORK, COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND TAXPAYER EXPERIENCE SNAPSHOT. LEANA MANN: WE'RE IN THE HEAT OF OUR 2025 CALENDAR. WE STARTED OUR FIELD WORK BACK IN SEPTEMBER. WE ARE IN COMPARISON OF THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT WE'VE ALLOCATED FOR FIELD WORK, WE'RE 18.3% DONE. THAT YOU'LL SEE HERE. WE'RE ABOUT 32.7% OF THE WORK TO BE COMPLETED. SO WE'RE WE'RE LOOKING GOOD. WE'RE SLIGHTLY BEHIND ON TWO OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, RESIDENTIAL, SLIGHTLY AHEAD. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF STAFF OUT FOR TRAINING DURING THE FALL. IT'S OUR ONLY TIME DURING THE YEAR THAT THEY CAN GO TO CLASSES AND COURSES. SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THAT. WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF NEW STAFF THAT AND TRANSFERS AMONGST DEPARTMENTS. AFTER THE PROTEST SEASON, WE START OPENING POSITIONS UP, AND PEOPLE LEAVE AND GO TO OTHER AGENCIES. SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF STAFFING CHANGES, WHICH PROVIDES MORE TRAINING THAT HAS TO BE DONE IN THE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT. WE'VE HAD 16 PROMOTIONS AND INTERNAL TRANSFERS AMONGST OUR DEPARTMENTS, EIGHT NEW HIRES, SIX SEPARATIONS, AND THEN THERE'S SEVEN OPEN POSITIONS STILL TO BE FILLED. SO A LOT OF MOVING PARTS IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL, BUT OUR STAFF ARE HANDLING IT. THEY'VE COMPLETED AGAIN, 30% OF OUR FIELD WORK SO FAR, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER 63 DAYS REMAINING. WE'VE ALSO BEEN VERY BUSY WITH COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS. OUR OCTOBER CALENDAR INCLUDED FIVE EVENTS, INCLUDING AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH HELPS BOO THE FLU, AND THEN WE DID A RESOURCE FAIR WITH AUSTIN ENERGY. AND IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, WE SLOW DOWN SLIGHTLY WITH THE HOLIDAYS, BUT WE'VE GOT THREE EVENTS PLANNED IN NOVEMBER AND ANOTHER TWO IN DECEMBER. WE ARE CONTINUING OUR TAXPAYER EXPERIENCE SNAPSHOT WITH OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. OUR AVERAGE WAIT TIME IS ABOUT FOUR MINUTES IN PERSON AND ABOUT SEVEN MINUTES ON THE PHONE. EXEMPTIONS ARE BEING PROCESSED IN ABOUT A WEEK, AND THEN OUR SATISFACTION RATING IS AT 4.37 OUT OF FIVE. SO OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE GROUP IS CONTINUING TO DO AN OUTSTANDING JOB PROVIDING SERVICES TO OUR PROPERTY OWNERS. FOR 2024 WE'VE SEEN 51% OF ALL OF OUR INTERACTIONS WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE SURROUND AN OWNERSHIP QUESTION. SO WE'RE GOING TO EXPLORE THIS FURTHER AND SEE WHAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WE CAN PUT ONLINE AND PROVIDE THAT WOULD HELP PROPERTY OWNERS IN THIS OWNERSHIP TRANSFER OF A PROPERTY, AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? SHENGHAO WANG: CAN WE GO BACK ONE SLIDE? SO, YOU SAID 51% OF INQUIRIES FOCUS ON CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP, BUT THE RED SLICE SAYS 9.3% SO ARE THERE OTHER CATEGORIES THAT ARE OR SOME PEOPLE CALLING THAT MULTIPLE ISSUES OR LEANA MANN: OWNERSHIP CAN ENCOMPASS NOT ONLY THE DEED TRANSACTION, BUT THE OWNERSHIP NAME, THE MAILING ADDRESS, THE EXEMPTIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH THE SELLER AND THE BUYER, AND SO IT'S ENCOMPASSING ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT ITEMS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH OWNERSHIP, SHENGHAO WANG: GOTCHA. AND OUT OF CURIOSITY, IS THE I SEE THIS TINY, LIKE BLUE GREEN, KIND OF SLIVER BETWEEN THE YELLOW AND THE BLACK. IS THAT A SEPARATE CATEGORY OR JUST A SMALL SO THEN WHAT'S THE YELLOW? LEANA MANN: THE SMALL SLIVER IS MOBILE HOMES. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, OKAY, LEANA MANN: WE'LL FIX THAT GRAPHIC FOR THE NEXT SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY. I JUST WONDERING IF I WAS SEEING THINGS. JAMES VALADEZ: QUESTION BY MS. CONLEY NICOLE CONLEY: YES, MS. MANN, I WAS WONDERING, I SEE THE CALENDAR, IT HAS ALL THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS. BUT COULD YOU JUST LIKE BRIEFLY REMIND US OF THE CRITICAL SORT OF MILESTONES WHEN PEOPLE RECEIVE THEIR BILLS? I THINK IT'S IN FEBRUARY, INITIAL NOTICES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. SO WE CAN LAYER THAT ON TOP OF THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES. LEANA MANN: THE THE TIMEFRAME FROM SEPTEMBER, WHEN TAX RATES ARE BEING SET, UNTIL THEY GET THEIR TAX BILL IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER ARE REALLY HEAVY MONTHS. PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS, MAINLY, AND THEN ALSO DURING THAT TIME, WHERE DO A LOT OF EXEMPTION OUTREACH, BECAUSE AS [00:35:02] THE NEW YEAR FOR APPRAISAL TURNS OVER, WE REMOVE EXEMPTIONS FROM OWNERSHIP CHANGES. SO THERE'S QUESTIONS THAT COME THERE. WE DO A LOT OF EXEMPTION HELP AT OUR OUTREACH EVENTS WHERE WE CAN ASSIST THEM IN APPLYING FURTHER EXEMPTION, HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE TO US, AND SO I THIS TIME OF THE YEAR IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF OUR OUT OUTREACH EVENTS, JUST BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY QUESTIONS SURROUNDING THE TAX BILL THAT THEY GET AT THE END OF THE YEAR, NICOLE CONLEY: AND THE BILLS WILL GO OUT INITIALLY FEBRUARY, RIGHT? OR THE NOTICES, I MEAN, LEANA MANN: OUR NOTICE OF APPRAISED VALUE WILL GO OUT IN APRIL, BUT PEOPLE GET MUCH MORE CONCERNED WITH THE TAX BILL THAT GETS SENT OUT. I THINK IT'S MID NOVEMBER THIS YEAR WITH THE ELECTION, AND THAT'S WHAT'S HITTING THEIR POCKETBOOKS. SO THEY HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. AND BRUCE HAS BEEN AT A LOT OF EVENTS WITH US, SO HE'S ALWAYS A GOOD RESOURCE TO HAVE THERE AS WELL, TOO. NICOLE CONLEY: THANK YOU. JIE LI: MS. MANN, THANK YOU FOR THE CALENDAR. SO I WONDER IF THESE, I'M GUESSING MOST OF THE EVENTS ARE IN PERSON AS OPPOSED TO VIRTUAL, RIGHT? LEANA MANN: MOST OF THE EVENTS ARE IN PERSON, BUT WE ALSO DO WEBINARS SO THAT THEY CAN BE REFERENCED BACK TO FOR PROPERTY OWNERS. JIE LI: AND HAVE YOU HAD ANY COLLECTED ANY DATA ON THE ATTENDANCE IN TERMS OF IN PERSON VERSUS VIRTUAL? I JUST WONDER IF ONE FORMAT WOULD BE ABLE TO ALLOW MORE PEOPLE TO ATTEND OR NOT. LEANA MANN: YEAH, IN OUR DECEMBER OR JANUARY MEETING, WE DO AN ANNUAL RECAP, AND SO WE'LL GIVE YOU A HANDOUT THAT SHOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE WE'VE INTERACTED WITH, WHAT TOPICS WE'VE HELPED THEM ON, BOTH IN PERSON AND ON OUR WEBSITE. WE'RE STILL COMPILING DATA, BUT WE'LL GET THAT TO YOU TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR. DICK LAVINE: GEOGRAPHICALLY. HOW? HOW IS THIS SPREAD? ARE YOU INTENTIONALLY FOCUSING ON CERTAIN PARTS OF THE COUNTY, OR YOU JUST RESPONDING TO REQUESTS FROM CERTAIN PARTS? LEANA MANN: SO PART OF THE CHALLENGE IS THAT WE RELY ON CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO ASSIST. IT'S REALLY HARD AND VERY TIME CONSUMING TO PLAN AN EVENT, DO THE OUTREACH AND GET PEOPLE AT THE EVENT. SO WE RELY ON PARTNERS. SO DEL VALLE COMMUNITY COALITION IS ONE WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A LOT. THEY FOCUS MAINLY ON THE EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY AREA. WE ALSO WORK WITH EAST AUSTIN, EAST AUSTIN CONSERVANCY. WE'VE DONE SOME STUFF WITH THEM. SO WE GET INVITED THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS TO THESE EVENTS, AND THEN WE SHOW UP. SO OUR WORK HAS BEEN FOCUSED A LOT ON EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE ASKED TO COME. DICK LAVINE: NO, I HAVE NO OBJECTION TO THAT, BUT I WAS WONDERING, BECAUSE IT DID SEEM LIKE YOU WENT TO THE SAME PLACES THREE OR FOUR OR FIVE TIMES IN A YEAR IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTY, JUST AREN'T THERE, BUT THEY PROBABLY HAVE ACCESS TO OTHER WAYS TO GET INFORMATION. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5F OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON DEPUTY TAXPAYER LIAISON POSITION AND POSSIBLE EXTENSION OF CONTRACT. LEANA MANN: AND THIS WAS AN AGENDA ITEM THAT WAS ADDED FROM THE LAST MEETING. AS A REMINDER DURING PROTEST SEASON, WE HAD A DEPUTY TAXPAYER LIAISON WHO CAME IN TO ASSIST PREDOMINANTLY SPANISH SPEAKING PROPERTY OWNERS THROUGH THE PROTEST PROCESS. IT WAS VERY EFFECTIVE. WE HAD A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM IT, AND SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO CONTINUE THE DEPUTY TLO POSITION ON A PART TIME BASIS. WE COULD SHE COULD WORK ONE TO TWO DAYS A WEEK TO ASSIST SPANISH DOMINANT TAXPAYERS, BUT THEN SHE COULD ALSO ASSIST US WITH OUR EXEMPTION AUDIT THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN ANOTHER AGENDA ITEM, AND REACHING OUT AND CALLING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE OVER THE AGE OF 65 TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE. MS. CARTWRIGHT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THIS PERSON IS ALSO A CONTRACTOR? LEANA MANN: THE CURRENT DEPUTY TLO IS A RETIREE OF TCAD, SO SHE'S ACTUALLY ON OUR PAYROLL SO THAT SHE GETS THE TCDRS PENSION BENEFIT ADDED IN.SO IT'S A PART TIME POSITION. IT IS A PART TIME POSITION. AND IF WE WEREN'T TO HIRE A RETIREE, IT WOULD BE CONTRACT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY? AND DO YOU THINK THAT ONE TO TWO DAYS A WEEK IS SUFFICIENT TO DO THE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE? LEANA MANN: I THINK THE OFF SEASON MONTHS WHEN IT'S NOT PURCHASE SEASON THAT'S SUFFICIENT, AND THEN POSSIBLY HAVING HER COME BACK FIVE DAYS A WEEK ONCE WE START PROTEST SEASON. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THANK YOU. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE? BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: I HAVE A COMMENT, IT'S SHE WAS VERY [00:40:01] EFFECTIVE THIS PAST SUMMER, AND I'M SO HAPPY THAT WE HAD HER, AND I'M SURE A LOT OF THE TAXPAYERS ARE TOO. SO I HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE HAVING HER. JAMES VALADEZ: ABSOLUTELY BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: HER NAME'S DIANA, BY THE WAY LEANA MANN: AND SHE HAS A LOT OF UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE SHE WAS AN APPRAISER, SHE WAS ALSO A DIRECTOR OF OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT ONE POINT IN HER CAREER, SO SHE SHE KNOWS THE DISTRICT'S OPERATIONS VERY WELL, BUT CAN ALSO SPEAK TO THE VERY SPECIFIC APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY AND REALLY HELP TAXPAYERS. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, AND WE WILL NEED A MOTION ON THIS ONE. SHENGHAO WANG: QUICK, QUICK QUESTION, DOES THIS NEED TO BE REAUTHORIZED EVERY YEAR BY THE BOARD? LEANA MANN: IT DOES. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, WE WILL NEED A MOTION ON THIS. NICOLE CONLEY: MR. CHAIR, I MOVE APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXTENSION OF THE DEPUTY TAXPAYER LIAISON POSITION. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MISS CONLEY, SECONDED BY BLANCA. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5G OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION ON HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AUDIT PROCEDURES AS REQUIRED BY TEXAS PROPERTY TAX CODE. 11.43, TO INCLUDE DISCUSSION ON TEXAS DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER CURRENT STATE LAW. LEANA MANN: SO WE STARTED OUR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AUDIT IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR. TO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND IN THIS PAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THERE WAS SECTION H1 OF 11.43, THAT WAS ADDED, AND IT REQUIRES THE CHIEF APPRAISER OF THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM FOR PERIODIC REVIEW OF HOMESTEADS. IT HAS TO BE DONE ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS, AND YOU CAN DO IT IN PHASES. PART OF THAT IS WE NEED TO REVIEW WHAT THE ACTUAL REQUIREMENTS ARE OF A HOMESTEAD. AND CURRENT LAW REQUIRES THAT A DRIVER'S LICENSE BE INCLUDED WITH THE APPLICATION. THIS WAS CHANGED IN 2009 THAT WHEN THE DRIVER'S LICENSE BECAME REQUIRED. SO WE DO HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FROM PRIOR TO 2009 THAT DON'T HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE ON FILE. SO THAT'S THE THE AREA THAT WE'RE GOING TO TARGET IN THIS FIRST SECTION OF THE AUDIT. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE TAX CODE DOESN'T GIVE US ANY LEEWAY ON DRIVER'S LICENSE. IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THE DRIVER'S LICENSE HAS THE MEANING THAT'S IN THE TRANSPORTATION CODE. WE CAN ALSO USE A PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CERTIFICATE, BUT IT OUTLINES EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS, TOO, AND IT DOES REQUIRE THEY THAT THEY INCLUDE A COPY OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE WITH THEIR APPLICATION. WE'VE SET UP AN ONLINE SYSTEM FOR OUR ACTUAL HOMESTEAD APPLICATION THAT ALLOWS THEM TO UPLOAD THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE. IT READS THE NAME AND CONFIRMS IT'S THEM AND THEN PUTS IT INTO OUR SYSTEM. YOU AND JUST TO NOTE, THE DRIVER'S LICENSE CAN BE A TEMPORARY LICENSE OR AN OCCUPATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE. SO WE BROKE OUR VERIFICATION PROGRAM. WE'RE NOT GOING TO CALL IT AN AUDIT PROGRAM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT HAS A NEGATIVE CONNOTATION. IT'S A VERIFICATION PROGRAM, AND WE BROKE IT INTO FOUR PHASES. THE FIRST PHASE IS WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON, AND THAT'S REVIEWING EXEMPTIONS GRANTED PRIOR TO 2009 AND WE'RE SEEING IF, THROUGH THE PROCESS, WE'VE GOTTEN A DRIVER'S LICENSE. IF WE HAVE, WE CLOSE OUT THAT VERIFICATION. IF WE DON'T HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE ON FILE, THEN WE'RE MARKING THEM TO REAPPLY AND SUBMIT THAT DRIVER'S LICENSE. PHASE TWO WILL BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATEWIDE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION DATABASE. I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ALL APPRAISAL DISTRICTS ARE REALLY LACKING. THERE'S NOT ONE CENTRAL SOURCE OF INFORMATION WHERE YOU CAN CHECK TO SEE IF SOMEBODY HAS A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION IN ANOTHER COUNTY. THINK IT WOULD TAKE SOME WORK, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL ON DIFFERENT APPRAISAL SYSTEMS, BUT THAT WOULD BENEFIT ALL APPRAISAL DISTRICTS TO BE ABLE TO SEARCH THAT. AND THEN PHASE THREE IS GOING TO BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN API WITH ONE OF OUR VENDORS THAT CAN AUDIT THE HOMESTEAD INFORMATION WHEN THEY'RE FIRST APPLYING, AND THEN WE COULD MARK SPECIFIC ACCOUNTS FOR VERIFICATION AGAIN. AND IT WOULD USE TRANSUNION DATA THAT WOULD VERIFY IF THERE'S ANY REASON THAT THEY WE NEED TO AUDIT THAT RECORD. AND THEN PHASE FOUR WOULD BE DEVELOPMENT OF A MACHINE LEARNING MODEL TO HELP CALCULATE THE RISK FACTOR FOR A PROPERTY SO THAT IF SOMEBODY HAS, FOR INSTANCE, A MAILING ADDRESS DIFFERENT FROM THEIR PROPERTY ADDRESS THAT HAS A RISK FACTOR ASSOCIATED, AND THAT WOULD HELP US IDENTIFY WHICH ACCOUNTS TO VERIFY. JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CARTWRIGHT DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: ON PHASE TWO, YOU MENTIONED A STATEWIDE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION DATABASE. IS THAT? IS TCAD TAKING THE LEAD ON THAT, OR IS THERE A STATEWIDE ORGANIZATION THAT IS IS DEVELOPING THIS DATABASE? [00:45:01] LEANA MANN: WE HAVEN'T WORKED OUT THE DETAILS YET. I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN GET A DIR CONTRACT THAT WOULD MANAGE THAT FOR US. BUT IF NO VENDOR WANTS TO TAKE THE LEAD AND MAKE IT A REASONABLE PRICE FOR EVERYONE, THEN TCAD WOULD BE WILLING TO TAKE ON THAT THAT WORK. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND IS THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF APPRAISAL DISTRICTS INVOLVED AS FAR AS GETTING A DIR CONTRACT, OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE ALONE ARE STEPPING FORWARD TO DO? LEANA MANN: PHASE TWO IS STILL A YEAR OR SO AWAY, SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF SPECIFICS, BUT TCAD ALREADY WORKED OUT IN OUR LOCAL AGREEMENTS WHEN WE DID OUR DIR CONTRACT FOR SALES DATA. SO WE'VE WE HAVE THE INTER LOCAL AGREEMENTS. IT WOULDN'T TAKE MUCH WORK TO EXTEND THAT TO OTHER SERVICES. JAMES VALADEZ: QUESTION FROM BRUCE. BRUCE ELFANT: I THINK I'VE ASKED THIS BEFORE, BUT IS THE DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIREMENT, HAS THAT BEEN AN ISSUE FOR TCAD? LEANA MANN: IT HAS. I HAVE A SLIDE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT WHAT WE'RE FINDING, ESPECIALLY WITH THESE OLDER HOMESTEAD RECORDS, THE INDIVIDUAL MAY NOT BE ABLE TO EASILY RENEW THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE BECAUSE OF THEIR AGE. THEY HAVE TO GO IN PERSON AFTER A CERTAIN AGE, AND THEY CAN'T GET THERE, AND THEN GETTING AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DMV HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT. SO THERE'S SOME CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE. WE HAVE A COUPLE DIFFERENT LEGISLATORS THAT ARE LOOKING AT SOME OPTIONS ON WHAT WE COULD CHANGE THERE IN TERMS OF THE TAX CODE REQUIREMENTS. SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE GET SOME MOVEMENT THERE. BRUCE ELFANT: NOW I WAS GOING TO ASK MAYBE THAT THERE IS A LEGISLATIVE FIX, I THINK OF YOU KNOW, VOTER ID, YOU HAVE FAR MORE IDEAS THAT ARE ALLOWED THAN JUST THE DRIVER'S LICENSE, SO MAYBE THE LEGISLATURE CAN BROADEN THAT A LITTLE BIT. LEANA MANN: THEY'VE ALREADY ALLOWED FOR AN AFFIDAVIT FOR HEIR PROPERTY. SO I THINK IT'D BE VERY EASILY, EASY TO USE THAT SAME PROCESS FOR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS. JAMES VALADEZ: QUESTION FROM MISS LI. JIE LI: WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION. DO PROPERTY OWNERS CURRENTLY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE TO VERIFY EVERY FIVE YEARS? OR IS IT A NEW PROGRAM? LEANA MANN: IT'S NEW. IT PASSED THIS PAST SESSION, BUT WE'VE TRIED TO INCORPORATE IT IN EVERY OUTREACH EVENT THAT WE'VE DONE. IT'S IT'S SCARY, AND WE'RE WORRIED THAT PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE LETTERS AND POSTCARDS THAT WE SEND, AND WE'RE GOING TO REALLY TRY TO TOUCH THEM AT LEAST SIX TIMES BEFORE WE REMOVE AN EXEMPTION. BUT WE'RE CONCERNED. BUT YES, IT'S A NEW LAW. SO AGAIN, PHASE ONE, THIS IS WHAT WE BEGAN IN AUGUST. WE HAVE ABOUT 82,000 ACCOUNTS WITH EXEMPTIONS PRIOR TO 2009 THAT WE ARE REVIEWING. WE'VE COMPLETED ABOUT 50% OF THAT WORK OF THE INITIAL REVIEW TO SEE WHO NEEDS TO REVERIFY AND WHO DOES NOT AND OUT OF THE AND AGAIN, THESE ARE OLDER HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS, SO THE RE-APPLICATION IS HIGHER THAN WE WOULD EXPECT IN SOME OF THE EARLIER EXEMPTIONS, BUT WE HAVE 46% THAT WILL BE SENT SOME KIND OF VERIFICATION TO GO ONLINE AND GIVE US THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE. AND RIGHT NOW, WE'RE GETTING READY TO SEND OUT OUR FIRST NOTIFICATION GROUP. THERE ARE ABOUT 19,000 ACCOUNTS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THIS. WE HAVE 21,000 WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO FIND A DRIVER'S LICENSE, EITHER THEY SENT IT TO US SUBSEQUENTLY, OR THEY APPLIED FOR SOME OTHER EXEMPTION, AND WE HAVE A COPY OF IT. OUT OF THE 19,000 WE ARE GOING TO DO A PILOT PROGRAM IN TERMS OF NOTIFICATIONS. SO WE'RE WE'VE SPLIT OUR GROUP SO OUR OVER 65 WE HAVE A PROCESS FOR THEM, AND THEN OUR OTHER GROUP, WE'RE SPLITTING THEM IN HALF, AND THE ONE GROUP IS GOING TO RECEIVE THE PRE NOTIFICATION POSTCARD AND THEN A LETTER, AND THE SECOND GROUP WILL RECEIVE A LETTER AND THEN A POSTCARD, AND WE WANT TO DETERMINE WHICH ONE GETS A BETTER RESPONSE RATE, SO THEN WE CAN APPLY THAT TO EVERYONE ELSE. SO WE'LL REPORT BACK AT THE NEXT MEETING WHAT OUR FINDINGS ARE, AND THIS BOTTOM CHART JUST SHOWS YOU THE PERCENT COMPLETE IN EACH GROUP. WE BROKE THEM INTO DECADES. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, IN THE OLDER ONES, WE DO NOT ONLY HAVE EIGHT ACCOUNTS THAT HAVE AN EXEMPTION FROM 1970 TO 79 THERE WERE ONLY EIGHT THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE ON. SO THERE ARE OTHER PROPERTY OWNERS THERE IN THAT GROUP AND A LOT OF THE OLDER ONES, THEY'VE NOW APPLIED FOR AN OVER 65 OR A DISABLED PERSON. SO WE HAVE IT FROM THAT. WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT 15 EMPLOYEES WORKING ON THIS PROJECT. SO FAR, [00:50:02] WE HAVE USED A TOTAL OF 1585 HOURS, AND THE PROJECT COST IS $33,000 JUST FOR STAFFING. WE ALSO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL COST FOR PROGRAMMING WORK THAT WE DID FOR OUR WEBSITE SO THAT THE VERIFICATION PROCESS CAN BE DONE ONLINE. WE ARE ALMOST COMPLETE WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT DEVELOPMENT, AND WE CAN SHOW YOU ALL THAT AT THE NEXT MEETING AS WELL. SO WE HAVE A TIMELINE AND THIS JUST IDENTIFIES THE PROCESS THAT THE PROPERTY OWNERS WILL GO THROUGH. SO AN AUDIT IDENTIFIES THAT WE NEED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THERE'S A NOTIFICATION PERIOD, AND AGAIN, OVER 65 WILL GET A SEPARATE SET OF NOTIFICATIONS AS WELL AS PHONE CALLS IF IN THE EVENT THAT THEY DON'T RESPOND. AND THEN WE WILL DETERMINE IF THE BENEFIT SHOULD BE CONTINUED OR REMOVED. THERE'S ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATIONS IF WE DETERMINE THAT THE EXEMPTION NEEDS TO BE REMOVED AND OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THE EXEMPTIONS REMOVED BEFORE THE NOTICES OF APPRAISED VALUE IN APRIL, SO THAT HOPEFULLY WHEN THEY GET THAT NOTICE, THEY'LL SEE THE EXEMPTIONS MISSING AND THEN VERIFY THEIR INFORMATION. WHAT WE WANT TO AVOID AND TRY AND REALLY GET THESE PEOPLE TO FOCUS ON IS WE DON'T WANT TO GET TO FEBRUARY OF 2026, WHEN YOUR TAX BILL IS DUE TO TRY AND REINSTATE YOUR EXEMPTIONS, BECAUSE WE HAVE LIMITATIONS ON HOW FAR WE CAN GO BACK AT THAT POINT. SO THIS SCREEN SHOWS HOW MANY TIMES WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE A NOTIFICATION TO EACH PROPERTY OWNER, AND WE'VE BROKE THEM AGAIN INTO A GENERAL RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD VERSUS SOMEONE WHO'S OVER THE AGE OF 65 SO FOR JUST A GENERAL RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD, THEY'LL GET THE PRE NOTIFICATION AFTER WE IDENTIFY THAT THEY NEED TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, THEY'LL GET A LETTER, AND THEN THEY'LL GET AN ADDITIONAL POSTCARD. THEY'LL THEN GET A FINAL NOTIFICATION LETTING THEM KNOW THE EXEMPTIONS BEEN REMOVED, AND HERE ARE YOUR PROTEST OPTIONS, AND THEY COULD PROTEST OR SUBMIT THEIR INFORMATION AT THAT POINT. JAMES VALADEZ: MS. CARTWRIGHT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY THAT WE COULD HAVE A PHONE BANK TO CALL PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 65 THAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO REMOVE THEIR EXEMPTION? LEANA MANN: YES, THAT IS IN OUR PLAN. WE HAVE DEDICATED STAFF TO DO THAT FOR OVER 65 I DON'T KNOW THAT THE VOLUME WOULD ALLOW US TO DO THAT FOR ALL HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT FOR OVER 65 AND DISABLED PERSONS. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I'M JUST I HAVE A 96 YEAR OLD MOTHER, AND I JUST KNOW THE TRAUMA THAT IS INVOLVED WHEN YOU REMOVE ARESIDENCE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR AN OLDER PERSON, AND I THINK WE NEED TO BE VERY SENSITIVE TO THAT. YES, MY MOTHER, MY MOTHER, WILL GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. LEANA MANN: SO FOR AN OVER 65 THEY'RE GOING TO GET THE INITIAL NOTIFICATION, THEN THEY'LL GET A LETTER, THEN THEY'LL GET PHONE CALLS, THEN A REMINDER POSTCARD, AND THEN PROBABLY ADDITIONAL PHONE CALLS FOR THE ONES WE HAVEN'T TALKED TO YET, AND THEN FINALLY, A FINAL NOTIFICATION. SO WE'RE DOING EXTRA CONTACT POINTS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OVER 65. WE'RE ALSO GOING TO DO SOME OUTREACH WITH TWO ELECTED OFFICIALS AND LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS, LETTING THEM KNOW THE PROCESS. WE'VE BEEN DEL VALLE COMMUNITY COALITION HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE THEM A LIST OF THE IDENTIFIED PROPERTIES IN THEIR AREA AND THEIR BLOCK WALKING FOR US TO HELP GET PROPERTY OWNERS ACCUSTOMED WITH THE PROCESS. AND THEN WE'VE ALSO HAVE DIGITAL ELEMENTS. WE'VE DEDICATED A PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE TO THE PROCESS. WE'RE ALSO HAVING ALL OF THESE NOTIFICATIONS AND WEBSITES TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH, SO WE'LL HAVE THAT AVAILABLE AS WELL. JAMES VALADEZ: QUESTION FROM MR. LAVINE. DICK LAVINE: I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT THAT JUST TO GO BACK A BIT, TO HAVE A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, DOES A HOME HAVE TO BE OWNED BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR A COUPLE, COMPARED TO AN LLC OR A TRUST? LEANA MANN: IT CAN BE OWNED BY A TRUST, IT CAN'T BE OWNED BY AN LLC. KAREN EVERTSON: AND IF IT IS OWNED BY A TRUST, THEN A BENEFICIARY OF THE TRUST HAS TO BE USING IT AS THEIR PRIMARY RESIDENCE. DICK LAVINE: OKAY AND WHEN IT'S A COUPLE. YOU JUST NEED VERIFICATION FROM ONE OF THE TWO OWNERS? OKAY, THANKS. LEANA MANN: AND THEN THERE'S ALSO HEIR PROPERTY, WHICH ALLOWS MULTIPLE ERRORS OF IF A FAMILY IS PASSING DOWN A PROPERTY, YOU HAVE SIX SIBLINGS THAT OWN THE PROPERTY, THERE'S A PROCESS FOR THEM AS WELL, DICK LAVINE: EVEN THOUGH ONLY ONE OF THEM LIVES IN GRANDMA'S HOUSE. LEANA MANN: SO HERE IS A COPY OF THE FIRST WHICH WE'RE CONSIDERING, THE PRE NOTIFICATION POSTCARD. IT'LL GO OUT IN THE MAIL STARTING NEXT WEEK. SO IT JUST TELLS THEM YOUR ACCOUNTS BEEN IDENTIFIED. HERE'S THE PROCESS. YOU HAVE A DEADLINE [00:55:01] TO RESPOND AND PROVIDE YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND AGAIN, THE PROPERTY OWNERS WILL RECEIVE THE LETTER AFTER THAT CONTAINING THE FORMAL INFORMATION. IT'LL INCLUDE A PRINTED APPLICATION. SOMETIMES POSTCARDS JUST GO IN THE TRASH. SO WE'RE HOPING, BETWEEN THE POSTCARD AND A LETTER, THAT IT'LL CATCH THEIR ATTENTION. WE'LL ALSO SEND ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATIONS TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A PORTAL ACCOUNT SET UP, AND THEN WE HAVE A FOLLOW UP POSTCARD IF THEY DON'T RESPOND TO THE FIRST POSTCARD OR THE LETTER THAT WE'VE TRIED TO GET THEIR ATTENTION A LITTLE MORE. SO IT'S A REMINDER, WE'LL CONTINUE SENDING ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATIONS AND THEN PHONE CALLS FOR OVER 65 SO AGAIN, WE ANTICIPATE THERE WILL BE SOME ROADBLOCKS HERE. SOME PROPERTY OWNERS WILL IGNORE COMMUNICATIONS. WE'RE GOING TO ADD A MINIMUM CONTACT THEM THREE TIMES. FOR OVER 65 OR DISABLED WE'LL CONTACT THEM AT LEAST SIX TIMES, AND THEN ONCE THE EXEMPTION IS REMOVED, THEY'LL HAVE AN ADDITIONAL TWO CONTACT POINTS. WE DO THINK GENERALLY WE GET ABOUT A 96% RESPONSE RATE WHEN WE REQUEST INDIVIDUALS TO VERIFY THEIR EXEMPTIONS. SO FAR IN 2024 WE'VE ONLY GOT A 67% RESPONSE RATE. BUT WE THINK THIS HAS TO DO MAINLY WITH TAX BILLS NOT GOING OUT YET. THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE SEE THAT ON THEIR TAX BILL, AND THAT'S WHEN THEY CONTACT US AND GIVE US THE INFORMATION. SO THERE WILL BE MANY NON RESPONSIVE PROPERTY OWNERS. WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADD THE EXEMPTION BACK ON IN THE SAME TAX YEAR, AND THEN, IF IT'S IN A FOLLOWING TAX YEAR, WE CAN GO BACK TWO YEARS AND ADD IT BACK. AND AGAIN, SOME INDIVIDUALS DON'T HAVE A TEXAS DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ISSUE THAT WE SEE. SHENGHAO WANG: QUICK QUESTION. SO WHEN YOU SAY, GO BACK TWO YEARS, DOES THAT MEAN THEY'LL GET A RETROACTIVE REFUND ON THAT THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S BILLS? LEANA MANN: IF THEY'VE PAID THEIR THEIR BILL AT THAT POINT? YES. SHENGHAO WANG: THANK YOU. LEANA MANN: TEXAS REQUIRES SENIORS THAT ARE OVER THE AGE OF 79 TO GO IN PERSON, AND SO WE'VE HEARD THAT THAT'S AN ISSUE GETTING AN IN PERSON APPOINTMENT, AND THEN ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY GETTING THERE IS CHALLENGING. WE ALSO HAVE CENSUS DATA, AND WE ESTIMATE ABOUT 27,000 HOMEOWNERS IN TRAVIS COUNTY ARE OVER THE AGE OF 75 AND JUST BASED ON THE PHASE ONE PROJECT BEING OLDER EXEMPTIONS, WE ANTICIPATE THIS GROUP WILL BE TARGETED. THE MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE ALSO ESTIMATES THERE ARE ABOUT 20,000 HOMEOWNERS THAT ARE UNDOCUMENTED IN TRAVIS COUNTY AND CAN'T GET A DRIVER'S LICENSE. SO I THINK THESE ARE GOING TO BE ROADBLOCKS WE SEE, AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT THERE'S SOME LEGISLATIVE CHANGE, BUT THIS AUDIT REQUIREMENT, I THINK, IS GOING TO IMPACT THE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THE MOST. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: FOR YOUR LIKELY ROADBLOCKS, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. FOR YOUR LIKELY ROADBLOCKS, WHAT ARE YOUR WHAT ARE THE LIKELY SOLUTIONS TO THESE ROADBLOCKS? LEANA MANN: AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T HAVE ONE. STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT WE GET A DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND SO THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO TO ALLEVIATE THAT PROBLEM. WE'RE WORKING WITH SOME LEGISLATORS ON GETTING FIXED, BUT IT'LL HAVE TO BE A LEGISLATIVE CHANGE. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: WELL, YOU'RE WORKING A LEGISLATOR TO GET THIS FIXED. THAT IS A POSSIBLE SUGGESTION TO THE WAY FORWARD. DON'T THINK SO? LEANA MANN: IT'S A SUGGESTION, BUT I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WHAT THE LEGISLATURE OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: I DIDN'T SAY YOU SHOULD HAVE CONTROL OVER IT. FOR EXAMPLE, IN RESEARCH, WHENEVER YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT CHALLENGES, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROFILE SOLUTIONS TO YOUR CHALLENGES. SO THIS IS A CHALLENGE. SO AS TCAD, AS MANAGEMENT OF TCAD, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME LIKELY SUGGESTIONS TO PROVE TO BUFFER THIS LIKELY ROADBLOCKS. LEANA MANN: THE ONLY SUGGESTION THAT WE COULD HAVE IS GET THE LAW CHANGED TO NOT REQUIRE A DRIVER'S LICENSE. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: OKAY. OKAY. KAREN EVERTSON: WHEN THIS WAS PASSED, IT WAS A VERY CONTENTIOUS BILL THERE, THERE. THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE IT WAS INITIALLY PASSED, BUT IT WAS A POLITICAL STICKING POINT, AND THOSE PROPONENTS OF THE BILLS WOULD NOT MODIFY, SO LET'S HOPE ANOTHER LEGISLATIVE SESSION GETS COOLER HEADS TO PREVAIL. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS? OKAY? AND NO ACTIONS NEEDED ON THIS. WE CAN MOVE ON. WE CAN MOVE ON TO 5H. BLANCA. [01:00:05] BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DEAL WITH THIS. HOW DO YOU BUT IF I KNOW SOMEONE IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY THAT'S BEEN DECEASED, SHE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE FOR A LONG TIME, AND THE DAUGHTER STILL HAVE HER OVER 65 HER VA ALL THAT, AND THEY'VE NEVER CAUGHT IT. SO HOW DO YOU DO THAT? WHEN SOMEONE PASSES AWAY, THEY'RE STILL ALL THE EXEMPTIONS ON THE PROPERTY. DO YOU CATCH IT WHEN THEY SELL THE PROPERTY? LEANA MANN: SO WE HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES. WE GET A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DECEASED DURING THAT YEAR IN TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THAT'S WHERE IT BECOMES DIFFICULT IF THEY MOVE OUT OF THE COUNTY TO A NURSING FACILITY AND PASS AWAY THERE, WE DON'T ALWAYS FIND OUT. WE HAVE OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE GROUP, CSINFO@TCADCENTRAL.COM, WE GET A LOT OF EMAILS LETTING US KNOW ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBORS THAT HAVE PASSED AWAY, AND THEY STILL HAVE THEIR EXEMPTIONS. SO IF THERE'S EVER A RECORD THAT'S AN INACCURATE, PROPERTY OWNERS CAN EMAIL US AND LET US KNOW, BUT IT'S CHALLENGE. JAMES VALADEZ: WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5H OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RFP 2024-01 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK SERVICES. LEANA MANN: SO AS PART OF OUR 2025 BUDGET, THE LITIGATION DEPARTMENT IS BEING INCREASED, AND YOU ALL APPROVED THAT BACK IN JUNE. AND PART OF THAT, WE NEED TO REMOVE A WALL IN BETWEEN TWO AREAS ON THE FOURTH FLOOR SO THAT THEY CAN ALL BE CONFINED IN ONE LOCATION. SO WE POSTED AN RFP FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK. THIS IS UNDER GOVERNMENT CODE 2269. WE POSTED IT ON SEPTEMBER 16 AND IT WAS CLOSED ON OCTOBER 24. WE RECEIVED TWO RESPONSES. ONE WAS FROM NOVIUM AND THE OTHER FROM BALFOUR BEATTY, AND BASED ON THEIR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK FEE, NOVIUM WAS AT A 30% FEE AND BALFOUR BEATTY HAD THREE AND A HALF PERCENT. WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THE BOARD SELECT BALFOUR BEATTY FOR THE RFP 2024-01 CMAR RFP. JIE LI: I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON THIS. SO IF I LOOK AT THE CHART, MAYBE I'M NOT QUITE FOLLOWING IT.SO BALFOUR BEATTY HAS A TOTAL COST OF 100... WAIT, NO, IS THAT PERCENTAGE, OR IS THAT SHENGHAO WANG: THAT'S A SCORE, I BELIEVE. LEANA MANN: YEAH. SO PART OF THE RFP PROCESS IS YOU HAVE TO GIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA. SO THESE ARE THE CRITERIA AND THE WEIGHT THAT WE GAVE TO EACH CRITERIA, AND SO BASED ON THAT, WE AWARDED POINTS TO EACH RESPONDENT. JIE LI: SURE. OKAY, ALL RIGHT, GREAT. SO IT'S NOT A DOLLAR AMOUNT. LEANA MANN: AND WITH CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK, THERE'S NOT A SET DOLLAR AMOUNT. THERE'S A PERCENTAGE THAT GETS CHARGED BY THE GENERAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGER ON TOP OF WHATEVER THE COST IS. NICOLE CONLEY: MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE APPROVAL OF THIS ITEM. JAMES VALADEZ: IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MS. CONLEY AND SECONDED BY BLANCA. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? SHENGHAO WANG: I I THINK, JAMES VALADEZ: YEAH, WE WERE GOING TO DISCUSS. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: MOVE ON AGAIN. I WILL MOVE THE MOTION. THE MOTION IS ALREADY MOVED. I SECONDED ALREADY. JAMES VALADEZ: OH, NO. NICOLE CONLEY: THE QUESTION IS JAMES VALADEZ: NOW IT'S OPEN FOR DISCUSSION. YEAH. SHENGHAO WANG: I MEAN, GIVEN THAT WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS AND SUCH A LARGE SPREAD, I DON'T THINK I HAVE AN ISSUE ABOUT WHICH ONE I WANT TO RECOMMEND OR APPROVE. JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, THOUGH, WHAT IS LIKE AN INDUSTRY STANDARD, YOU KNOW, MARGIN, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THREE AND HALF AND 30%? LEANA MANN: SO WHEN WE DID OUR RENOVATIONS ON THIS BUILDING, WE RECEIVED RESPONSES BETWEEN THREE AND 6%. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE AT 30%. THIS IS A FIRST AND I EVEN DOUBLE CHECKED WITH OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR TO MAKE SURE IT WASN'T A TYPO BUT THAT WAS WHAT OUR SOLE RECOMMENDATION IS BASED OFF, IS JUST THE FEE PERCENTAGE. WE HAVE IN FULL DISCLOSURE. WE'VE DONE WORK WITH BALFOUR BEATTY. THEY RENOVATED THE BUILDING IN 2019 WHEN WE PURCHASED IT, AND THEY DID A GREAT JOB. NICOLE CONLEY: I WILL SAY THAT I CONCUR WITH MS. MANN. ANYTHING EXCEEDING EIGHT TO 10% IS EGREGIOUS.PROBABLY, I'M NOT SURE I KNOW BALFOUR BEATTY. I MEAN, THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, THEY DO A LOT OF PROJECTS, BUT I'M PRESUMING THAT MAYBE THE RISK THAT'S BUILT INTO THE ESCALATION REFLECTS SORT OF THE THE MATURITY OF THE FIRM OR THE CONTRACTORS, RIGHT? I MEAN, THE MORE ROBUST RESOURCES AND EXTENSION. AND BALFOUR BEATTY HAS BEEN IN THE GAME A LONG TIME, SO IT'S [01:05:02] PROBABLY MORE ADVANTAGEOUS IN TERMS OF THE RISK THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO TAKE ON TO EFFICIENTLY PRODUCE THE PRODUCT. SO I DON'T THE LEVEL OF 30% RISK BUILT INTO THAT. I THINK THAT'S PRETTY EGREGIOUS. SO, LEANA MANN: AND THIS IS A SMALL PROJECT, WE ESTIMATE IT'S GOING TO BE BETWEEN 45 AND $55,000. WE'RE BRINGING IT TO THE BOARD BECAUSE IT MAY GO OVER THAT $50,000 THRESHOLD, BUT AND BALFOUR BEATTY HAS WORKED WITH US BEFORE, SO THEIR RISK IS PROBABLY LOWER. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5I OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RFQ 2024-02, REQUEST FOR CALL FOR REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR LAND VALUATION SERVICES. LEANA MANN: SO AS A REMINDER, THIS WAS ALSO PART OF THE 2025 BUDGET. WE DISCUSSED IT AT LENGTH, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT BRINGING THE LAND VALUATION FOR ALL APPRAISAL DIVISIONS, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, SO THAT THERE'S SOME EQUITY AMONGST LAND IN TRAVIS COUNTY. SO WE POSTED AN RFQ FOR LAND VALUATION SERVICES. IT IS CONSIDERED A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND DONE UNDER GOVERNMENT CODE 2254. WE POSTED THE RFQ ON AUGUST 27 AND IT CLOSED ON SEPTEMBER 25. WE ONLY RECEIVED ONE RESPONSE AND THAT WAS FROM VALUE BASE. AND SO WE ARE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE SELECT THE ONE RESPONDENT. JAMES VALADEZ: MS. CONLEY NICOLE CONLEY: JUST ONE QUESTION, I KNOW WE ONLY GOT ONE PROPOSER, IS THIS, ARE WE COMFORTABLE WITH THE BIDDER AS PROPOSED, OR DO WE NEED TO? WOULD YOU CONSIDER GOING BACK OUT TO SORT OF OPEN UP THE UNIVERSE TO POSSIBLE PROVIDERS? OR YOU'RE GOOD WITH VALUE BASE? LEANA MANN: I THINK THEY'RE A GOOD COMPANY. WHERE THIS GETS A LITTLE TRICKY IS WE ARE USING SOME MACHINE LEARNING AND AUTOMATION TO DO THE VALUATION. THERE'S NINE DIFFERENT MODELS THAT THEY PUT INTO AI, AND THEN WE GET AN EQUITABLE NUMBER. THERE ARE NINE DIFFERENT MODELS, SO YOU'RE SEEING VERY DIFFERENT PARAMETERS THAT GET PUT IN. THERE AREN'T MANY COMPANIES THAT ARE DOING THIS, SO WE DIDN'T EXPECT TO RECEIVE A LOT OF RESPONSES. DICK LAVINE: I MISSED THE DISCUSSION I GUESS YOU HAD LAST MONTH OR BEFORE THAT. SO IS THIS JUST A COMPUTER I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CALL IT, SURVEY OF OUR EXISTING LAND VALUATION, OR IS IT A START FROM SCRATCH LAND VALUATION, OR SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE? LEANA MANN: IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH. SO THE MACHINE STARTS FROM SCRATCH, AND IT LOOKS AT VERY SPECIFIC DATA POINTS, LIKE, NOT ONLY LIKE LOCATION, BUT IF IT'S ON A CUL DE SAC, IF IT'S A CERTAIN DISTANCE FROM WATER. SO IT HAS ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PARAMETERS THAT GOES INTO THE MACHINE, AND THEN IT USES MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS AND DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES. EACH MODEL USES A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE. AND THEN ONCE YOU HAVE NINE MODELS, YOU'RE HOPING THAT THERE'S A CONSISTENT LINE THAT YOU CAN SEE. AND SO IT LOOKS IT THEY'RE GOING TO DO LAND IN THE ENTIRE COUNTY, WE HAVE OUR APPRAISERS THAT ARE GOING TO LOOK OVER EVERYTHING, AND IF WE GET BACK DATA THAT WE DON'T FEEL IS VALID, THEN WE DON'T PUT IT INTO OUR SYSTEM. DICK LAVINE: AND IF YOU DO THINK IT'S VALID, THEN IS EVERYBODY'S LAND VALUATION IN THE COUNTY CHANGED? LEANA MANN: IT WOULD. SOME COULD GO DOWN, YEAH, DICK LAVINE: IN ONE WHAT YEAR, TAX YEAR DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE? LEANA MANN: WE'RE NOT SURE YET. IT'LL DEPEND ON THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT. HOW REFINED THE DATA THAT WE GET BACK IS. WE HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER IT. SO IF IT'S 2025, AND WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT AND FEEL LIKE WE CAN DEFEND IT AT THE ARB, THEN WE'LL DO THAT. IT COULD BE 2026. DICK LAVINE: AND AS OF NOW, ON A STANDARD BLOCK IS EVERYBODY'S LAND VALUED THE SAME, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S SQUARE FOOTAGE MIGHT BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BECAUSE ONE LOT'S A LITTLE DEEPER FOR SOME REASON. ARE YOU GOING TO GET WITHIN JUST A SINGLE BLOCK DIFFERENT DOLLARS PER SQUARE FOOT FOR THE LAND? LEANA MANN: IT DEPENDS ON WHICH AREA. SO IF IT'S A AN AREA WHERE THERE'S BOTH COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL USE, OUR COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT HAD VALUED THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AND RESIDENTIAL VALUE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES. AND SO THEY'RE NOT CONSISTENT. AND SO THIS WOULD ALLOW A CONSISTENT APPROACH TO LAND ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTY. AND LAND IS ONE OF THE AREAS WE GET THE MOST QUESTIONS ABOUT. IT'S ALSO THE HARDEST TO APPRAISE, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF VACANT LAND SALES IN TRAVIS COUNTY RIGHT NOW. DICK LAVINE: WHEN IN, WHEN IN MY INTERACTIONS, LIKE WHEN WE WERE CAMPAIGNING, PEOPLE HAD MUCH MORE DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING THE LAND VALUATION. I WISH WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEPARATE OUT LIKE [01:10:03] THAT. LEANA MANN: AND PART OF THE RFQ REQUIREMENT WAS THAT THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE A CONSUMABLE PRESENTATION THAT WE CAN INCLUDE IN AN EVIDENCE PACKET. AND IT CAN'T BE SOMETHING SPIT OUT BY AI THAT'S JUST NUMBERS. IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING SOMEBODY CAN UNDERSTAND. SO THAT'S PART OF IT AS WELL. DICK LAVINE: THAT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE. JAMES VALADEZ: QUESTION FROM MS. CARTWRIGHT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: COULD YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE THE USE OF SALES DATA ON VACANT ACREAGE TRACKS TO GET DOWN TO A RESIDENTIAL LOT VALUE? I THINK THAT'S REALLY A VERY DIFFICULT THING TO PROMOTE FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND SO COULD, DOULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE? LEANA MANN: AND THEY'RE APPRAISED SEPARATELY BECAUSE OF ECONOMIES OF SCALE, RIGHT? SO A LARGER TRACK IS GOING TO SELL FOR A MUCH SMALLER PRICE PER ACRE THAN A SMALL TRACK, AND IT'S ALSO LOCATION. BUT PART OF THE CONFUSION FOR PEOPLE IS, WHEN THEY PROTEST THEIR LAND, WE'RE VALUING THE PROPERTY AS A WHOLE. SO YOU VALUE THE IMPROVEMENT, WHETHER IT'S BASED ON A SALE OR COST, AND THEN YOU ALLOCATE A LAND VALUE. AND SO I THINK THIS WILL PROVIDE US EASIER DATA POINTS TO EXPLAIN THAT TO A PROPERTY OWNER, SO THAT THEY CAN SEE I HAVE FOUR OR FIVE OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS, AND THAT'S WHY MY LAND IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER. JAMES VALADEZ: MS. LI JIE LI: I'M TRYING TO PROCESS THE INFORMATION AND UNDERSTAND IT A BIT BETTER. SO ASSUME THAT THERE IS A PROPERTY THAT'S BUILT AND FULLY DEVELOPED. I GUESS HISTORICALLY, YOU VALUE THE PROPERTY BASED ON RECENT SALE NUMBERS NEARBY WITH SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS. NOW WHAT'S INTERESTING TO ME IS THAT IF YOU ADD AN ELEMENT OF THE LAND VALUE, AND THEN YOU COME UP WITH A, LET'S SAY, A MUCH HIGHER LAND VALUE, AND YET, THE TOTAL PROPERTY PROBABLY, LET'S SAY, IF YOU, YOU CAME UP WITH THE LAND VALUE OF ONE AND A HALF, AND I'M JUST MAKING NUMBERS UP HERE, ONE AND A HALF MILLION. AND LET'S SAY, IF THE THE PROPERTY WOULDN'T SELL ANYTHING MORE THAN 2 MILLION, THEN YOU, YOU CAN, YOU KIND OF BACK INTO THE IMPROVEMENT WILL BE ONLY 500,000 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR, LET'S SAY, IF YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT THE THING IS THAT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THE LAND VALUE AND ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL MARKET VALUE OF THE WHOLE PROPERTY WOULD KIND OF MATCH WITH EACH OTHER? AM I GETTING MYSELF THROUGH. LEANA MANN: SO IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND. SO WE HAVE ADEQUATE COST DATA, SO WE KNOW WHAT IT COSTS TO BUILD AN IMPROVEMENT. AND SO TYPICALLY, WHEN WE SEE SALES, SALES FOR THE WHOLE PROPERTY. AND SO WE CAN BACK INTO A WE CAN DETERMINE AND CALCULATE A COST OF THE IMPROVEMENT AND THEN ALLOCATE THE REST OF THE VALUE TO THE LAND IN GENTRIFYING AREAS, THAT'S A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THE IMPROVEMENTS GETTING KNOCKED DOWN, SO THE WHOLE VALUE IS IN THE LAND. SO WE DO A MODIFIED SALES APPROACH, WHERE WE USE COST AND SALES TO DETERMINE THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY. JIE LI: JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP. SO THEN IN THE GENTRIFIED AREA, HOW DO YOU I MEAN, IT'S VERY HYPOTHETICAL RIGHT NOW, JUST TRYING TO, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HAVE A SITUATION WHERE THE PROPERTY OWNER WOULD POTENTIALLY PROTEST THIS AND SAY THAT, OH YES, I UNDERSTAND THAT MY LAND IS VALUED MORE VALUABLE, AND YET MY HOUSE, THE WHOLE PROPERTY, WOULDN'T BE SELLING AT MORE THAN SUCH AND SUCH PRICE. HOW DO WE GET AN AGGREGATE VALUE THAT'S HIGHER THAN WHAT THE RECENT SALES OF SIMILAR PROPERTIES WOULD BE? I'M JUST TRYING TO ANTICIPATE THAT, AND TRYING TO SAY THAT IF THERE'S A WAY TO RECONCILE THESE THINGS, WELL, YOU CAN'T PROTEST A LAND VALUE. LEANA MANN: THAT'S NOT A PROTESTABLE REASON. SO WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT COME IN AND WANT TO TALK ABOUT LAND, BUT YOU CAN'T JUST COME IN AND SAY, MY LAND VALUE IS TOO HIGH. BUT IN IN HOW YOU APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY, YOU'RE APPRAISING THE ENTIRE PROPERTY. SO IF YOU'RE THEN ALLOCATING A PORTION TO THE LAND, THE LAND IS NEVER GOING TO BE HIGHER THAN THE FULL PROPERTY. JIE LI: RIGHT? THAT'S QUITE TRUE. SO THEN YOU THEN, THEN, THAT MEANS YOU MAINLY RELY ON, I DON'T WANT TO DELVE ON THIS TOO LONG, BUT YOU MAINLY RELY ON THE RECENT SALES OF SIMILAR PROPERTY, THEN. LEANA MANN: YES, FOR CONSTRUCTED, IMPROVED PROPERTY, YES. JIE LI: RIGHT. THEN I'M JUST TRYING TO, I'M JUST STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND, THEN WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE REASON, OR THE BENEFIT FOR HAVING THE LAND VALUE FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY HERE? LEANA MANN: SO YOU HAVE TO PER THE TAX CODE BREAK OUT LAND AND [01:15:01] IMPROVEMENTS. SO WE HAVE TO ALLOCATE A LAND VALUE. KAREN EVERTSON: THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN A REQUIREMENT THAT THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT ON THE APPRAISAL RECORDS IDENTIFY WHAT VALUE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAND AND WHAT VALUE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPROVEMENTS. HOWEVER, MORE RECENTLY, NOW IN OUR APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD ORDERS, THOSE ORDERS ARE NOW REQUIRED TO HAVE THE IDENTIFIED VALUE FOR THE LAND AND THE IMPROVEMENT. AND I THINK THE CHALLENGE IS THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES IN WHICH TO VALUE PROPERTY THAT THERE'S NOT ONE CONSISTENT THING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO USE FOR THIS RESIDENCE AND THIS DOWNTOWN OFFICE BUILDING, AND SO I'LL JUST TRY AND MAKE THIS QUICK. BUT MOST COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, THEY DON'T CARE HOW MUCH LAND THEY'RE GETTING. THEY CARE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MAKE. SO THE PRIMARY WAY THAT THE MARKET TREATS COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES IS THE INCOME APPROACH, RIGHT? RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, MOST PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WELL, WHAT ARE MY NEIGHBORS IF I'M BUYING INTO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, WHAT DID MY NEIGHBORS PAY? SO THAT'S A SALES COMPARISON APPROACH. AND MR. LAVINE, YOU HAD AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, WHICH IS, ARE WE LOOKING AT THE SAME DOLLAR PER SQUARE FOOT? BUT IN SOME MARKETS, EVEN WITHIN THIS COUNTY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME PROPERTIES THAT SAY HAVE LAKEFRONT, WATERFRONT. WELL, THEY'RE BUYING THAT PROPERTY BASED ON HOW MANY LINEAR FEET THEY GET ON THE WATER. THEY DON'T CARE HOW FAR BACK IT GOES. THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY KIDS CAN GET IN THE WATER AND HOW MANY BOATS AND JET SKIS CAN GET IN THE WATER. THEY'RE NOT CONCERNED AS MUCH ABOUT DO I GET POINT FIVE ACRE OR POINT FIVE TWO ACRE? SO THIS IS A REALLY SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE, BUT IT'S ONE THAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS PUT UP BECAUSE THEY'VE SAID, COME UP WITH A LAND VALUE. COME UP WITH AN IMPROVEMENT VALUE. YOU ALSO HAVE AN APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY THAT COMES INTO PLACE THAT TALKS ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORY VALUE OF AN IMPROVEMENT. AND SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE I GIVE TO ARBS, WHICH IS, IF YOU'VE GOT AN ACRE IN IN NAMED STERLING COUNTY, TEXAS, RIGHT, AND YOU'VE GOT A HALF A MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE ON IT, AS OPPOSED TO HALF AN ACRE IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN. WELL, THE VALUE THAT THAT IMPROVEMENT CONTRIBUTES TO THE WHOLE IS DIFFERENT, EVEN THOUGH THE HOUSE MAY LOOK THE SAME ANYWAY. I DON'T WANT TO GO TOO MUCH INTO APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY, OTHER THAN TO SAY THE MARKET IS WHAT'S TELLING US THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY AND THE MARKET FOR DIFFERENT PROPERTIES CAN BE DIFFERENT EVEN WITHIN THE SAME COUNTY. JAMES VALADEZ: SURE. THANKS FOR THAT MS. CARTWRIGHT QUESTION. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: IT'S KIND OF AN OBSERVATION AND A QUESTION. I THINK WHAT MISS LI WAS GETTING THAT IS, IF YOU'RE USING A SALES APPROACH, COMPARISON ALREADY, AND MISS MANN IS HAS SAID THAT SHE THEY KNOW WHAT THE COST OF THE IMPROVEMENT IS, AND THEN THEY ALLOCATE THE REMAINDER TO THE TO THE LAND. WHY DO WE NEED THIS STUDY? I THINK, IS WHAT YOU WERE GETTING AT AS IS THAT, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THIS LAND STUDY ON A PER SQUARE FOOT BASIS OR AN ACREAGE BASIS, OR WHATEVER THE MODEL SHOW MAKING DIFFERENCE WHEN WE'RE DEPENDING ON MARKET SALES, OF WHICH WE DETERMINE THE IMPROVEMENT VALUE, WHETHER IT'S RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL, AND THEN THE REST OF THE ALLOCATION IS LAND. WHAT DOES THIS ADD TO TO THE APPRAISAL KNOWLEDGE? LEANA MANN: SO RIGHT NOW, OUR STAFF IS DOING THIS TASK, AND THEY WOULD HAVE, WE WOULD HAVE TO HIRE MORE PEOPLE TO VALUE LAND EFFECTIVELY IN THIS COUNTY. I THINK IT GIVES SOME TRANSPARENCY TO THE PROPERTY OWNER, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE CONSISTENT AMONGST THEIR NEIGHBORS THAT IT'S ALL BEING DONE THE SAME WAY. I THINK IT GIVES US VERY CLEAR DATA POINTS FOR HOW THE ALLOCATION IS BEING DONE, BASED ON LAKEFRONT VERSUS CUL DE SAC, SIZE OF YOUR LOT, ALL THESE DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT PLAY INTO A LAND VALUE, BECAUSE PROPERTY OWNERS HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT LAND. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: OKAY. JAMES VALADEZ: DR. O. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: THANK YOU. I WANT TO TAKE US BACK TO THE BEGINNING. I'M TRYING TO INTERROGATE THE PROCESS. THE PROCESS OF JUST A SINGLE RESPONSE TO THE ADVERTISEMENT IS A GREAT CONCERN TO ME. FOR EXAMPLE, IN YOUR INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT HERE, YOU SAID, THE DISTRICT POSTED A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR LAND VALUATION SERVICES ON AUGUST 27 2024 AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE RFQ WAS RUN IN AUSTIN. AMERICAN [01:20:02] STATESMAN ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2024 AND SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 REPEATED THE ADVERT. THE RFQ CLOSED ON SEPTEMBER 25 2024 RECEIVING ONLY ONE RESPONSE. NOW BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 2024 TO SEPTEMBER 25 IS THREE WEEKS ADVERTISEMENTS, AS IT WERE, YOU SEE, THERE ARE DANGERS FOR JUST A SINGLE RESPONSE. ONE. THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR BIAS. HIGH LEVEL PROPENSITY FOR BUYERS. SO WE SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THAT VERY CRITICALLY, TWO, THERE IS A LEVEL OF REDUCED COMPETITION, BECAUSE, AS IT WERE, THE SINGLE RESPONSE IS LIKE IS ALREADY A PRECONCEIVED AGREEMENT FOR THAT SINGLE RESPONSE WORKING TO THE ANSWER, THEN WE ARE INTRODUCING RISK AT ITS BEST, BECAUSE THIS IS JUST A MONOPOLY ONE PERSON AND JUST ACCEPTED, REVIEWED, ACCEPTED. WHAT I WOULD HAVE SUGGESTED FOR US NOT TO MISS CRITICAL OPPORTUNITIES IN A PROCESS LIKE THIS, BECAUSE I'M FAULTING THE PROCESS ALREADY, NOT TO MISS A CRITICAL OPPORTUNITY LIKE THIS, I WOULDN'T HAVE SUGGESTED THAT TCAD WOULDN'T HAVE EXTENDED THE PERIOD OF ADVERTISEMENT BEYOND THE CLOSING PERIOD OF SEPTEMBER 25. YOU'D HAVE ADDED MORE WEEKS TO IT SO THAT TO ALLOW FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, TO BE PART OF THIS PROCESS. I'M NOT COMFORTABLE THAT. I'M SORRY. I MAY NOT BUY EVERYBODY'S IDEA, BUT THIS IS VERY FUNDAMENTAL TO ME. MAYBE AS AN ADMINISTRATOR, I'M NOT COMFORTABLE EVEN ON AN INTERVIEW PANEL, YOU DO NOT JUST CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW JUST FOR ONE PERSON, MUST HAVE TWO, THREE PEOPLE ON THAT THAT APPLY. SO IN THIS CASE, I AM SUGGESTING THAT THIS ONE RESPONSE AND I SUGGEST SHOULD BE STEPPED DOWN. LET THERE BE AN EXTENSION OF THE ADVERTISEMENT, BUT IF THE BOARD CHOOSES TO OVERRULE THAT, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM, BUT LET IT BE ON RECORD THAT THE PROCESS ONE IS NOT TRANSPARENT TO ME. THERE'S LACK OF COMPETITION, AND THERE'S BIAS, ALREADY, A POTENTIAL HIGH LEVEL BIAS FOR ONE RESPONSE. LEANA MANN: I WOULD DISAGREE. SO AI AND APPRAISAL IS A VERY NEW CONCEPT. THERE AREN'T COMPANIES DOING THIS. WE'RE NOT DOING AN RFQ FOR AN APPRAISAL, A LICENSE FEE APPRAISAL TO DO LAND APPRAISALS. IF WE WERE DOING THAT, WE'D HAVE 1000S OF RESPONDENTS. WE'RE LOOKING FOR A VERY SPECIFIC, AUTOMATED WAY TO CONSISTENTLY APPRAISE LAND. AND THERE'S ONE OR TWO COMPANIES IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY THAT DO THAT RIGHT NOW. I CAN'T I WOULD PROBABLY BET MONEY ON IT THAT IF WE EXTENDED IT, WE WOULDN'T GET ANY OTHER RESPONSES. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: JUST ONE THE WHOLE COUNTRY? LEANA MANN: I'VE SEEN TWO AT A INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: REALLY? LEANA MANN: THAT'S IT. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: PLEASE. I THINK, I THINK IF I'M ALLOWED, I WILL MAKE FURTHER RESEARCH ON THIS. I WANT TO CONTEST IT THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO, BECAUSE I CAN'T, I CAN'T BE SEATED THERE FOR JUST A SINGLE RESPONSE FOR REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR LAND EVALUATION SERVICES AND THE WHOLE OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WE JUST HAVE TWO? LEANA MANN: THAT DO AI MACHINE LEARNING FOR APPRAISAL. JAMES VALADEZ: ACTUALLY, I HAVE A QUESTION. YOU SAID THAT THERE WAS NINE DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES THAT THEY CAN USE WITHIN THE SYSTEM. CAN YOU SPEAK TO I DON'T. I THINK YOU SPOKE TO THE WORKLOAD THAT WOULD BE CREATED IF WE DIDN'T GO THIS ROUTE THE STAFFING NEEDS. BUT CAN YOU SPEAK TO POTENTIALLY, THE BLIND SPOTS, OR, YOU KNOW, ANY SORT OF BENEFIT TO THE ACCURACY THAT COULD BE DERIVED FROM THIS JUST TREND SPOTTING FOR OUR STAFF? LEANA MANN: I CAN, BUT IT MAY BE MORE BENEFICIAL IF I HAVE THE COMPANY COME IN AND GIVE YOU ALL A PRESENTATION ON WHAT THEIR PROCESS IS. I'M NOT AN AI EXPERT, AND SO I THINK THAT MIGHT BE MORE HELPFUL IF Y'ALL WANT TO HEAR WHAT THEIR PROCESS IS. JAMES VALADEZ: I JUST THINK WITH THAT DEGREE OF DATA AND OPENING UP THAT BANDWIDTH FROM STAFF. IT VERY WELL COULD LEAD TO MORE [01:25:02] CONSISTENCY WITHIN THE OVERALL PRICING STRUCTURE, NEIGHBORHOOD TO NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I THINK WOULD BE WORTH ENTERTAINING. BUT I THINK M.S CONLEY HAD A QUESTION. NICOLE CONLEY: NO, I JUST HAD A COMMENT. I JUST WANTED TO QUESTION. THIS WAS AN OPEN SOLICITATION, SO THERE WAS COMPETITION IN THE PUBLIC THEY WERE NOTIFIED OF THE POSTING OF THE SOLICITATION. LEANA MANN: THAT'S CORRECT. JAMES VALADEZ: THE OTHER THING I HAD ON THAT I JUST WANTED TO NICOLE CONLEY: AND SO IT WAS COMPETITIVELY BID AND PROPOSED. I ALSO WANT TO ASK, SO THIS IS A DATA POINT I WOULD FEEL, I WOULD FEEL RELUCTANT IF THE THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM DIDN'T HAVE FOLLOW UP ON WAS THAT I THINK THIS IS ONE THING THAT I THINK ACCESS TO THIS DATA POINT AND SORT OF BEING ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A HOLISTIC PROPOSAL IN TERMS OF VALUATION OF ALL PROPERTY YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS SORT OF A NUANCED TECHNOLOGY, AND NOT MANY PROVIDERS MAY OFFER AI. THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW TO LEVERAGE AI AND TO TO INFORM OUR WORK. AGAIN, I SEE THIS AS A ROBUST DATA POINT THAT STAFF SHOULD HAVE AVAILABLE TO THEM WHEN THEY'RE DISCERNING PROPERTY VALUATIONS. I HAVE NO PROBLEM MOVING FORWARD WITH THE RECOMMENDATION. THE DISTRICT HAS DONE VERY WELL OVER THE NUMBER OF YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, IS THAT WE'VE BEEN FRONT FACING AND FRONT LOOKING WITH REGARD TO TECHNOLOGY AND GIVING OUR STAFF THOSE TOOLS TO SUCCEED. AND SO I THINK THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OR EXTENSION OF THAT. I THINK DICK, YOU HAD A QUESTION. JIE LI: YES, YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO HAVE A I HAVE A QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION SLASH COMMENT. I THINK THAT MISS CARTWRIGHT RESTATED MY QUESTION VERY WELL, BECAUSE IN CERTAIN REGENTRIFIED AREAS YOU WOULD SEE, LET'S SAY, IF YOU HAVE THE LAND VALUE APPRAISED A CERTAIN WAY, AND REALLY, PEOPLE ARE BUYING IT AS A TEAR DOWN. SO THEN THAT SEEMS TO SUGGEST THAT THERE'S NOT MUCH VALUE IN THE IMPROVEMENT SO, BUT YOU DERIVE ANOTHER SET OF VALUES THROUGH THE RECENT SALES NUMBERS AND SO FORTH. AND YET, IF YOU DO A SEPARATE SET OF VALUATION ON THE LAND VALUE, YOU HAVE TO ADD SOMETHING ON TO THE IMPROVEMENT. WOULD THERE BE A POTENTIAL RISK OF OVERVALUING THAT VERSUS THE POTENTIAL SALES VALUE FOR THAT KIND OF PROPERTY OWNERS, WHO TYPICALLY TEND TO BE PROBABLY HAVE OLDER PROPERTIES AND SO FORTH, POSSIBLY OLDER HOMEOWNERS AND SO FORTH. SO THAT'S THE REASON THAT I FELT LIKE IF, WELL, I GUESS, LET'S START WITH THAT PART. DOES THAT PRESENT A RISK FOR AND LEANA MANN: IF WE ONLY LOOKED AT ONE APPROACH TO VALUING A PROPERTY, YES, BUT IN THAT SCENARIO, THE MARKET IS GOING TO DICTATE HOW TO VALUE IT. SO THE MARKET'S GOING TO TELL US THAT THERE WERE FIVE OTHER PROPERTIES THAT SOLD AND THE IMPROVEMENT WAS KNOCKED DOWN. SO THAT TELLS US THAT'S ALL LAND VALUE. AND SO THE MARKET IS DICTATING HOW IT'S VALUED. LEANA MANN: YES, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO GIVE YOU AN JIE LI: RIGHT, RIGHT? SO THAT THAT'S RIGHT. IN THAT CASE, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THEN MAYBE WE CAN KIND OF SAVE THE TROUBLE OF DOING A SEPARATE LAND VALUE, OR WITH IN THAT CASE, YOU WOULD LITERALLY PUT THIS IS THE WHOLE PROPERTY VALUE WITH THE LAND VALUE, AND YOU PUT ZERO ON THE IMPROVEMENT. WOULD THAT HAPPEN? OH, OKAY, ARE THERE CASES THAT MAKES SENSE, AND IT SEEMS TO ME, NOW, OBVIOUSLY, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY AND SO FORTH. I WONDER IF THE SUBSCRIPTION FEE WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IF YOU ONLY VALUE THE VACANT LAND, BECAUSE, ADEQUATE APPROACH TO CONSISTENCY AND EQUITY AMONGST THE COUNTY. I LIKE FOR THE BUILD PROPERTIES, LIKE I SAID, WE USE MAINLY SALES VALUE ANYWAYS, THEN, AND WE HAVE PRETTY GOOD VIEW ON THE IMPROVEMENT, YOU CAN TOTALLY BACK INTO THE LAND VALUE. SO I AM JUST WONDERING, TRYING TO FIGURE A WAY THAT IF WE ONLY NEED TO DO THE EMPTY LAND OR VACANT LAND VALUATION THROUGH A SUBSCRIPTION, WOULD A SUBSCRIPTION, SUBSCRIPTIONS FEE BE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER, AND WOULD ALSO LOWER A LOT OF THE THE MANPOWER. THINK IF PART OF THE BENEFIT OF USING MACHINE LEARNING IS THAT EVERYONE GETS CONSISTENCY, AND SO SOMEONE WHO HAS AN IMPROVED PROPERTY IS TREATED THEIR LAND IS TREATED THE SAME WAY AS SOMEBODY ON THE EAST SIDE WITH 10 ACRES. IT MAY BE A DIFFERENT VALUATION METHOD, BUT EVERYONE WHO'S IN THOSE SAME GROUPS OF PROPERTIES IS ARE TREATED EQUITABLY, WHICH WE DON'T HAVE RIGHT NOW. JAMES VALADEZ: QUESTION. JIE LI: THAT'S TRUE. DUSTIN BANKS: COMMENT, SO I I THINK THE THING TO FOCUS ON IS [01:30:03] LAND VALUATION ISSUE AND TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT. AND THE ANSWER THAT QUESTION IS, YES, I JUST HAD, I JUST HAD LAWSUITS THAT SETTLED WHERE THERE'S $8,000 LOTS THAT GOT DECIDED BY THE ARB DUE TO UNIFORMITY WITH OTHER LOTS THAT WERE SURROUNDING IT ON BASICALLY LAKEFRONT PROPERTY, $8,000 LOTS. AND SO THERE'S THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE. THERE'S MANY EXAMPLES TO BE HAD. AND SO IT'S EXTREMELY COMPLICATED, AS YOU'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT GENTRIFICATION AREAS, COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, RESIDENTIAL. AND SO WHAT THE STAFF HAS DONE IN THE MEETINGS I'VE BEEN IN AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED THERE ARE ISSUES AND THERE IS A NEED TO PROVIDE A GREATER ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT FOR LAND VALUATION. AND IN DOING SO, I THINK WE'RE SEEKING THIS COMPANY TO HELP US IN AID US IN DOING SO. AND SO THIS IS A SOLUTION THAT WE'RE SEEKING TO TRY TO HELP WITH THAT PROBLEM THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY FACING AT TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT. LEANA MANN: PART OF OUR ANNUAL REVIEW IS TO IDENTIFY THINGS THAT WE COULD DO BETTER. THIS WAS IDENTIFIED BY ALL APPRAISAL DEPARTMENTS AS AN AREA THAT NEEDED WORK, AND SO INSTEAD OF ADDING 15 STAFF MEMBERS FOR A PROJECT LIKE THIS, WE'RE GOING TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. AGAIN, IF THE DATA SET COMES BACK AND IT'S NOT GOOD AND WE DON'T AGREE, AS APPRAISERS THAT THE VALUE IS GOOD, THEN WE'RE NOT GOING TO USE THAT DATA JIE LI: SO I CAN JUST ONE QUICK THING, NO, NO, I THINK IT'S POINT. GREAT THAT YOU USE TECHNOLOGY. I'M NOT, I THINK, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THIS IS NOT GOOD. I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT YOU USE TECHNOLOGY. IN FACT, IT'S A PROBABLY THE WAY TO GO AND GOING FORWARD. AND THE QUESTION I HAD WAS THAT MAYBE JUST TO VALUE THE VACANT LANDS, BECAUSE THE OTHER PROPERTY, THE LAND VALUE IS SOMEHOW YOU BACK INTO IT SOMEHOW. ANYWAYS, EVEN IF YOU HAVE THIS DATA, IT'S NOT GOING TO, I MEAN, YOU WILL GET SOME VISIBILITY. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I THINK THAT IT'S IT'S QUITE A BIT OF WORK. IF WE CAN LOWER THE SUBSCRIPTION BY ONLY DOING ON THE VACANT LAND, THAT WILL BE THE IDEAL WORLD. I HOPE I'M BEING CLEAR HERE. BUT YEAH, I AGREE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY APPROACH. JAMES VALADEZ: DICK, YOU HAD A QUESTION. DICK LAVINE: YEAH, MY, MY ORIGINAL QUESTION WAS, HOW OFTEN YOU WOULD DO THIS STUDY? BUT NOW I SEE IT'S AN ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FEE, SO IT'S LIKE A CONTINUOUS AND ONCE WE LOCK IN WITH THIS VENDOR, WHICH IS ONE OF ONLY TWO DOING IT, THAT'S GOING TO BE OUR VENDOR FOR A WHILE, RIGHT? LEANA MANN: NO, NOT NECESSARILY. WELL, WE GET THE DATA BACK IN BOTH MULTIPLE METHODS. SO WE GET IT IN EXCEL. WE GET IT AS PART OF OUR CAMA IMPORT, SO WE'LL HAVE THE DATA THAT IS DERIVED FROM IT. SO IF OTHER PLAYERS COME INTO THE THIS INDUSTRY, WE CAN GIVE THEM THE DATA SET TO PUT INTO THEIR MACHINE. IT'S OUR DATA. DICK LAVINE: WELL, WELL, THAT'S WHAT I WAS GETTING TO IS AI IS JUST CHANGING IT, YOU KNOW, WARP SPEED. SO YOU HAVE NO IDEA TWO YEARS FROM NOW, THERE MIGHT BE FOUR PROVIDERS, OR THEY MAY BE DOING IT IN A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT OR ACCURATE MANNER. SO IF WE DO THIS NOW, ARE WE LOCKING OUR WAY IN, OR IS THIS? IS IT A YEAR BY YEAR? SO WE CAN RE EXAMINE BOTH THEIR RESULTS AND WHAT OTHER OPTIONS MIGHT BE AVAILABLE. LEANA MANN: THIS IS A ONE YEAR PROJECT FOR NOW, AND PART OF OUR JOB AS A LEADERSHIP TEAM IS WHEN WE HAVE THESE ANNUAL CONFERENCES THAT WE ARE WE ARE SPEAKING WITH EVERY VENDOR IN THAT VENDOR ROOM TO SEE WHAT'S NEW AND UPCOMING. AND IF OTHER PLAYERS COME INTO THE MARKET SPACE, WE'LL TALK TO THEM AND SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING DIFFERENTLY. AND MAYBE A YEAR FROM NOW, THERE IS A BETTER VENDOR, AND THAT'S OKAY, WE CAN REVISIT IT FOR NEXT APPRAISAL CYCLE AND GO FROM THERE. DICK LAVINE: SO IT'S BEING PROPOSED AS A ONE YEAR CONTRACT? LEANA MANN: CORRECT. DICK LAVINE: BECAUSE WHEN IT SAID ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, IT MADE IT SOUND LIKE, YOU KNOW, SUBSCRIBING TO A, I WAS GOING TO SAY MAGAZINE. THAT'S KIND OF OLD FASHIONED, SUBSCRIBING TO A SUBSTACK, AND YOU HAVE TO RENEW IT EVERY YEAR. JAMES VALADEZ: WE HAD A QUESTION FROM DANIEL, AND THEN DR O AFTER DANIEL. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I HAVE MY HEAD WRAPPED AROUND ALL THIS. SO THE ORIGINAL CONCERN IS THAT THERE WAS SOME INEQUITY, OR POTENTIAL INEQUITY, AMONGST LAND VALUATION IN TRAVIS COUNTY, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS BOTH FOR DEVELOPED PROPERTY AND FOR POTENTIALLY UNDEVELOPED PROPERTY THAT YOU KNOW. AND THE CONCERN WAS THAT THERE WAS MAYBE A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, AM IACCURATE SO FAR? OKAY, LEANA MANN: YES. SHENGHAO WANG: AND SO THIS AI METHODOLOGY WOULD BE USED TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF ANOTHER POINT IN THE TRIANGULATION FOR THAT LAND VALUE, PRIMARILY. AND THIS SOMETHING I WANT JUST, YOU KNOW, TELL ME IF I MISUNDERSTOOD. YOU KNOW, WHEN SOMEONE COMES INTO AN ARB HEARING AND SAYS, HEY, YOU PUT 500,000 ON THE PROPERTY ON THE ON THE IMPROVEMENT $500,000 [01:35:02] ON THE LAND. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS DOESN'T NEVER, DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME. ONE MAJOR USE CASE FOR THE DATA WE WOULD BE RECEIVING IS TO EXPLAIN TO THEM HOW WE GOT WHY THAT 500,000 FOR THE LAND MAKES SENSE. OR MAYBE WE GET THIS DATA AND SAY, OH, MAYBE IT SHOULD BE 400 OR 600,000. MY MY, I GUESS MY FIRST QUESTION IS, ARE WE GOING TO BE USING THIS FOR JUST TO ACTUALLY SET THE VALUE FOR UNDEVELOPED LAND? LEANA MANN: IT'S ONE DATA POINT. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY. LEANA MANN: SO IT WON'T BE THE ONLY THING USED TO HELP SET THE VALUE. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY. AND IT MIGHT WHEN YOU SAID THERE WERE NINE METHODOLOGIES OR WHATEVER INCLUDED IN THIS, SO YOU MIGHT GET NINE DIFFERENT VALUES OUT OF IT, OKAY? AND THEN YOU, YOU KNOW, DO SOME LEANA MANN: THERE'S AN ALGORITHM BASED ON THE DIFFERENT MARKET AREAS. SHENGHAO WANG: SURE. SO, SO, YOU KNOW, AND THEN YOU EXERCISE SOME PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOCAL AREA OR WHATEVER TO KIND OF INTERPRET WHATEVER DATA YOU GET BACK, OKAY, AND THEN, AND SO THAT WAS THE CONCERN IS THAT, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GETTING A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT LAND VALUES, AND WE'D LIKE TO EXPLAIN THIS BETTER AND MAYBE IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF SOME OF OUR VALUATIONS. AND THEN YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS WOULD IF YOU WERE TO DO IT BY, YOU KNOW, THE OLD FASHIONED WAY WITH WITH HUMANS, IT WOULD BE 15 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES LEANA MANN: TO REALLY ANALYZE LAND AND USE APPRAISER, APPRAISER JUDGMENT AND METHODOLOGIES TO DETERMINE THE LAND VALUE, WE WOULD NEED PROBABLY 15 APPRAISERS TO DO THAT. SHENGHAO WANG: AND JUST BALLPARK WHAT'S THE SALARY OF EACH PERSON SO WE GET A COST ESTIMATE. LEANA MANN: SALARY AND BENEFITS WOULD PROBABLY BE ABOUT $110,000. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT 110 TIMES 15. SO IT'S A MILLION POINT 1.6 5 MILLION, GIVE OR TAKE. AND SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO A $200,000 KIND OF INVESTMENT TO, YOU KNOW, SEE IF THIS PANS OUT, AND SEE IF THIS IS WORTH, WORTH GO STICKING, STICKING WITH AND GOING FORWARD. OKAY, ALL RIGHT, NOW THAT I JUST THANK YOU FOR CONFIRMING MY UNDERSTANDING, AND HOPEFULLY THIS HELPS SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS UNDERSTAND WHAT THE MOTIVATION AND REASONING BEHIND THIS WAS, THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU'VE SAID SOME ASPECT I WANT TO SAY, BUT I OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: YEAH, THANK YOU. JUST WANT TO BE CLARIFIED ABOUT THIS. AI, YOUR THE AI, YOU SAY YOU HAVE JUST TWO IN IN THE US, CORRECT? LEANA MANN: THAT DOES APPRAISAL, EVALUATION, OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: TWO, CORRECT, JUST TWO. GOOD. LEANA MANN: THAT I'M AWARE OF YES. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: THAT YOU ARE AWARE? OH, OKAY, GOOD. THANK YOU. NOW, ARE YOU AWARE OF ANOTHER, SOME OTHER BODIES WHO ARE AI SPECIFIED COMPLY TO THE METHODOLOGY ALSO LIKE PROPELLER ARROW IN THE US? LEANA MANN: NO, BUT I THINK YOU'RE SO YES, THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT COULD DEVELOP AN AI MODEL TO VALUE PROPERTIES. THERE ARE NOT COMPANIES THAT ALREADY HAVE NINE MODELS DEVELOPED WHERE WE CAN PLUG IN DATA AND GET AN OUTCOME IN THREE MONTHS. I MEAN, WE WILL BE SENDING NOTICES IN FOUR MONTHS. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: OKAY, SO I'M SATISFIED NINE MODELS. I'M SATISFIED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU'VE CLEARED MY DOUBTS. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: THANK YOU. JIE LI: I KNOW I'M GETTING A LOT OF AIR TIME TODAY. BUT LIKE I SAID, I TOTALLY AGREE THAT TECHNOLOGY IS THE WAY TO GO. I DID THE CALCULATION 15 EMPLOYEES THAT WOULD COST A LOT MORE THAN THIS. SO THIS KUDOS TO YOU WONDERFUL. THE ONLY THING I WAS, YOU KNOW, SUGGESTING IS THAT JUST MAYBE WE CAN LOOK AT THE ONLY THE VACANT LAND, AS OPPOSED TO DOING EVERYTHING, HOPEFULLY THAT WOULD DECREASE THE SUBSCRIPTION VALUE TOO. MAYBE TESTING FOR ONE YEAR AND SEE IF THEIR NUMBER SEEMS TO COME BACK AS MAKES SENSE, BEFORE WE EXPANDING IT TO EVERYTHING. BECAUSE MY ONLY CONCERN, BECAUSE YOU USE DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES TO VALUE THE PROPERTIES AND TO COME UP WITH A NUMBER, WHICH IS GREAT WAY TO DO IT, BUT I THINK PROPERTY OWNERS ARE GOING TO COME IN AND SAY THAT, LOOK MY NEIGHBOR. SO THIS WERE VERY SIMILAR HOMES, AND THEY SOLD IT AT TEAR DOWN VALUE. SO IS OUR HOME. YOU VALUE OUR LAND AT THIS VALUE AND WHATNOT. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HIGHER. THAT'S WHY WE'RE PROTESTING. WE JUST WANTED KIND OF, WE DON'T NEED TO. YOU KNOW, IF, THAT'S IF THE ULTIMATELY WE'RE GOING TO VALUE IT AT TEAR DOWN, THEN SEEMS LIKE YOU KNOW THE LAND VALUE IN THIS, IN CASES LIKE THIS, DON'T NECESSARILY PROVIDE A LOT OF INFORMATION. SO THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING. LEANA MANN: WELL, I THINK IF YOU ONLY PUT UNDEVELOPED PROPERTY INTO THE MODEL, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF THE DATA POINTS THAT ARE THAT THE MARKET [01:40:03] TELLS US ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE DATA POINTS ON AN UNDEVELOPED PIECE OF PROPERTY ARE GOING TO BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM SOMETHING ON THE EAST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN. JIE LI: SO YOU WANT MORE DATA JAMES VALADEZ: COMMENT FROM MS. CONLEY NICOLE CONLEY: RIGHT, YES. CAN I SUGGEST THAT WE TALK ABOUT THIS, SO ALL DUE RESPECT TO MY COLLEAGUES TRYING TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE AT A BOARD GOVERNANCE AREA, THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO IS DIRECT STAFF ON HOW TO WHAT METHODOLOGIES TO UTILIZE WHEN APPRAISING PROPERTIES. I THINK THAT IS EXTENDS BEYOND THE SCOPE OF GOVERNANCE. CERTAINLY I'M HAPPY TO SUGGEST APPROACHES, AND I THINK TECHNOLOGY AND UTILIZING DATA SOURCES AND REPOSITORIES ARE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF ASSESSING VALUE. BUT I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, CAUTION MY COLLEAGUES ON, YOU KNOW, DIRECTING STAFF AND BEING SPECIFIC ABOUT THE WAYS THAT THEY SHOULD CONDUCT THEIR WORK. AND MAYBE WE TALK ABOUT OVERALL APPROACHES, METHODOLOGIES AND SORT OF A BODY OF WORK AT THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT THAT WE CAN HELP SHAPE AND INFORM AND SO I WOULD OFFER THAT, BUT I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THE POINT OF SPECIFICS ABOUT METHODOLOGIES AND CALCULATIONS AS AS IT RELATES TO SPECIFIC TYPES OF PROPERTIES. I THINK THAT WE SHOULD MAYBE LOOK AT AN OVERALL APPROACH AND METHODOLOGIES AND THEN WEIGH IN ON THOSE DECISIONS. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: I THINK IN A BOARD, I THINK MISTER CHAIRMAN, IN A BOARD, BOARD MEMBERS ARE FREE TO GET INTO ISSUES THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH. YOU KNOW, METHODOLOGY DIFFERS, APPROACH DIFFERS ON WHATEVER BE ISSUES AS IT WERE, AND THERE'S A WAY WE RESPOND TO ISSUES, AND WE SHOULD NOT BE TELE GUIDED. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPRESS WHATEVER WE FEEL WE KNOW, BECAUSE WE ARE FROM DIFFERENT DISCIPLINE. AND THEN WE SHOULD GO TO YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND EXPRESS OURSELVES YOU KNOW, COMFORTABLY JAMES VALADEZ: DOES ANYBODY ELSE NEED TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES? SHENGHAO WANG: I MOTION TO APPROVE THIS CONTRACT. JAMES VALADEZ: MOVED BY DANIEL. SECONDED BY VIVEK. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I OPPOSE. JAMES VALADEZ: OPPOSING MISS CARTWRIGHT, MISS LI AND DR. O. ALL OTHERS IN FAVOR. THAT MOTION PASSES. WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5J OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH CURRENT AUDITOR, EIDE BAILLY, LP FOR AUDIT SERVICES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024 AND 2025. LEANA MANN: AND THIS IS OUR CURRENT AUDITOR, EIDE BAILLY. OUR FINANCE POLICY ALLOWS US TO CONTRACT WITH THEM FOR UP TO SIX CONSECUTIVE AUDITS. WE HAVE DONE FOUR. SO I'M PROPOSING TO EXTEND THEIR AUDIT SERVICES CONTRACT FOR TAX YEAR FISCAL YEARS, 24 AND 25 AND THE COSTS ARE PROVIDED THERE FOR YOU. JAMES VALADEZ: AND GO AHEAD. MS. CONLEY. NICOLE CONLEY: MS. MANN, JUST REMIND ME THE SIX YEAR I KNOW WE RENEW EVERY SIX YEARS. IS THAT STATUTORY REQUIRED? OR IS THAT JUST OUR OUR PRACTICE? LEANA MANN: THAT'S JUST OUR FINANCE POLICY THAT REQUIRES THAT? NICOLE CONLEY: THANK YOU. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, NICOLE CONLEY: MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE APPROVAL WITH EXTENSION OF THE AUDIT CONTRACT. JAMES VALADEZ: IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MISS CONLEY, SECONDED BY DR O. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. WE'LL TAKE A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM 5K OF OUR REGULAR AGENDA, WHICH IS DISCUSSION ON CYBER SECURITY PRACTICES AT TRAVIS CAD. WE WILL TAKE 5K AS WELL AS 5L AND 5M INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. THOSE ITEMS, AGAIN, ARE DISCUSSION ON CYBER SECURITY PRACTICES AT TRAVIS CAD DISCUSSION WITH TCAD'S IN HOUSE COUNSEL AND OUTSIDE COUNSEL CONCERNING TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT'S AUTHORITY TO FILE COUNTER CLAIMS IN PENDING AND ANTICIPATED CHAPTER 42 LAWSUITS. 5M IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON LITIGATION AND APPEALS RELATED DEPENDING AND ANTICIPATED LAWSUITS. ON 5K WILL BE CITING 551, POINT 076 OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, AND THEN 5L WILL BE 551, POINT 071, OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, AND 5M WILL BE 551071 OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO TAKE THOSE ITEMS AS PRESENTED INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: I MOVE. JAMES VALADEZ: IT'S BEEN MOVED BY DOCTOR O, SECONDED BY BLANCA. THE TIME IS 1:04 I GUESS WE NEED THEM. WE NEED A VOTE TO GO TO EXECUTIVE SESSION. SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, ALL THOSE OPPOSED, THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY AT 1:04 THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OFDIRECTORS [02:50:28] SO THE TIME IS 2:10 AND THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL [02:50:32] DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS BACK FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION. WE [02:50:36] DID NOT DISCUSS 5K IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, AND UNDER FUTURE AGENDA [02:50:41] ITEMS, I WILL ASK THAT THAT BE INCLUDED IN A FUTURE MEETING. [02:50:46] WE HAVE NO ACTION ON 5L OR 5M SO WE WILL MOVE ON TO 5N OF OUR [02:50:51] REGULAR AGENDA WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION [02:50:56] TO ADD ITEMS TO FUTURE AGENDAS I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED THAT WILL [6. Adjourn] [02:51:01] INCLUDE DISCUSSION ON CYBER SECURITY PRACTICES AT TRAVIS CAD [02:51:06] ON A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM. DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER ITEMS [02:51:11] THAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE APPEAR ON A FUTUREMEETING? OKAY, [02:51:15] LEANA MANN: WE NEED TO OUR END OF YOUR BUDGET AMENDMENT ON THE [02:51:18] DECEMBER MEETING. THE END OF YOUR BUDGET AMENDMENT. [02:51:22] JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, SO ON DECEMBER IS PROBABLY WHERE WE'RE [02:51:25] LOOKING. WE'LL MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE THAT END OF YOUR BUDGET AMENDMENT. AND THEN, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: JUST AS A REMINDER, DO WE TAKE UP THE ARB? WE TAKE UP THE ARB MEMBERS AT THE NEXT MEETING? JAMES VALADEZ: YEAH, I WAS GONNA ASK, LEANA MANN: TYPICALLY WE DO, AND MAYBE THE SUBCOMMITTEE, IF THEY'VE DONE THEIR INTERVIEWS, THEN WE COULD MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE ONES YOU ARE APPOINTING AT THAT TIME. SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, LEANA MANN: AND KEEP INTERVIEWING AFTER THAT, RIGHT? SHENGHAO WANG: SO DO WE NEED TO PUT A WHAT WE HAVE TRIED TO PUT ALL THE INTERVIEWS BEFORE OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING SO THAT WE CAN MAKE IT WE CAN DO IT ALL AT ONCE. JAMES VALADEZ: I THINK YOU'LL BE SAFELY INSIDE. NORMALLY, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT A DECEMBER MEETING FOR END OF YEAR, AND THEN I THINK WE'RE SCHEDULED IN NOVEMBER FOR THE INTERVIEWS. IS THAT CORRECT? SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, WE SCHEDULED ALL, YEAH, BECAUSE WE PUT THE CHAIR AND SECRETARY FIRST. WE DO IT FOR THIS SO THEY HAVE TIME SOME, SOME TRANSITION PERIOD. AND THEN I BELIEVE ALL OF THEINTERVIEW DATES FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEE FOR THE ARB INTERVIEWS ARE IN NOVEMBER. LEANA MANN: YOUR FINAL DAY IS THE FIFTH. SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, OKAY, DECEMBER 5. BUT WE WERE, WE ARE EXPECTING TO HAVE THE LAST INTERVIEWS BOARD MEETING THE WEEK OF THE DECEMBER 9. IS THAT RIGHT? JAMES VALADEZ: SOMETIME IN DECEMBER. BUT I THINK RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST MAKING SURE THAT ALL THIS, SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, DECEMBER 5, SO WE TRY TO PUT FRONT OF THEM ALL SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A FULL SLATE TO PRESENT TO THE FULL BOARD. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, SHENGHAO WANG: SO DO WE NEED TO ADD THAT AS AN AGENDA ITEM? JAMES VALADEZ: THAT WILL APPEAR ON THE DECEMBER MEETING? SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, JAMES VALADEZ: YES. I THINK WE'RE ABOUT, I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO DO THAT. NICOLE CONLEY: DO WE HAVE TO HAVE ANYTHING ON METHODOLOGIES OR APPROACHES, GIVEN OUR EARLIER DISCUSSIONS, OR, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S A FUTURE DATE OF A DIFFERENT LEANA MANN: ONCE WE DO THE WORK WITH THE VENDOR AND WE HAVE SOME DATA POINTS WE CAN PRESENT, I'LL HAVE THE VENDOR COME AND DO A PRESENTATION ON THE OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT. THAT'LL LIKELY BE FEBRUARY. JAMES VALADEZ: IN THE PAST, WE'VE DONE SECOND TUESDAYS THAT WOULD BE DECEMBER 10. DOES THAT WORK? SHENGHAO WANG: SO BRUCE IS SAYING NO ON DECEMBER 10. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, SO TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY OR DUTY, OKAY, SO COULD WE DO THURSDAY? OKAY WOULD THE 12TH WORK? DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: NOT FOR ME. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: BUT I COULD DO IT MONDAY. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY? MONDAY THE NINTH, MONDAY THE NINTH, OR WEDNESDAY THE 11TH, EITHER ONE OF THOSE WORK FOR WEDNESDAY THE 11TH? OKAY, SHENGHAO WANG: THERE'S A COUPLE MEMBERS WHO AREN'T HERE, SO MAYBE WE'LL JUST DO THE NORMAL SCHEDULING POLL. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, SHENGHAO WANG: ALL RIGHT. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, SEND OUT A POLL. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: WE COULD HAVE A CHRISTMAS MEETING. JAMES VALADEZ: YEAH, WE COULD DO IT THAT NEXT WEEK TO SOME WEEKS FOR THE SOME OPTIONS ON THE 16TH THROUGH THE 20TH. WE DO THAT EITHER. OKAY, THE ONLY OTHER ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS 5O WHICH IS ADJOURNMENT. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? OSEZUA EHIYAMEN: I MOVE. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, MOVED BY DR O. SECOND, SECONDED BY DANIEL. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, AYE, ALL THOSE OPPOSED. THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY AT 2:14 THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT'S BOARD OF DIRECTOR STANDS ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.