[00:18:04] JAMES VALADEZ: GOOD MORNING, I'D LIKE TO CALL THE TRAVIS CENTRAL [1. Call to Order] [00:18:06] APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO ORDER. THE TIME IS [00:18:09] 11:38 ON THURSDAY, MAY 29 2025. WE'RE CONDUCTING THIS WORK [00:18:13] SESSION AT TCAD HEADQUARTERS LOCATED AT 850 EAST ANDERSON [2. Establishment of Quorum] LANE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND A QUORUM IS PRESENT. WE ARE ALSO PROVIDING THIS WORK SESSION THROUGH ONLINE BROADCAST AS COURTESY. THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS ITEM THREE CITIZENS [3. Citizens Communication] COMMUNICATION. CITIZENS WILL BEGIN WILL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD. WHETHER GIVING A COMPLAINT OR PRAISE, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE ASKED TO REFERENCE STAFF MEMBERS BY POSITION OR BY ABBREVIATED LAST NAME. WHILE CITIZENS MAY SPEAK ON ANY TOPIC THEY CHOOSE, THE BOARD CANNOT ACT OR COMMENT ON ANY SUBJECT NOT LISTED ON TODAY'S AGENDA. DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY? LEANA MANN: WE DO HAVE ONE PERSON REMOTELY -- JUDY GRACIE. JAMES VALADEZ: YEP, WE CAN HEAR YOU. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. OKAY, THANK YOU. MY NAME IS JUDY GRACIE, AND I HAVE LIVED IN ON LAKE TRAVIS FOR 40 YEARS, SO I KNOW THE LAKE WELL. I LIVE IN THE VILLAGE OF VALENTE, WHICH IS A VERY RURAL AREA, 600 PEOPLE THAT ARE WERE INCORPORATED, AND WE HAVE WINDY ROADS AND HAIRPIN TURNS, SO WE MIGHT BE KNOWN FOR MAYBE BEACHSIDE BILLINGS IN THAT SO I'M HERE TO DISCUSS THE SURPLUS LAKE FRONTAGE APPRAISAL THAT CAME IN AND REVALUED THE LOTS IN 2024 OKAY, SO, YOU KNOW, I GOT MY SEMI LOT WAS VALUED AT 700,000 AND WENT TO 4.4 MILLION. SO IN LOOKING AT OTHER PROPERTIES, I FOUND THAT A LOT THAT IS SEVEN TIMES MY SIZE WITH TWICE THE FRONTAGE WAS LESS THAN [00:20:01] JAMES VALADEZ: MISS GRACIE, ARE YOU WITH US? MINE. A LOT THAT WAS FOUR TIMES MY THREE TIMES MY SIZE, AND ONE AND A HALF TIMES MY FRONTAGE WAS LESS THAN ME. AND THEN A LOT THAT WAS THREE TIMES MY SIZE, WITH THREE TIMES THE FRONTAGE WAS LESS THAN ME. SO I STARTED, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE SURPLUS LIKE FRONTAGE, AND FOUND OUT THAT IT'S JUST AN A NUMBER THAT AFTER YOU HAVE SO MANY FEET OF FRONTAGE, THEN THEY CONSIDER IT A SURPLUS, BUT THEY'RE NOT CONSIDERING THE ACREAGE OF THE LOT, THE SIZE OF THE LOT. SO AS YOU SAID, I SAID I'VE GOT A LOT TRAVIS COUNTY TAXPAYER: YES, CAN YOU HEAR ME? THAT IS SEVEN TIMES BIGGER THAN ME, THAT IS LESS THAN ME WITH MORE FRONTAGE, TWICE MY FRONTAGE. SO THIS IS CERTAINLY UNEQUAL. THEN I STARTED JUST LOOKING FOR PROPERTIES, AND I'VE GOT THREE OF THEM HERE, AND THE DISCOUNTS THEY RECEIVED WERE NINE POINT 5,000,004 POINT 02,000,010 POINT 5 MILLION, WHERE MINE WAS 500,000 THE PRICE PER PER FOOT, MINE WAS $42 A SQUARE FOOT. THE ANOTHER ONE WAS SEVEN, $6.11 63 SO YOU KNOW, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET MY APPRAISAL OF MY LOT CORRECTED, AND IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. IT REALLY FEELS LIKE IT IS FOR ME. I'VE LOOKED FOR YOU KNOW, HOW ARE THEY DOING THIS? HOW IS THIS, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THIS WORK? SO THEN I STARTED GOING AROUND A LOT, JUST MISS GRACIE, I THINK THAT'S YOUR THREE MINUTES. LOOKING AT LOT SIZES THAT WERE EXACTLY MORE TO ME, MY FRONTAGE AND ALL THAT. TRAVIS COUNTY TAXPAYER: OKAY, ALL RIGHT, JAMES VALADEZ: I WAS JUST GONNA HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION FOR YOU. YOU STILL THERE? MISS GRACIE, TRAVIS COUNTY TAXPAYER: YES. JAMES VALADEZ: HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO HAVE AN ARB HEARING? TRAVIS COUNTY TAXPAYER: YES, I DID, AND HE BASICALLY LISTENED TO MY PRESENTATION AND SAID HE WOULD REVIEW IT, AND I'VE GOT $100,000 OFF OF MY FOUR POINT. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN INFORMAL HEARING. IS THAT? IS THAT RIGHT? TRAVIS COUNTY TAXPAYER: OH YES, OH YES. SORRY, THAT'S WHAT I'VE HAD SO FAR. SO I HAVE NOT HAD MY ARB HEARING YET. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY, DOES THAT CONCLUDE THE SPEAKERS TODAY? LEANA MANN: YES, IT DOES. JAMES VALADEZ: WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR OF OUR WORK [4. Work session on District budget preparation] SESSION, DISTRICT BUDGET PREPARATION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF ON FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET PRIORITIES, THE BOARD WILL NOT MAKE ANY FINANCIAL ANY FINAL DECISIONS REGARDING THE DISTRICT'S PROPOSED BUDGET THIS MEETING. LEANA MANN: SO WE WILL PRESENT WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING FOR THE 2026 BUDGET. OUR MAIN FOCUS IN THIS BUDGET IS GOING TO BE ON STAFFING. YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, WE FOCUSED ON TECHNOLOGY AND MADE ENHANCEMENTS TO OUR TECHNOLOGY AND REALLY LEVERAGED TECHNOLOGY, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE STILL NEED PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO DO OUR WORK, AND SO WE'RE FOCUSING ON STAFFING IN THIS BUDGET. SO THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS A 7.73% INCREASE, AND IT IS ADDING 15 ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBERS. KAT HARVEY: OKAY, SO WE'LL GO OVER THE STAFF MEMBERS, JUST AN OVERALL IN 2022 WE REQUESTED 28 AND WE RECEIVED 15 NEW EMPLOYEES. WE RECEIVED 10 IN 23 FIVE IN 24 AND SEVEN, JUST LAST YEAR. SO FOR 2026 WE ARE REQUESTING 15 NEW EMPLOYEES. AND IT'S NOT JUST ONE DEPARTMENT, IT'S ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS. THIS IS JUST TO MEET GROWING DEMANDS FOR THE DISTRICT. SO JUST TO GO OVER IN COMPARISON TO OTHER DISTRICTS, WE HAVE THE THIRD HIGHEST MARKET VALUE IN THE STATE AND THE SECOND LOWEST BUDGET AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL LEVY, WHICH BASICALLY MEANS WE'RE DOING MORE WITH LESS IN COMPARISON TO OTHER DISTRICTS. SO WE'LL GO OVER AN ADDITIONAL CAD COMPARISON. AS FAR AS LAWSUITS GO, TRAVIS CAD HAS THE SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF LAWSUITS BY COUNT AND BY VALUE UNDER PROTEST, AND OUR TOTAL VALUE COMPARED TO ALL THE OTHER DISTRICTS IS 17.76% OF VALUE THAT'S UNDER LAWSUIT AND. THESE ARE THE METRO DALLAS TARRANT, [00:25:01] AND BEXAR IN COMPARISON TO OURS, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: WHY DIDN'T YOU INCLUDE HARRIS? LEANA MANN: THEY REALLY SKEW THE COMPARISON. THEY'RE SO DIFFERENT. THEY'RE SO MUCH LARGER. I MEAN, THEY HAVE OVER 700 EMPLOYEES. THEY REALLY ARE IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN. AND DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I AGREE. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS CLEAR TO EVERYONE THAT HARRIS IS NOT HERE FOR FOR A REASON. COULD YOU GO BACK ONE SLIDE? YOU WENT THROUGH IT SO FAST. I'M SORRY. LEANA MANN: SORRY. NO NO WORRIES DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: HAVING LITTLE TROUBLE CATCHING UP HERE AND BACK. ONE MORE. OKAY, THANK YOU. COULD YOU GIVE ME JUST ONE MINUTE SURE KAT HARVEY: IT'S ALSO ON PAGE 30 OF THE BUDGET AS WELL. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY, SO IN ADMINISTRATION, YOU'RE BASICALLY BALANCING OUT YOUR CHANGE IN YOUR PERSONNEL ACCOUNT, BUT DURING THE CHIEF OF APPRAISAL AND THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF APPRAISAL AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, IS THAT CORRECT? LEANA MANN: THAT'S CORRECT, THE MAIN CHANGES IN TERMS OF STAFFING. SO WE'RE GOING TO ADD, WE'RE PROPOSING TO ADD A COMPLIANCE AND INTERNAL AUDIT GROUP. THEY WOULD HANDLE A LOT OF THE PROPERTY TAX ASSISTANCE DIVISION, MAP REVIEW, PVS STUDY, BUT ALSO AUDITING OUR RECORDS TO ENSURE CORRECTNESS. WE'VE FOUND A LOT OF MY NEW DETAILS THAT CAN BE UPDATED TO BETTER REFLECT THE APPRAISAL ROLL. HAVE A CORRECT APPRAISAL ROLL. SO THERE'S FIVE PEOPLE IN THAT COMPLIANCE AND INTERNAL AUDIT DIVISION. WE'RE ALSO PROPOSING TO BRING THE LAND APPRAISAL BACK IN HOUSE, WHICH WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT IN A MINUTE, AND THEN TWO ADDITIONAL RESIDENTIAL APPRAISERS DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND WHO'S BEEN DOING THE COMPLIANCE WORK NOW? LEANA MANN: IT'S BEEN A KIND OF ACROSS THE DISTRICT, WHICH IS WHAT'S BEEN AN ISSUE. SO RESIDENTIAL AUDITS THEIR RECORDS. I AUDIT SOME RECORDS BEFORE NOTICES GO OUT. SO IT'S IT'S A HODGEPODGE OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET UNIFORMITY, AND IT'S JUST NOT WORKING WELL. SO HAVING SOME A GROUP THAT'S FOCUSED ON THAT, I THINK WILL GIVE US MORE UNIFORMITY. JAMES VALADEZ: THANK YOU, MISS ISRAEL. CELIA ISRAEL: I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU THIS. THIS IS A CREATION OF A NEW AUDIT DIVISION. LEANA MANN: IT IS, CELIA ISRAEL: BUT AUDITING FUNCTIONS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING. THEY JUST HAVEN'T BEEN STRUCTURED WITHIN ITS OWN DIVISION. LEANA MANN: THAT'S CORRECT. YEAH, MOST OF THE AUDIT FUNCTIONS RIGHT NOW ARE HOUSED WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT. I DO SOME, OUR DEPUTIES DO SOME. WE HAVE CLERICAL STAFF THAT DOES SOME. SO JUST BRINGING THAT ALL TO ONE GROUP WITH A CENTRALIZED MANAGER WHO'S DIRECTING THOSE FUNCTIONS. CELIA ISRAEL: SO THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NOT, IT'S NOT ABOUT MOVING EXISTING STAFF. IT'S TAKING TASKS AWAY FROM SOME STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN DOING AUDITING TO HIRE A NEW ENTITY. I MEAN, HIRE, HIRE, HIRE NEW TO CREATE A NEW ENTITY. LEANA MANN: THAT'S CORRECT. CELIA ISRAEL: SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE, I GUESS I'M. I WAS ASKING A QUESTION ABOUT POSSIBLY COST SAVINGS, BUT IT'S, ARE THERE SOME STANDARDS ABOUT AUDITING THAT THAT YOU'RE MATCHING UP WITH THIS PROPOSAL? LEANA MANN: YES. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF AUDIT STANDARDS THAT ARE DEVELOPED BY THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE. SO EVERY TIME WE GO THROUGH A MAP REVIEW, THEY GIVE US A SET OF 80 OR 85 QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE TO DEVELOP REPORTS FOR, AND WE HAVE TO VERIFY WE'RE COMPLETING THOSE ACCURATELY. A LOT OF THAT WORK IS VERY IT INTENSIVE, SO A LOT OF QUERY WRITING, REPORT BUILDING, AND THERE'S VERY FEW PEOPLE WITHIN THE DISTRICT THAT HAVE THAT SKILL SET. SO IT FALLS ON THE, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY IT'S THE 8020 RULE YOU HAVE. YOU KNOW THAT 80% IS BEING DONE BY 20% OF PEOPLE, SO GIVING THEM A LITTLE RELIEF, ALLOWING THEM TO FOCUS BACK ON WHAT THEY WERE INITIALLY HIRED TO DO, AND MOVING THOSE FUNCTIONS TO A NEW SET OF EMPLOYEES. CELIA ISRAEL: IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE LIST ON PAGE 30, CAN YOU IDENTIFY? I THINK YOU MENTIONED IT AND I MISSED IT, WHICH ONES WOULD BE IN A NEW AUDITING ROLE? LEANA MANN: THERE WOULD BE ONE DIRECTOR OF THAT DEPARTMENT AND THEN THREE COMPLIANCE SPECIALISTS FOR A TOTAL OF FOUR EMPLOYEES. WE WOULD MOVE ONE IT STAFF MEMBER INTO THAT DIVISION FROM OUR CURRENT STAFFING. JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CONLEY NICOLE CONLEY: JUST TO CLARIFY, WE DON'T HAVE ANY OUTSTANDING AUDIT ISSUES, NOTIFICATION MANAGEMENT NOTES THAT WE'RE RESPONDING TO. THIS IS JUST TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR INTERNAL CONTROLS AND COMPLIANCE THAT WE'RE. YEAR THAT IS DISAGGREGATED, [00:30:02] LEANA MANN: THAT'S CORRECT. AND AGAIN, THESE ARE NOT FINANCIAL AUDIT ISSUES. THESE ARE INTERNAL APPRAISAL AUDITING FUNCTIONS. AND WE HAVE COMMENTS ON OUR MAP REVIEW LIKE WE DO EVERY MAP REVIEW, LIKE OUR GOAL IS TO GET GET THE RECORDS RIGHT, AND SO FEEDBACK FROM THE COMPTROLLER. WE GET THAT EVERY TIME, AND IT HAS PROMPTED MORE AUDITING FUNCTIONS SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY OUTSTANDING ISSUES, BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS COMMENTS ON OUR AUDITS. CELIA ISRAEL: THIS IS YOUR QUESTION ON ON THE LIST AGAIN, GIVEN THAT IT SEEMS AS THOUGH OUR LEGAL TEAM IS BEING CHALLENGED, AND WHETHER WE AGREE OR NOT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES THERE, I SEE TWO PEOPLE HERE WITH A LEGAL DESCRIPTION, ONE IS A SENIOR LEGAL ASSISTANT AND ONE IS A LEGAL ASSISTANT. ARE BOTH OF THOSE WITHIN THE LEGAL TEAM? YEAH, LEANA MANN: THE SENIOR POSITION WAS CREATED, WAS IMPLEMENTED LAST YEAR, AND IT NEVER REALLY TOOK FRUIT, SO WE'RE MOVING IT BACK INTO A LEGAL ASSISTANT POSITION, AND WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A PARALEGAL, IF YOU'LL SEE THAT SECOND POSITION FOR APPEALS, SAYS PARALEGAL. I MISS PARALEGAL. CELIA ISRAEL: GOT IT, LEANA MANN: AND OUR 2024 BUDGET ADDED QUITE A FEW NEW STAFF MEMBERS FOR THAT APPEALS LITIGATION DEPARTMENT. SO ONLY ADDING ONE FOR THE 2025, BUDGET TO THAT DEPARTMENT. JAMES VALADEZ: MS CONNOLLY, NICOLE CONLEY: MS MANN, CAN YOU TALK TO THE FULL BOARD ABOUT THE THE LAND, YOU KNOW, BRINGING IT IN HOUSE VERSUS THAT WE'RE GOING FOR WITH ELIMINATION OF THE EXTERNAL CONTRACT IN ORDER TO SUPPORT AND DEFRAY SOME OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE NEW SALARIES, AS WELL, JUST AS A EFFICIENT MEASURE IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO INTERNALLY CONTROL THOSE OPERATIONS AND FUNCTIONS MORE READILY. LEANA MANN: SURE? YEAH, I DO. SO. AS YOU ALL RECALL, YOU ALL APPROVED A CONTRACT WITH VALUE BASE, WHICH WAS A LAND VALUATION SERVICES SERVICE COMPANY THAT USED AI MODELS TO VALUE LAND. WE DID START THAT CONTRACT FOR 2025 GOT A LOT OF REALLY GREAT DATA, BUT WE DID NOT IMPLEMENT THE VALUES IN THE SYSTEM FOR 2025 WE DISCOVERED A LOT OF DATA THAT WE NEEDED TO ADD TO OUR SYSTEM IN ORDER FOR THE MODELS TO SUFFICIENTLY WORK, AND WE DON'T THINK THAT VENDOR IS QUITE WHERE WE NEED THEM TO BE TO IMPLEMENT IT. SO WE'VE GONE BACK AND FORTH MY ENTIRE CAREER HERE WITH THE LAND DEPARTMENT, WHETHER IT SHOULD BE WITHIN EACH INDIVIDUAL DIVISION, SO COMMERCIAL LAND, RESIDENTIAL LAND, OR IF IT SHOULD BE A DEPARTMENT ON ITS OWN, WE HAVEN'T FOUND A REAL, GREAT SOLUTION. WE THINK AT THIS POINT IN TIME, HAVING A UNIFORM LAND DEPARTMENT WHO'S VALUING ALL LAND WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOR CONSISTENCY AND ACCURACY IS OUR BEST APPROACH. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IN 2026 WE DID, WE WILL BE CANCELING THAT CONTRACT WITH VALUE BASE FOR 26 AND THOSE FUNDS ARE USED TO THEN SUPPORT THIS NEW LAND FUNCTION. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, THANK YOU. KAT HARVEY: OKAY, SO, SPEAKING OF ALL THE STAFF CHANGES, THIS IS JUST GOING TO GO OVER THE WORKLOAD REQUIRED IN THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT TCAD MUST COMPLETE IN ORDER TO CERTIFY THE ROLE, WHICH HAS INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PAST 10 YEARS. IF YOU'LL SEE, LAWSUITS AND ARBITRATIONS HAVE TRIPLE DIGIT INCREASES OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. BUT EVERYTHING HAS INCREASED, THUS THE NEED FOR THE ADDITIONAL STAFF. SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, CAN I ASK WHY THERE ARE SO MANY MORE NOTICES OF APPRAISED VALUE? JUST THAT PEOPLE ARE BUILDING MORE BUILDINGS. LEANA MANN: THERE'S MORE PROPERTIES, BUT THERE'S ALSO, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT PROCESS BACK THEN, BUT YOU ARE ALLOWED TO NOT SEND A NOTICE IF THE VALUE DIDN'T INCREASE FROM YEAR TO YEAR. OUR PROCESS NOW IS THAT WE SEND A NOTICE EVERY YEAR, NO MATTER WHAT, UNLESS IT'S A FULLY EXEMPT PROPERTY. SO THAT COULD BE SOME OF IT AS WELL. SHENGHAO WANG: GOT IT. AND WERE THERE CHANGES IN STATE LAW THAT MADE THE EXEMPTION PROCESS NUMBER GO UP SO MUCH. LEANA MANN: YEAH, THEY ADD NEW EXEMPTIONS EVERY LEGISLATIVE SESSION. THEY'VE ALSO ADDED WHICH ISN'T REFLECTED IN THIS CHART, THAT AUDIT REQUIREMENT, WHICH IS A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WORK. SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALWAYS TWEAKING EXEMPTIONS, ADDING EXEMPTIONS EVERY TWO YEARS, SHENGHAO WANG: I IMAGINE, JUST CHANGING THE WAY YOU YOU SET UP YOUR SYSTEM TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT IS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF [00:35:04] WORK, AND LEANA MANN: IT ALSO INCREASES WITH THE MARKET. SO AS MARK THE MARKETS INCREASING AND TRANSACTIONS ARE HAPPENING MORE RAPIDLY THAN WE HAVE MORE EXEMPTIONS THAT ARE FILED. ALSO SHENGHAO WANG: APPRECIATE IT. JAMES VALADEZ: MS. CARTWRIGHT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: ON THE NUMBER OF ARBITRATIONS FILED, I ASSUME GREAT NUMBER OF THE INCREASE, OR THE LIMITED BINDING ARBITRATION FILINGS THAT ARE FAIRLY NEW, IS THAT CORRECT? LEANA MANN: THAT IS PART OF THE INCREASE. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF THEM. I THINK LAST YEAR WE HAD LESS THAN 15 GOOD MOST ARE RESOLVED BEFORE THEY EVEN GET TO THE COMPTROLLER. SO BACK IN 2015, ARBITRATIONS WERE VERY NEW. THEY WEREN'T USED A LOT. AND SO THAT INCREASE IS JUST PEOPLE ARE BECOMING MORE FAMILIAR WITH IT. IT IS A MUCH CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE TO FILING LITIGATION, SO IT'S USED MORE. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND IT'S ALSO CHEAPER FOR US, IS IT NOT? YES. AND SO THE FACT THAT IT WENT UP 627% IS NOT A BAD THING NECESSARILY, BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN A LAWSUIT. LEANA MANN: THAT'S TRUE. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THANK YOU, JAMES VALADEZ: JOHN. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: SO THE THE ADDITIONAL HEAD COUNT AND THE REORG THAT YOU'RE THAT YOU'RE PLANNING ARE ARE DESIGNED TO ADDRESS. CONCERNS AND WORKFLOW THAT YOU'VE ALREADY GOT. IS IT NOW, I KNOW THE SESSION ISN'T OVER, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING GOING ON IN THE LEDGE THAT IS GOING TO CAUSE YOU TO RETHINK THE STRUCTURE OF THIS THESE FTES, OR NEED ADDITIONAL FTES, OR FEWER FTES, LIKE SHARING IMPACT IS KIND OF WHAT I'M ASKING ABOUT. LEANA MANN: I DON'T BELIEVE SO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE PASSED SOME MAJOR DEADLINES NOW FOR THE SESSION. WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO BEING DONE. WE'VE COME OUT RELATIVELY UNSCATHED, NOT A LOT OF CHANGES. THERE ARE SOME BILLS THAT ARE POSITIVE IMPACTS. BUT A LOT OF THE BILLS THAT WOULD REALLY IMPACT US, BUDGETARILY, DID NOT MOVE, SO I THINK WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY CHANGES FROM THIS SESSION REFLECTED IN THE 26 BUDGET. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: THANK YOU, JAMES VALADEZ: MISS ISRAEL. CELIA ISRAEL: I DON'T SEE THIS IN OUR WORKBOOK. IS IT A PAID THEIR PAID PAGE NUMBER I CAN REFERENCE. LEANA MANN: I DON'T THINK WORKLOAD IS IN THE BUDGET ITSELF, BUT WE CAN ADD THAT TO OUR PROPOSED IF YOU'D LIKE. CELIA ISRAEL: GOOD IT'S A GOOD RECORD, I THINK. THANK YOU. KAT HARVEY: SO AGAIN, CAD COMPARISON, AS FAR AS STAFFING GOES FROM 2020 TO 25 TCAD INCREASED BUDGETED PERSONNEL BY 36 POSITIONS. THAT'S 129 TO 165 TO MEETING THESE RISING WORKLOAD DEMANDS. BUT DESPITE THESE INCREASES, TCAD REMAINS SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERSTAFFED COMPARED TO OTHER LARGE METRO DISTRICTS. IF YOU'LL SEE, DALLAS IS AT 242 TERRENCE AT 214 AND BEAR IS AT 186 SO TO BE COMPARABLE WITH OTHER METRO CATS IN TERMS OF STAFFING, WE DO NEED TO INCREASE POSITIONS. AND THIS CHART IS ON PAGE 31 AND TO SPEAK OF THAT EXTRA WORKLOAD, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS EXEMPT STAFF HAS WORKED OVER 40 HOURS PER WEEK HAS REMAINED SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE PRE 2020 LEVELS IN 2022 STAFF LOGGED OVER 8600 EXTRA HOURS WITH 2023 AND 2024 STILL EXCEEDING 6900 BUT DESPITE THOSE WORKLOAD INCREASES, VACATION TIME TAKEN PER EMPLOYEE HAS GRADUALLY REBOUNDED FROM THE 2020 LOW OF 60 HOURS. SO IN 2024 STAFF TOOK AN AVERAGE OF 85 HOURS OF VACATION, NEARING THOSE PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS. AND THEN OUR MOST RECENT INTER GAGE SURVEY, WHICH IS THE TOP WORKPLACES AWARD. WE DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE RECEIVED IT YET, BUT THEY DO GIVE US OUR BENCHMARK BASED ON THE TOTAL THE 2025 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ACROSS ALL CATEGORIES, TCAD DID OUTPERFORM THE BENCHMARK, OFTEN SIGNIFICANTLY. NOTABLY, WE SAW A 14% HIGHER SCORE IN ENCOURAGING NEW IDEAS AND DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES, AND A 23% ADVANTAGE IN EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION WITH OUR BENEFITS PACKAGE. SO IF YOU'LL SEE THESE RESULTS SPEAK TO OUR THE SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT WE'VE CREATED AND OUR EFFORTS TO PRIORITIZE EMPLOYEE WELL BEING AND APPRECIATION. JAMES VALADEZ: MR. WANG SHENGHAO WANG: GO BACK ONE SLIDE FOR THE NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED AND THE VACATION HOURS. CAN YOU GIVE ME A QUALITATIVE SENSE OF HOW THIS HAS AFFECTED EMPLOYEE MORALE? IS A COMMON PAIN POINT OF FEEDBACK THAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM FROM THE STAFF. KAT HARVEY: I DON'T REALLY HAVE STAFF THAT ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT WORK LIFE BALANCE OR HAVING PROBLEMS. YOU KNOW, WITH HOW MUCH TIME THEY'RE WORKING OR, YOU KNOW, GOING OVER, I DO LIKE [00:40:04] TO SEE THAT THEY ARE STILL TAKING THEIR TIME OFF. THEY'RE STILL, YOU KNOW, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY ISSUES, I HAVEN'T, HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING. LEANA MANN: SO IT REALLY STARTED BACK IN 2019, 2020, WE WERE INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY AND REALLY TRYING TO MAKE THE DISTRICT AS EFFICIENT AS PROCESS AS POSSIBLE, AUTOMATE A LOT OF FUNCTIONS, BUT WHEN YOU DO THAT, THERE'S A GROUP OF SMALL GROUP OF EMPLOYEES THAT PICK UP THE SLACK, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE YOUR ROCK STARS, RIGHT? AND SO AFTER A YEAR OR TWO OF THAT, OF HAVING THE PICK UP THE SLACK AND PUSH THINGS ALONG, YOU GET A LITTLE DISCOURAGED. WE'VE REALLY WORKED HARD SINCE 2019 TO HELP THAT GROUP OF 20 EMPLOYEES. THE ADMIN TIME IS WORKED BY 20 PEOPLE, A LOT OF THEM IN MANAGEMENT, AND OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM DOES A WONDERFUL JOB OF NOT PUSHING THAT WORKLOAD AND EXTRA WORK DOWN TO STAFF. SO THAT'S THE GROUP WE REALLY WANT TO HELP. AND IF ADDING STAFF TO THEIR DEPARTMENTS HELPS DELEGATE MORE AND ALLOWS THEM A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY, THEN THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO US, AND WE'VE MADE THOSE STEPS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, SO WE JUST WANT TO CONTINUE THAT. KAT HARVEY: SO TCAD IS SUCCESSFULLY FILLING OPEN POSITIONS, AND WE'RE MAINTAINING STRONG STAFFING LEVELS. I KNOW WE HAD SOME ISSUES IN PREVIOUS YEARS. THE STATE AUDITOR'S OFFICE REPORTS THAT AS OF 2025 STATE SALARY RANGES ARE STILL AN AVERAGE OF 7.4% BELOW MARKET RATES. THAT'S AN IMPROVEMENT FROM 11% IN 22 BUT WE'RE STILL TRAILING BEHIND, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN PLANS TO RAISE ITS MINIMUM WAGE TO AT LEAST $22 PER HOUR BY OCTOBER OF 25 REFLECTING THIS BROADER TREND TOWARD HIGHER MUNICIPAL PAY. SO THESE DEVELOPMENTS UNDERSCORE THE NECESSITY OF REGULARLY EVALUATING AND ADJUSTING OUR COMPENSATION STRUCTURES TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE IN THE EVOLVING LABOR MARKET. SO WE ENGAGE THE SAME PROFESSIONAL CONSULTING FIRM WE USED IN 2022 PEARL MEYER TO DO A COMPREHENSIVE SALARY SURVEY. SO THE PART OF THAT PROCESS IS WE TAKE THE DATA THAT THEY PROVIDE US AND WHERE MULTIPLE LEVELS WERE PRESENTED BY DIFFERENT JOB FAMILIES. WE SEPARATED IT BY BEGINNER AS A STEP ONE, INTERMEDIATE AS A STEP NINE, AND A SENIOR AS A STEP 18, AND WE USE THE MEDIAN OF EACH LEVEL AS A COMPARISON POINT. SO WE MADE COMPARISONS FOR POSITIONS, NOT INDIVIDUAL STAFF MEMBERS, AND ASSUMED THE POSITION WAS PERFORMED BY A COMPETENT EMPLOYEE RANKING SATISFACTORILY. SO WE'LL START WITH OUR FIRST SET OF STAFF, WHICH IS CLERICAL, THAT BE OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS OR APPRAISAL SUPPORT CLERKS AND OUR D CLERKS. THESE ARE ALL AGREED TO POSITION. THEY ARE ALL COMPETITIVE WITHIN THE MARKET PLUS OR MINUS 10% HOWEVER, BASED ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN STARTING RATES, AN ADJUSTMENT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR THESE CLERICAL ROLES. SHENGHAO WANG: CAN I JUST JUST, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THIS DATA. JUST SPEAKING, LIKE, CAN YOU GO BACK ONE SLIDE? SO WHAT ARE THESE STEPS LIKE? IS 18 THE HIGHEST? AND IS THIS LIKE A IS THIS A PEARL MEYER SYSTEM OF HAVING THESE STEPS, OR IS IT A TCAD SYSTEM? KAT HARVEY: NO, IT'S OUR GRADE AND STEP SYSTEM. WE START WITH THE GRADE ONE AND YOU GO TO A GRADE 22 BUT GRADE ONE GOES ALL THE WAY TO 18 IS OUR MAXIMUM. SO ONE TO 18 STEPS, ONE TO 22 GRADES. SHENGHAO WANG: AND WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRADES AND STEPS? LEANA MANN: SO THE GRADES ARE BY POSITION. SO FOR INSTANCE, GRADES TWO THROUGH FIVE ARE HOURLY EMPLOYEES. GRADES TWO AND THREE ARE CLERICAL, GRADES FOUR AND FIVE OR MORE PROFESSIONAL APPRAISERS. SO IT'S BROKEN DOWN BY THE JOB TYPE. SO EACH GRADE HAS A DIFFERENT GROUPING OF EMPLOYEES POSITIONS WITHIN THAT GRADE, AND THEN EACH STEP IS A PERCENTAGE, SO FROM ONE TO STEP TWO WOULD BE A 2% DIFFERENCE IN PAY SO IT'S JUST A STANDARD STEP IN GRADE PAY SCALE. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT LIKE MILITARY, WHERE YOU HAVE LIKE A RANK AND THEN LIKE TIME AND SERVICE TYPE. LIKE, LEANA MANN: OUR STEP IN GRADE ISN'T TIED SPECIFICALLY TO TENURE, SO OURS IS PERFORMANCE BASED, WHICH IS REALLY COMMON IN OUR PAY GRADE SCALES. SHENGHAO WANG: SO AND THESE ARE BOTH LIKE, A HIGHER GRADE MEANS A PAY RAISE, AND A HIGHER STEP MEANS A PAY RAISE. LIKE THESE ARE, THESE ARE INDEPENDENT, BUT THEY'RE BOTH LIKE HIERARCHICAL IN THAT, LEANA MANN: YES, EXCEPT FOR A POSITION, A POSITION IS DESIGNATED A SPECIFIC GRADE, AND SO THAT POSITION WILL NEVER MOVE GRADES UNLESS WE DO AN AMENDMENT TO THE POSITION, SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, BUT THEN WITHIN A POSITION, YOUR PERFORMANCE DETERMINES YOUR STEP CORRECT, OKAY, THANK YOU. LEANA MANN: AND PEARL MEYER IS JUST THE COMPANY THAT DID THE SURVEY FOR US. [00:45:01] BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: GOTCHA. COULD YOU TELL US HOW MANY EMPLOYEES YOU HAVE AND WHAT GRADES AND STEPS? WELL, GRADES, I GUESS IT'S NOT STEPS, BUT GRADES. NO STEPS. KAT HARVEY: I DO LIST THEM OUT, YEAH. LEANA MANN: OKAY, SO WE'VE GOT THEM HERE, BUT WE CAN GIVE YOU A COMPREHENSIVE LIST TOO AFTER THE MEETING. OKAY KAT HARVEY: YES. AS FAR AS OUR CLERICAL GRADE TWOS THAT I BROUGHT UP, THERE ARE 15 CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS, 15 APPRAISAL SUPPORT CLERKS, AND 4D CLERKS THAT ARE ALL ON A GRADE TWO. YEAH. AND THEN OUR SECOND SET OF CLERICAL STAFF ARE OUR GRADE FOURS. THIS IS GOING TO BE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AND GIS TECHNICIANS. THEY ARE MORE OF THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE. THERE ARE FOUR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS, THREE GIS TECHNICIANS. THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SALARIES ARE COMPETITIVE WITHIN THE MARKET, BUT GIS TECHNICIANS ARE VERY CLOSE, AND A GREAT ADJUSTMENT FOR THEM SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS THE PLUS OR MINUS 10% OF MARKET. THEY ARE AT 9.63 SO THEY'RE VERY CLOSE TO GOING OUTSIDE OF THAT RANGE. LEANA MANN: AND THAT WAS OUR STANDARD USED IN 2022 AS WELL. WE LOOKED AT ANYTHING THAT HAD A VARIANCE OF PLUS OR MINUS 10% AS THINGS THAT WE NEEDED TO ANALYZE FURTHER. SHENGHAO WANG: 10% IS A BIG DIFFERENCE. LEANA MANN: IT IS, BUT WE HAVE TO BUDGET SO EARLY IN ADVANCE, LIKE WE'RE LOOKING AT A BUDGET 10 MONTHS BEFORE IT'S IMPLEMENTED. AND SO TO KEEP UP WITH THE GROWTH THE MARKET CHANGES, WE WE USE A PRETTY BIG WINDOW, KAT HARVEY: ALL RIGHT, SO WE'LL MOVE INTO THE APPRAISAL DIVISIONS. WE'LL START WITH BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY. WE HAVE SIX BUSINESS, PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISERS AND ONE SENIOR APPRAISER. THESE ARE GENERALLY SITTING AT A GRADE FIVE. THE SENIORS ARE AT A GRADE SEVEN, BUT BPP APPRAISERS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW MARKET. THEY ARE AT A 16% DIFFERENTIAL. SO A GREATER STEP ADJUSTMENT FOR THESE APPRAISERS WOULD BE BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: HAVE A QUESTION, DO THEY GET A CAR WARRANTED. ALLOWANCE? THE APPRAISERS LEANA MANN: YES, BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: BECAUSE IT'S IN ADDITION TO THEIR INCOME. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT MARKET IS. IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN YOU SAY A PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISER IN THE MARKET. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE IN THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT MARKET? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT PRIVATE APPRAISAL? KAT HARVEY: WELL, PEARL MEYER USES BOTH SIDES, AND SO WE'RE TAKING THE MARKET VALUE FROM THE THE DATA THAT THEY'VE PROVIDED US AS WHAT THE MARKET VALUE AND DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I QUESTION THESE NUMBERS MAINLY BECAUSE THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT HAS TO USE SCHEDULES, AND YOU USE DENSITY SCHEDULES, YOU COULD ALMOST DO IT WITH WITH MEASUREMENTS AND AND A DRONE. YOU I MEAN, YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY MAKING AN APPRAISAL THAT YOU WOULD DO TO GIVE TO THE BANK. YOU'RE FOLLOWING STATUTORY LIMITATIONS ARE AND RENDITIONS. AND MANY APPRAISAL DISTRICTS SIMPLY USE RENDITIONS THAT ARE PROVIDED BY THE TAXPAYER, AND KIND OF CHECK ON IT TO MAKE SURE IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S WITHIN THE RANGE. AND I JUST DON'T KNOW THAT THIS IS THE KIND OF COMPARISON THAT WE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT, BECAUSE A PRIVATE BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISER IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PERSON THAN WHAT AN APPRAISAL DISTRICT BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISER IS BECAUSE OF THE SCHEDULES THAT YOU USE AND SHOULD USE. I'M NOT QUESTIONING THAT. I'M JUST SAYING YOU'RE USING RENDITIONS AND SCHEDULES, AND THAT'S NOT WHAT A PRIVATE APPRAISER DOES. AND SO I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS A PROPER COMPARISON, JAMES VALADEZ: I GUESS TO LIKE JUST ONE MORE THING THAT KIND OF ON THAT THIS ALSO DOESN'T IT MIGHT BE REFLECTED SOMEWHERE ELSE, THEN IT'S, I'M JUST NOT SEEING IT ON THE CHART, BUT IT DOESN'T REFLECT OUR BENEFITS EITHER, THAT ARE PROBABLY MORE ROBUST THAN WE WOULD SEE OTHERWISE IN A PRIVATE SETTING, RIGHT? LEANA MANN: THEY DO CONSIDER THAT IN THEIR ANALYSIS. KAT HARVEY: YES, JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY. LEANA MANN: AND I AGREE THAT'S ALSO WHY WE USE THAT LARGER WINDOW. BECAUSE ANYONE WHO'S DONE ANY KIND OF SALARY ANALYSIS, IT IS VERY HARD TO MATCH UP POSITION TO POSITION. SO THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOME VARIANCE THERE. EVEN AMONGST APPRAISAL DISTRICTS, IT'S HARD FOR US TO TIE BACK TO THE SAME WELL, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: PARTICULARLY FOR BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY, YEAH. I MEAN, YOU WORK MUCH CLOSELY, MORE CLOSELY ON COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES TO TO FOLLOW THE MARKET. BUT ON BUSINESS, PERSONAL PROPERTY IS IT'S A DIFFERENT IT'S A DIFFERENT DEAL, JAMES VALADEZ: MR. MR. WANG, AND THEN MISS CONLEY. SHENGHAO WANG: I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE. I SEE THIS RIGHT? BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST ROW, PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISER, [00:50:05] ENTRY MEDIAN 70, CALL IT 75,000 DIFFERENCE OF MINUS 15,000 SO THAT MEANS ROUGHLY 90,000 AND THEN THE SENIOR ONE, WE HAVE 81,000 GIVE OR TAKE, WITH A $10,000 DIFFERENCE. SO THE ENTRY LEVEL AND SENIORS ARE BASICALLY MAKING THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE THAT THE SURVEY RESULTS. KAT HARVEY: THAT WAS THE MEDIAN THAT WAS GIVEN TO US BASED ON THAT. THAT'S WHY IT'S REALLY HARD TO COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES WHEN YOU'RE GETTING MARKET DATA LIKE THAT. THAT'S WHY I LIST THE MEDIANS THAT ARE PROVIDED TO ME, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY QUANTIFY A SENIOR BPP APPRAISER VERSUS A STANDARD APPRAISER OUT IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. SO THAT'S JUST THE MEDIAN THAT THEY'VE GIVEN US. SHENGHAO WANG: I'M JUST SAYING THAT IF YOU TAKE THE MEDIAN, ADD THE DIFFERENCE, YOU GET BASICALLY THE SAME NUMBER FOR ALL THREE OF THESE POSITIONS. AND IT'S JUST STRANGE TO ME THAT YOU KNOW THE MARKET DATA THAT YOU'RE GIVEN IS THAT BASICALLY ALL THREE OF THESE POSITIONS ARE PAID BASICALLY THE SAME AMOUNT, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN SENIORITY. LEANA MANN: SO IN OUR ANALYSIS, THERE ARE SOME POSITIONS WHERE THEY DON'T PROVIDE THREE AN ENTRY AND INTERMEDIATE IN ADVANCE. SO WE HAVE TO SEPARATE BECAUSE OUR PAY SCALE IS LIKE THAT. AND WE'RE THEN ANALYZING AMONGST ALL POSITIONS THE SAME. SO LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, THE INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR IN THIS EXAMPLE HAVE THE SAME MEDIAN. THAT WAS PROBABLY THE SURVEY COMPANY GIVING US ONLY ONE NUMBER, AND WE'VE APPLIED IT TO ALL THREE, JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CONLEY AND THEN MISS ISRAEL, NICOLE CONLEY: YES. SO I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON MISS CARTWRIGHT AND A LITTLE BIT OF MR. WANG. OBVIOUSLY, HAVING DONE THESE BEFORE FOR TEACHERS TRYING TO NORMALIZE SKILLS ACROSS 1200 DISTRICTS AND WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT SALARY STRUCTURES, YOU DO HAVE TO TAKE SOME LATITUDE AROUND WHAT THOSE MEDIANS ARE, BUT I WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION, CLEARLY, THIS SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT OUR STAFF IS UNDERPAID WHEN IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE MARKET, BUT IS THERE MORE RIGOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE REQUIREMENTS DUE TO THE COMPLIANCE AND AUDIT PURPOSES FOR OUR APPRAISERS VERSUS WHAT WOULD BE FOUND IN THE GENERAL MARKET? I'M JUST TRYING TO CLARIFY ABOUT THE RIGOR AND THE EXPECTATIONS AND THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POSITION AS A WAY TO SORT OF BRING SOME SENSE AND LOGIC AS TO HOW WE'RE SORT OF GRADING THEM AGAINST THE MEDIAN. AND SO IF IT APPLIES THE SAME RIGOR, THEN OBVIOUSLY, THEN I THINK THE ADJUSTMENT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER. LEANA MANN: SO, TWO PARTS, THE FIRST BEING, YES, BPP APPRAISAL IS VERY MATHEMATICAL. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF JUDGMENT IN IT, BUT THEY STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROTEST PROCESS, AND THAT IS, THAT TAKES A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SKILL SET TO SIT WITH A PROPERTY OWNER FOR THREE MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR AND EDUCATE, COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY. THAT'S TYPICALLY NOT SOMETHING THAT A BANK FEE APPRAISER IS DOING. SO I THINK THEY'RE THEY HAVE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THEIR JOB THAT CAN ALSO BE A VERY TUMULTUOUS TIME. IT'S VERY STRESSFUL, A LOT OF ADVERSITY THAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH. SO I THINK THEY'RE TWO VERY DIFFERENT JOBS, DIFFERENT APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY THAT THEY'RE USING, BUT THEY STILL HAVE TO HANDLE THE STRESS AND THE ADVERSITY THAT APPRAISERS IN MASS APPRAISAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE TO DO. JAMES VALADEZ: MS. ISRAEL, CELIA ISRAEL: THANK YOU. MS CONLEY FOR POINTING THAT OUT, BECAUSE I'M ALSO MINDFUL OF THE FACT THAT THERE'S, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY BANKS THAT ARE ALSO GOING TO OFFER A PENSION, AND OUR OUR EMPLOYEES AT THE COUNTY, AS MUCH AS WE WOULD LIKE TO PAY THEM MORE, ALSO KNOW THAT THEY'RE COMING INTO A SYSTEM THAT IS GOING TO HELP THAT FOR THEIR FOR THEIR FOR THEIR OWN PERSONAL PLANNING FOR THEIR FUTURE, THEY'RE GETTING A PENSION. SO THERE, AND THESE, THESE SURVEYS, I'M GUESSING, DON'T ACCOUNT FOR THE VALUE OF A PENSION AT A TIME WHEN THOSE ARE NO LONGER BEING BEING OFFERED AS A COMMONALITY. LEANA MANN: SO SOMETHING RARE IN OUR SURVEY IS THEY'RE NOT ONLY COMPARING US WITH OTHER APPRAISAL DISTRICTS, BUT SINCE WE ARE LOCATED IN AUSTIN, WE HAVE STATE EMPLOYEES, COUNTY EMPLOYEES. WE HAVE A LOT OF GOVERNMENT WORKERS IN OUR AREA, AND SO THEY'RE COMPARING US IN THAT MARKET AS WELL. SO IN THAT CASE, THAT MARKET DOES INCLUDE PENSIONS. SO WE'RE GETTING TWO DIFFERENT ANALYSIS. SHENGHAO WANG: VERY BRIEF, I MISREAD THE DATA THAT INFORMED MY PREVIOUS QUESTION. SO I SEE NOW WHAT I RECOGNIZE, THE DISPARITIES THAT I WAS NOT SEEING EARLIER. SO THANK YOU KAT HARVEY: STAYING WITH APPRAISERS. WILL MOVE INTO RESIDENTIAL. THIS IS THE MAJORITY OF WHERE OUR APPRAISERS [00:55:03] ARE AT. THEY'RE ALL A GRADE FIVE. THEY ARE ALSO LOWER THAN MARKET MEDIAN, AND WOULD CONSIDER HAVING AN ADJUSTMENT MADE TO THEM AS WELL. AND THEN ROUNDING OUT OUR FINAL APPRAISAL DIVISION IS THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION. WE HAVE NINE COMMERCIAL TRAINEES AND FOUR COMMERCIAL APPRAISERS. THEY AGAIN ARE LOWER THAN THE MARKET MEDIAN AND ARE CONSIDERED FOR AN ADJUSTMENT. JAMES VALADEZ: MR. WANG SHENGHAO WANG: JUST QUICK QUESTION IS THERE'S SO MANY MORE TRAINEES AND APPRAISERS. IS THIS BEEN AN AREA OF HIGH TURNOVER, AND IS THERE BEEN FEEDBACK THAT THIS WAS PARTIALLY TIED TO THE COMPENSATION LEANA MANN: THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION, WE LOSE A LOT OF OUR APPRAISERS TO PROPERTY TAX AGENTS, AND WE JUST CAN'T COMPETE IN THAT SALARY MARKET, AND NEVER WILL BE ABLE TO. SO WE WILL ALWAYS LOSE PEOPLE FROM OUR COMMERCIAL DIVISION. THAT'S TYPICALLY, THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THE RANKS IN RESIDENTIAL, MOVED ON TO COMMERCIAL, AND SO THERE'S NOT MORE GROWTH OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO MAKE TRIPLE THEIR SALARY. BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: AND ALSO THEY COME, THEY USE THIS POSITION FOR TRAINING. SO THEY'RE TRAINED HERE, AND THEY CAN GO WORK OUTSIDE. SHENGHAO WANG: THANK YOU. KAT HARVEY: SO WE'LL MOVE INTO MANAGEMENT POSITIONS. THESE ARE GOING TO BE OUR TEAM LEADS. WE HAVE RESIDENTIAL TEAM LEADS, APPRAISAL, SUPPORT, BUSINESS, PERSONAL, PROPERTY, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EXEMPTIONS AND DOWN THE LINE, THE SALARIES ARE LOWER THAN MARKET MEDIAN AND WOULD ALSO BE CONSIDERED FOR AN ADJUSTMENT. MOVING INTO ADDITIONAL MANAGEMENT, THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR RESIDENTIAL APPRAISAL MANAGERS. THEY THESE SALARIES ARE COMPETITIVE WITHIN THE MARKET AND DO NOT WARRANT AN ADJUSTMENT. SO OVERALL, OUR PROPOSED CHANGES FOR STAFF IS TO RECLASSIFY SOME ROLES AND MAKE SOME GRADE AND STEP ADJUSTMENTS. SO FOR COMMERCIAL APPRAISERS, WE'D LIKE TO MOVE THOSE THAT ARE IN A GRADE SIX TO A GRADE SEVEN, THOSE THAT ARE IN A GRADE EIGHT TO A GRADE NINE, THE TEAM LEADS, WHICH ARE ALL SITTING AT A GRADE NINE, WE'D LIKE TO MOVE THEM TO A GRADE 10. AND THE GIS TECHNICIANS THAT ARE CURRENTLY AT A GRADE FOUR, MOVE THEM INTO THAT GRADE FIVE. AND THEN FOR OUR GRADE ADJUSTMENTS, FOR GRADES TWO AND FIVE AND 8% ADJUSTMENT AND GRADES THREE AND FOUR A 5% ADJUSTMENT, SHENGHAO WANG: IS IT SOMEWHERE IN OUR PACKET SO I CAN FLIP EASILY BETWEEN LEANA MANN: THE SALARY SURVEY INFORMATION IS NOT IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET. SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, THE PREVIOUS SOME OF THAT DATA JUST, I JUST WANTED TO BE ABLE TO FLIP THROUGH WITHOUT MAKING YOU, YOU KNOW, DRAG EVERYONE ELSE ALONG. KAT HARVEY: SO THIS, AGAIN, IS GOING OVER THAT INTERNAL AUDIT COMPLIANCE DIVISION IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT, SHOWING YOU THE DIRECTOR, THE CAMERA MANAGER, AND THE THREE COMPLIANCE SPECIALISTS AND KIND OF WHAT THEIR OVERSIGHT IS GOING TO BE, AND THIS IS THE LAND AND SPECIAL VALUATION DIVISION IN THE RESIDENTIAL TEAM THAT WE ARE PROPOSING IN ORDER TO BRING THAT LAND VALUATION RESPONSIBILITIES IN HOUSE. JAMES VALADEZ: I'M SORRY I HAVE JUST ONE QUESTION ON THAT YOU WERE SAYING EARLIER, THAT THAT WASN'T GOING TO LIVE UNIFORMLY WITHIN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, BOTH SILOED, BUT IN ITS OWN DIVISION. ON HERE, I JUST SEE IT KIND OF WITHIN RESIDENTIAL IS COMMERCIAL, JUST OFF OF THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING LEANA MANN: SO INSTEAD OF CREATING A DEPARTMENT FOR LAND WITH ONLY A FEW PEOPLE IN IT, SPECIAL VALUATION WAS ALREADY HOUSED WITHIN THE RESIDENTIAL DIVISION. SO THERE'LL BE A BRANCH WITHIN THE RESIDENTIAL DEPARTMENT. THEY'LL STILL REPORT TO THE RESIDENTIAL DIRECTOR, BUT THEY WILL FUNCTION ON ALL LAND WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY, JAMES VALADEZ: BUT THERE WILL BE DATA SHARED BETWEEN COMMERCIAL AND LAND WITHIN OKAY, GREAT MS. CARTWRIGHT DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND HOW DOES THE COST OF THIS NEW GROUP COMPARED TO THE CONTRACT THAT WE APPROVED? LEANA MANN: IT'S A WASH. IT'S ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THANK YOU. LEANA MANN: AND ON THIS SLIDE, MANY OF THESE POSITIONS ARE [01:00:04] ALREADY IN OUR OUR BUDGET FOR 25 SO ARE ALL OF THE SPECIAL VALUATION GROUP IS ALREADY, ARE ALREADY EMPLOYEES OF THE DISTRICT. SO IN THE 2026 BUDGET, WE ALSO ADDED AN INCREASE FOR THE PER DIEM FOR ARB MEMBERS. AS WE HEARD A LOT OF COMMENTS THROUGHOUT THE ARB PROCESS FROM OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AS WELL AS COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE ARB SO WE ARE PROPOSING TO INCREASE THE PER DIEM BY $25 PER DAY. THAT WOULD BRING THE STARTING PAY TO 175 PER DAY. AND THE ESTIMATED DAILY COST FOR THIS INCREASE IS ABOUT $1,800 BUT WE ARE ABLE TO DO THAT WITHIN OUR CURRENT BUDGET, SO WE ACTUALLY ARE INCREASING THE BUDGET LINE ITEM, BUT WE WOULD PROPOSE INCREASING THE DAILY PER DIEM. MISS CARTERET, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: WILL YOU SHOW 80 MEMBERS, AND WE APPROVED A LARGER NUMBER. IS THAT CORRECT? LEANA MANN: SO CURRENTLY, THE BOARD HAS APPROVED 74 ARB MEMBERS. WE WILL DISCUSS ADDING ADDITIONAL MEMBERS IN OUR JUNE MEETING, BUT AT THIS TIME, IT'S 74 SO WE BUMPED THAT UP TO 80 AS AN AVERAGE NUMBER THAT THEY WOULD USE PER DAY. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND COULD WE ASK MR. MCBEE TO COMMENT ON THAT? AT THIS POINT IN OUR WORKSHOP, I JUST WANT YOU TO COMMENT ON THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS AND THE PER DIEM INCREASE THAT'S BEING PROPOSED. BARRY MCBEE: THANK YOU, MS. CARTWRIGHT AND BOARD AGAIN, WE WILL BE BACK IN JUNE 12 REQUESTING JUST SIMPLY GREATER FLEXIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THE FULL NUMBER OF ARB MEMBERS WHO'VE BEEN APPOINTED BY THIS BOARD. WE'RE UP TO, ACTUALLY DOWN TO 94 NOW. WE JUST LOST ONE ADDITIONAL MEMBER YESTERDAY, BUT GIVEN ON A DAILY BASIS, WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GO FROM 74 TO PROBABLY AROUND 85 TO 90 THAT FULLY UTILIZES GIVEN MEMBERS REQUEST FOR DAYS OFF WILL GIVE US FOUR TO FIVE ADDITIONAL PANELS AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS, THE DAILY INCREASE, AND I APPRECIATE MS MANN INCLUDING IT IN THE BUDGET REQUEST BASED ON A SURVEY OF OTHER COMPARABLE ARBS AROUND THE STATE, THE TIME LAG SINCE THERE'S BEEN THE LAST INCREASE TO THIS ARB WAS BACK IN 2020. WE WOULD STILL BE BELOW A NUMBER OF THE ARBS IN THE STATE, INCLUDING MUCH SMALLER COUNTIES, GIVEN THE WORKLOAD, I LOOKED AT IT MORE AS ADDING THIS ADDITIONAL COST, WHICH IS OFFICIALLY REFLECTED AT 16.67% INCREASE IN THE PER DIEM. IF YOU APPLY THAT ACROSS THE THE ENTIRETY OF LAST SEASON, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE STILL WELL WITHIN THE BUDGET FOR THE ARB FOR THE YEAR. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU WANT MORE THAN 80 MEMBERS FUNDED IN THIS BUDGET. BARRY MCBEE: I THINK THE RESOLUTION THAT HAS BEEN PREPARED, AT LEAST IN DRAFT, IT REALLY ESSENTIALLY GIVES FLEXIBILITY TO THE ARB CHAIR TO MANAGE THE WORKLOAD WITHIN THE ARB, THE FULL COMPLEMENT OF MEMBERS, TO UTILIZE, FRANKLY, AS MANY OF THOSE, ON A PER DAY BASIS TO GET TO GET CERTIFICATION ACCOMPLISHED. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE 80 IN THE RESOLUTION, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. LEANA MANN: NO, WE HAVE 100 IN THE RESOLUTION. BUT FOR THE BUDGET, WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT, ON AVERAGE, THEY USE 80. SO THERE MAY BE DAYS THEY USE 60, THERE MAY BE DAYS THEY USE 90, BUT IT AVERAGES OUT TO 80. OKAY, BARRY MCBEE: SO ESSENTIALLY, BETWEEN DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AVERAGE NUMBER THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR BUDGETING PURPOSES, AND I SEE THAT YOU JUST PUT UP SOME ARB AMOUNTS FOR OTHER JURISDICTIONS, AND WE ARE BELOW. WE'RE NOT REALLY BELOW. TARRANT HAS JUST 185 RIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ALL, ALL YEARS OF SERVICE. IS THAT RIGHT? LEANA MANN: AND DALLAS DOES AS WELL, RIGHT? BARRY MCBEE: YEAH, THAT IS WHAT, IF I MAY. THAT IS ONE DIFFERENCE. SOME ARBS HAVE ESSENTIALLY THAT FLAT SALARY FOR THE ENTIRETY OF YOUR SIX YEARS, SOME STAGGERED BASED ON THE TWO YEAR TERMS, AND THE STAGGER BASED ON A YEARLY INCREASE. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE? MR. MCBEE BARRY MCBEE: THE CURRENT, I THINK THE CURRENT SYSTEM WORKS WELL IN TERMS OF INCENTIVIZING EACH ADDITIONAL YEAR OF SERVICE. SO THAT SMALL BUMP OF $10 PER YEAR, I THINK IS SOME INCENTIVE TO REMEMBER TO THINK, I MEAN, I'M GOING TO COME BACK FOR NOT JUST MY NEXT TERM, BUT FOR THAT SECOND YEAR OF THAT NEXT TERM. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO EVEN THOUGH WE MIGHT BE LESS THAN DALLAS FOR THE FIRST FOR FIRST YEAR PEOPLE, WE COME OUT ABOUT THE SAME. WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT ACROSS THE BOARD WITH YEARS OF SERVICE. I BELIEVE BARRY MCBEE: A FEW OTHER FACTORS AGAIN, IF I MAY. I LOOKED AT, FOR EXAMPLE, ON AN HOURLY BASIS, COMPARING IT, FOR EXAMPLE, TO COUNTY EMPLOYEES. WE ARE LESS THAN THE AVERAGE WAGE FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES ON AN HOURLY BASIS TODAY. I EVEN LOOKED AT, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU DECIDED SIMPLY TO WORK THE ELECTION PROCESS, IF YOU WANTED JUST TO GO WORK EVERY DAY, YOU COULD. IN THE ELECTION CYCLE, YOU WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE MORE MONEY THAN YOU WOULD MAKE [01:05:02] IN THE FULL SEASON. IS AN ARB MEMBER WORKING FEWER DAYS. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THEY'RE THEY'RE DIFFERENT ISSUES RELATED TO WORKING AT AN ELECTION I THINK. BUT ANYWAY, SO AS I'M LOOKING AT THIS. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHY WILLIAMSON MIGHT OFFER MORE MONEY? WILLIAMSON WOULD WANT MORE MONEY. WHY WOULD WILLIAMSON COUNTY APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD BE PAID MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE BASICALLY? BARRY MCBEE: I HAVE NOT HAD A CONVERSATION WITH MY COUNTERPART IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY. MY SPECULATION WOULD BE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH COST OF LIVING IN THIS IN THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE, OF THE STATE, BUT I CANNOT, DON'T KNOW THAT AS DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: MS. MANN,DO YOU? LEANA MANN: I THINK THERE COULD BE AN EFFICIENCY ASPECT TO IT. THE ARB FOR WILLIAMSON IS VERY EFFICIENT. THEY DO THEIR HEARINGS VERY QUICKLY. THEY ARE IN AND OUT. THEY ALSO WORK MUCH FEWER DAYS, SO THEY'RE NOT GETTING OVER THE SEASON AS MUCH MONEY. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY? THEY HAVE A TIGHTER SEASON OF HEARING PROTEST. I'M NOT OFFENDED BY THIS TRIP, BY THIS DIFFERENCE. JAMES VALADEZ: THANK YOU SO MUCH. GIVEN WHAT WE SAW IN THE TLO SALARY, I THINK THE COST OF LIVING DIFFERENCES IS A VALID COMPARISON. SPECIFICALLY, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT BEXAR AVERAGING AT 195 WE'RE AVERAGING AT 200 I THINK THAT DISPARITY DOES EXIST. SO YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE RATIONALE FOR WILLIAMSON. I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAR OFF. MR. WANG. SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, TWO COMMENTS OR ONE COMMENT AND ONE QUESTION, ONE IF YOU JUST STAY ON THAT WHEN WE WERE YEAH, THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ARB IS NOT UNIFORM, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE A LOT OF FIRST YEARS AND COMPARATIVELY FEW SIXTH YEARS. SO YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NO MATTER WHICH SCALE. SO DALLAS IS 200 ALL ACROSS THE BOARD. BUT FOR HERE IN TRAVIS, WE'RE ACTUALLY WEIGHTED MORE TOWARDS THE 175 SIDE THE 225 SO I WOULD, I WOULD GUESS THAT THE ACTUAL EFFECTIVE PAY, YOU KNOW, TOTAL PAY, DIVIDED BY TOTAL PEOPLE, IS ACTUALLY LESS THAN 200 AND THEN MR. MCBEE, BASED ON YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ARB MEMBERS, DO YOU FEEL THAT THE PROPOSED PAY SCALE IS SATISFACTORY TO THE BULK OF THE ARB MEMBERS, AND BARRY MCBEE: IT WILL BE RECEIVED, I THINK, WITH SATISFACTION. I MEAN REGULAR COMMENT AMONG ALL OF US IN THE ARB, SOME KNOWING PAYMENT IN OTHER COUNTIES, SOME KNOWING NOT IS IT MEANS THEY CERTAINLY FEEL LIKE, AGAIN, NOT HAVING HAD ANY INCREASE SINCE 2020 GIVEN THAT A NUMBER OF THESE OTHER APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARDS HAVE SEEN 10 TO 15% INCREASES OVER THAT SAME PERIOD OF TIME. THINK THEY VERY MUCH MY COLLEAGUES, FEEL LIKE SOME SOME INCREASES WARRANTED. LEANA MANN: LIKE TO ADD SOME HISTORICAL CONTEXT TO THAT AS WELL. SO IN 2020 WE HAVE A SLIDE ON THE COST PER HEARING OUR ARB RAN WAY OVER BUDGET. DIDN'T HOLD HEARING TIMES TO A REASONABLE EXPECTATION. THEY, THEY THEY WENT WAY OVER BUDGET. THEY WERE NOT EFFICIENT. WE CONSTANTLY WORKED WITH THEM TO AUTOMATE THINGS MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM, AND IT WASN'T RECEIVED WELL. SO THERE WAS AN EFFICIENCY ASPECT OF HOLDING THEIR PAY. NOW, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, I THINK BOTH MR. MCBEE THIS YEAR AND MR. PFEIFFER LAST YEAR DID AN EXCELLENT JOB MAKING THE PROCESS THAT'S MANDATED BY LAW, AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE, WHILE STILL HEARING THE PROPERTY OWNER AND RESOLVING THEIR ISSUES. SO I THINK THAT THAT EFFICIENCY ASPECT THAT WAS AN ISSUE IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE. SHENGHAO WANG: AND CAN I ASK WHY 2022 HAD SUCH SO MUCH HIGHER OF A BUDGET THAN THE OTHER YEARS? LEANA MANN: IT WAS IN RESPONSE TO THE OVER BUDGET IN 2020 SO WE DON'T FINISH ARB IN 2020 UNTIL NOVEMBER. THE BUDGET FOR 21 WAS ALREADY COMPLETED, AND SO 22 IS THE YEAR WE ACTUALLY COULD INCREASE IT SHENGHAO WANG: GOTCHA. BUT OTHER THAN 2020 IT SEEMS THAT THERE'S BEEN PRETTY HEALTHILY WITHIN BUDGET, LEANA MANN: BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THE BUDGET IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CAD DOESN'T HAVE TO FOREGO PROJECTS THAT THINGS THAT WE'VE PLANNED ON TO COVER ARB EXPENDITURES. WELL, WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENED IN 2020 WE ACTUALLY HAD TO BACK OUT OF PROJECTS WE HAD PLANNED BECAUSE THE ARB WENT OVER THEIR BUDGET WELL. SHENGHAO WANG: BUT BETWEEN 2020 AND 2024 IT'S ONLY LIKE A 20 $1,000 DIFFERENCE IN THE TOTAL BUDGET, RIGHT? SO, SO I, SO I'M JUST, I'M JUST CONFIRMING WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THAT THEY'VE GOTTEN A LOT MORE EFFICIENT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF LEANA MANN: THEY HAVE DONE A MUCH BETTER JOB THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND REALLY, THAT TOTAL EXPENDITURES LINE IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT. SO THEY'VE ACTUALLY CUT THEIR EXPENDITURES OVER [01:10:01] $500,000 THAT'S VERY GOOD. SHENGHAO WANG: I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHY THE COST PER HEARING IS KIND OF JUMPING AROUND WHEN THE TOTAL EXPENDITURES ARE GOING DOWN PRETTY UNIFORMLY. LEANA MANN: SO THERE'S ANOTHER ASPECT TO COST OF HEARING. SO THEY SCHEDULE THEIR ARB MEMBERS TO COME IN. IF THEY DO ONE HEARING THAT DAY, OR THEY DO 30 HEARINGS THAT DAY, THEY GET PAID PER DIEM AS A CAD WE ALSO BECAUSE WE'RE REPORTING NOT ONLY TO THE PROPERTY OWNERS BUT TO THE TAXING ENTITIES. WE HAVE TO WEIGH THAT WITH IS THE ARB GIVING AWAY 20% WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR, AND AT THAT POINT, WE HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION TO INFORMALLY OFFER MORE OF A REDUCTION TO CLOSE THOSE OUT. SO THERE'S SOME OF THAT THAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW THE SEASON IS GOING BACK OUT OF FORMALS AND DO INFORMAL OFFERS. SO IT'S NOT JUST THEIR EXPENDITURES SHENGHAO WANG: SIMILAR TO LAWSUITS AND SETTLEMENTS, BUT YEAH. SO YEAH, THIS IS THE COST, BUT THEN YOU ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PERFORMANCE IS OKAY. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. JAMES VALADEZ: MISS GARCIA, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: DOES ARB STILL HAVE THE COMMITTEES THAT THEY USED TO HAVE? LEANA MANN: THEY DO THAT WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES IN 2021 AND 2022 THAT THE BOARD REALLY DIRECTED THEM ON. THEY STILL HAVE COMMITTEES, BUT THEY ARE MUCH MORE CONSERVATIVE ON HOW THEY USE THOSE THEY USE JUST A FEW HOURS TO DO THEIR THEIR BYLAWS EACH YEAR THE TRAINING COMMITTEE HAS DEVELOPED A LOT OF TRAINING SO THAT ONE SPENT MORE MONEY THIS YEAR. BUT IS THIS JUST SOCIAL COMMITTEE. THERE IS NOT A SOCIAL COMMITTEE ANYMORE. NO, BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: THE COMMITTEES HAD SPENT SO MUCH MONEY, IT WAS HAPPY THAT TIME. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER. MS. CARTWRIGHT DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: BLOCK OPEN. I WORKED AT THE BEXAR APPRAISAL DISTRICT, THE SOCIAL COMMITTEE FOR THE ARB THERE WAS CALLED THE SUNSHINE COMMITTEE. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. LEANA MANN: SO THERE WAS INFORMATION REQUESTED, AND I'M SORRY I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH ARB COMMITTEE MEMBER ASKED FOR IT, BUT THEY ASKED FOR SOME DATA. AND SO AS PART OF THAT, WE'VE COVERED QUITE A FEW OF IT. THIS SLIDE HERE JUST SHOWS THE NUMBER OF HEARINGS ACTUALLY HELD BY THE ARB IN COMPARISON TO THE NUMBER OF PROTESTS. AND LIKE I WAS SAYING, WE HAVE TO EVALUATE WHETHER, YOU KNOW THE ARB, THEIR REDUCTION PERCENTAGE IS COMPARABLE WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING INFORMALLY, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBER OF HEARINGS ACTUALLY HELD HAS DECREASED EACH YEAR. THIS GIVES THE DATA SHOWING HOW PROTESTS ARE RESOLVED, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH INFORMAL AGREEMENTS, TOP LINE AGREEMENTS, ARB HEARINGS, AND THEN THIS SHOWS THE REDUCTION PERCENTAGE OF THE ARB YEAR OVER YEAR. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, THAT REDUCTION PERCENTAGE HAS INCREASED PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY, WHICH THEN ACCOUNTS TO LESS ARB HEARINGS. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, BECAUSE YOU'RE SETTLING CASES BEFORE THEY GET TO THE ARB IN LEANA MANN: TO TRY AND PRESERVE SOME OF THE APPRAISAL ROLL VALUE. AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY ALL OF AN ARB ISSUE. I'M NOT SAYING THAT IS. SOME OF IT IS THAT WE HAVE REALLY NEW APPRAISERS, AND SO THEY AREN'T AS WELL TRAINED ON COMPLEX PROPERTIES AND DEFENDING THOSE VALUES IN FRONT OF THE ARB, WHICH HAS BEEN A FOCUS FOR US THIS YEAR. SO I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS AN ARB ISSUE, BUT WE DO HAVE TO LOOK AT IT WHEN WE'RE IN THE PROTEST SEASON, AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO RESOLVE PROTESTS. SHENGHAO WANG: AND ALSO THE MARKET HAS CHANGED A LOT LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AS WELL. AND JUST FOR TRANSPARENCY, I WAS THE ONE WHO WERE PRESSING THAT DATA. DID GO BACK TO ONE SLIDE. I JUST WANT TO TAKE ANOTHER SECOND TO SEE SOME OF THE TRENDS. OKAY, WOW, THAT'S A HUGE NUMBER, HUGE INCREASE IN THE TOP LINES. AND THEN THE BOTTOM THREE IS JUST THE WHAT IS TCAD ARB AND OTHER LEANA MANN: THAT'S JUST SHOWING WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESOLUTION. SO THE ARB, IF THEY DID JUST THEIR HEARINGS, VERSUS US, WHERE WE DO INFORMALS AND TOP LINE AGREEMENT. SO IT JUST COMBINES THE LINES ABOVE AND WHAT'S OTHER, THE PROPERTY OWNER WITHDREW OR THEY DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR THEIR HEARING. SHENGHAO WANG: OH OKAY, OKAY, OKAY, GOT IT. I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH CATEGORIES. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. JAMES VALADEZ: MR. HANNA, HAVE A QUESTION? JETT HANNA: YES. ON THE REDUCTION PERCENTAGE CHART. IS THAT REDUCTION IN VALUE OR YES, [01:15:08] OKAY, AND THAT'S AN AVERAGE ACROSS ALL OF THE ARB HEARINGS. LEANA MANN: WE LOOK AT THE TOTAL INITIAL VALUE AT NOTICE TIME, AND THEN THE FINAL VALUE OF THOSE PROPERTIES THAT ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH AN ARB HEARING, AND DO THE REDUCTION PERCENTAGE OFF THOSE JETT HANNA: OKAY BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: IS IT PRETTY EVEN BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL? OR DO YOU SEE IT MORE REDUCTIONS IN COMMERCIAL? LEANA MANN: IT VARIES YEAR TO YEAR. LAST YEAR WE SAW HIGHER REDUCTIONS IN COMMERCIAL, AND THOSE ARE MORE COMPLEX PROPERTIES, SO THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED. JAMES VALADEZ: MS CONNOLLY NICOLE CONLEY: IS THAT RESULTING FROM INCREASED LITIGATIONS AND LAWSUITS, OR ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, LIKE, IS IT LIKE, YOU KNOW, THREE TIMES THE GROWTH AND REDUCTIONS OBVIOUSLY TAXING INTO ANY PURPOSES AS A LITTLE OF A YELLOW FLAG. I'M WONDERING, IS THERE ANYTHING IN OUR DISCIPLINE THAT HAS CHANGED, THAT HAS RESULTED IN THAT ARE WE MORE? IS IT BETTER INFORMATION, BETTER FACTUAL DATA, OR IS IT MORE OF A PRACTICE IN OUR DISCIPLINE TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE GENEROUS? I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW. I'M JUST SEEING LIKE A THREE TIMES, YOU KNOW, REDUCTION, AND OBVIOUSLY THAT IS HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR BOTH THE STATE AND ALL THE TAXING ENTITIES. LEANA MANN: SO I THINK IT'S MULTIFACETED, SO THEY CONTINUE TO PILE ON MORE WORKLOAD TO THE PROTEST SEASON WITH NO EXTENSION IN THE TIME FRAME. AND WE END UP WITH 54 DAYS, APPROXIMATELY WORK DAYS TO CERTIFY AN APPRAISAL ROLE. WELL, WHEN YOU HAVE 200,000 PROTESTS, THAT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. SO SOME OF IT IS THE AMOUNT OF WORK. SOME OF IT, I THINK, IS THAT WE HAD A LOT OF REALLY NEW ARB MEMBERS. WE'VE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY THAT ARB MEMBERS ARE IT'S NOT A FORMAL POLICY BY ANY MEANS, BUT THEY WANT TO HELP THE PROPERTY OWNER, AND WHEN THEY'RE SITTING IN FRONT OF JUST THAT PROPERTY OWNER, THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE FULL FACET OF THE SYSTEM THEY'RE WORKING WITHIN, AND REDUCING THAT PROPERTY OWNER BY 20% JUST MAKES EVERYONE ELSE PICK UP THE BURDEN. NICOLE CONLEY: SO WITH THE STATE SO HEAVILY RELIANT ON PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS TO FORM THIS GENERAL STATE BUDGET, HAS THIS RESULTED IN ANY SORT OF PROPERTY VALUE STUDY, SORT OF IMPLICATIONS FOR US AS WE BECOME INCREASINGLY MORE COMPASSIONATE IN THE WAY WE SORT OF RESOLVE THESE ARBITRARY AND HAS IT FLAGGED IT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE IT DOESN'T COMPORT THAT. YOU KNOW MOST OF THESE MONIES ARE GOING TO THE STATE INTO THE GENERAL COFFER, AND SO, LIKE, I CAN'T RECONCILE THE TWO. AND SO HAS IT RESULTED IN ANY SORT OF COMPTROLLER, SORT OF YELLOW FLAGS AROUND, SORT OF THIS TRIPLE, SORT OF NO. LEANA MANN: SO PROPERTY VALUE STUDY IS BASED OFF THE NOTICE VALUE. SO ANY REDUCTION THROUGH THE ARB PROCESS ACTUALLY DOESN'T AFFECT THE PROPERTY VALUE STUDY. YOU GET A PROPORTIONAL ADJUSTMENT FOR THE ARB VALUE LOSS. WITH THAT SAID, THERE ARE PROPERTY VALUE STUDY IMPLICATIONS THROUGHOUT THE STATE TO THE TO THE POINT THAT THE HOUSE AND SENATE HAVE PASSED, OR ARE PASSING, A PROPERTY VALUE STUDY TASK FORCE FOR THE INTERIM TO REALLY LOOK AT THE STUDY. AND SO WHILE IT DOESN'T DIRECTLY AFFECT PBS, I THINK THERE ARE LARGER IMPLICATIONS OF THIS ON THE SYSTEM THAT WILL AFFECT THE STATE FUNDING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THERE'S ALSO A QUESTION ABOUT PROTESTS REPRESENTED BY AGENTS VERSUS OWNERS. FOR 2025 WE'RE ACTUALLY CLOSER TO 90% AGENT REPRESENTED AT THIS POINT. SO WE'VE SEEN THIS, THIS TREND. YOU KNOW, PROPERTY TAX AGENTS OFFER A SERVICE, A CONVENIENCE, TO PROPERTY OWNERS, AND SO WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE TREND OF AGENTS INCREASING, OWNER PROTESTS DECREASING, AND THAT'S PRETTY STANDARD ACROSS THE STATE. DALLAS COUNTY IS RIGHT AT 90% AS WELL. SO NOTHING OUT OF LINE WITH ANYONE ELSE THERE. SHENGHAO WANG: AND DO YOU SEE DIFFERENCES IN THE AVERAGE OUTCOMES BETWEEN HOMEOWNER AND AGENT REPRESENTED PROTEST, LEANA MANN: IT DEPENDS, IT REALLY DEPENDS, ON THE AGENT. YOU KNOW, GENERALLY WE LIKE TO SAY THAT PROPERTY OWNERS, WE REALLY TRY TO HELP EDUCATE THEM ON THE SYSTEM. AND THROUGH THAT INFORMAL PROCESS, I'D HAVE TO ACTUALLY. LOOK AT THE NUMBERS TO SEE WHO CAME OUT ON IN A BETTER SCENARIO. [01:20:10] AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A REQUEST FOR THE ARB BUDGET AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL LEVY. KAT HARVEY: ALL RIGHT, SO, SO NOW WE'LL MOVE INTO THE MAJOR INCREASES THAT WERE SHOWN IN THE BUDGET. OF COURSE, BY ADDING 15 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE, NATURALLY AN INCREASE IN PERSONNEL AND BENEFIT COSTS. SO THIS INCREASE IS ROUGHLY 1.9 MILLION TO 14% INCREASE TO REFLECT THE ADDITION OF SEVERAL NEW FULL TIME POSITIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE DISTRICT. THAT IS JUST TO SUPPORT CONTINUED GROWTH AND ADDRESS THE ONGOING WORKLOAD DEMANDS LIKE WE SPOKE ABOUT, BENEFIT COSTS IS PRIMARILY DUE TO THE HIGHER PROJECTED HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS AND ELIGIBILITY AS THESE NEW POSITIONS ARE ADDED, BUT AGAIN, WE ARE COMMITTED TO OFFERING COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS PACKAGE TO SUPPORT EMPLOYEE WELLNESS, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. THAT IS A 7.76% INCREASE, ROUGHLY $430,000 JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CONLEY NICOLE CONLEY: YES, I THINK I ASKED JUST IN THE BUDGET, BUT I CAN'T RECALL, JUST I KNOW THAT INSURANCE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN EATING THE LUNCH OF MANY BUDGETS ACROSS THE STATE. DID WE WHERE IS THAT REFLECTED IN THE INSURANCE COST INCREASES? OR WERE WE ABLE TO SORT OF GET AN ADVANTAGEOUS SORT OF NEGOTIATION WITH OUR INSURANCE PROVIDERS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT COST DRIVER, AND I WILL SAY THE BENEFITS COSTS, THAT IS REMARKABLE, 7.76% I'M ASSUMING THAT WE'RE SELF INSURED, OR WE'RE NOT SELF INSURED, WE'RE IN A GROUP. SO THE 776, IS, I MEAN, THAT'S A PRETTY REASONABLE INCREASE FOR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. I'VE SEEN THEM GO UP, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM 15 TO 20% YEAR OVER YEAR. SO IT'S REALLY GREAT THAT WE HAVE THAT COST CONTAINMENT THERE, BECAUSE THAT IS A HUGE DRIVER. BUT I DO WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE INSURANCE, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SEEING SORT OF DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASES OR SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES. LEANA MANN: WE SAW SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE LAST YEAR, SO THE 2026, BUDGET ISN'T REFLECTING THAT. BUT IF THAT IS IN OUR LIABILITY AND PROPERTY INSURANCE UNDER OUR INSURANCE CATEGORY, BUT YES, WE DID SEE DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASES LAST YEAR. OUR HEALTH INSURANCE IS ONE LINE ITEM THAT SOMETIMES CHANGES FROM THE TIME WE PROPOSE OUR BUDGET IN JUNE TO SEPTEMBER ADOPTION. SO WE'VE GOTTEN PRELIMINARY RATE INCREASE INFORMATION, BUT WE WON'T GET A FORMAL OFFER OF WHAT OUR RATE INCREASE WILL BE UNTIL LIKE AUGUST NICOLE CONLEY: AND THAT'S BASED UPON ACTUARIAL SORT OF STUDIES AND THANK YOU. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: ON YOUR PERSONNEL COST IS THIS, INCLUDE THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU MADE FOR CHANGING GRADES AND ALL THAT SORT OF THING. LEANA MANN: YES. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND WHAT IS THE PERCENT DO YOU HAVE A COST OF LIVING INCREASE IN HERE? AND PERSONNEL COST LEANA MANN: WE DID NOT DO A COLA ACROSS THE BOARD, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO THERE IS NO JUST FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN'T CHANGE HIS OR HER GRADE OR STEP, THERE IS NO SALARY INCREASE. IS THAT CORRECT? LEANA MANN: NO, THERE WOULD BE NO SALARY INCREASE OUTSIDE OF MERIT INCREASE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. CORRECT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO MERIT INCREASES IN HERE LEANA MANN: IT IS IN PERSON. IT'S IN OUR BUDGET. YES, IT BUT DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: IS IT UNDER PERSONNEL COST? YES. AND WHAT ARE YOU RECOMMENDING FOR MERIT? I KNOW IT'S A LUMP SUM, BUT IS IT A 10% AMOUNT THAT YOU'VE GOT HOLDING FOR MERIT? LEANA MANN: WE PUT IN A 3% LUMP SUM AND A 3% MERIT, SO IT TOTALS SIX. NOT EVERYONE GETS THAT. SO IT'S BASED ON PERFORMANCE. SO IF THEY'RE MEETING EXPECTATIONS, THEY GET THE LUMP SUM PAYMENT AT THE END OF THE YEAR. IF YOU'RE EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS, OR, YOU KNOW, THE RANKING OF FOUR OR FIVE, THEN YOU GET EITHER A ONE SEPARATE, TWO STEP INCREASE. SO IT'S NOT STANDARD ACROSS THE BOARD. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO IF I AM MEETING, IF I'M DOING WELL ON MY JOB, I'M GOING TO GET A 3% INCREASE. LEANA MANN: NO, IF YOU'RE MEETING EXPECTATIONS, YOUR SALARY WOULDN'T CHANGE. YOU WOULD GET THE 5% LUMP SUM PAYMENT AT THE END OF THE YEAR. SO YOU'RE DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO EVERYONE, IT'S LIKE A BONUS. SO MOST PEOPLE WILL BE GETTING A SALARY INCREASE. LEANA MANN: IT'S NOT A BONUS. IT'S A DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I KNOW IT'S NOT A BONUS. I'M JUST SAYING THAT THEY'RE GETTING MORE MONEY. LET ME SAY IT A DIFFERENT WAY. MOST PEOPLE WILL BE GETTING MORE MONEY IN 2026 LEANA MANN: YES. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY, SO WE'RE NOT JUST BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GIVING A COLA DOESN'T MEAN THAT PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO BE ENTITLED, ALLOWED TO RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL PAY. [01:25:04] LEANA MANN: THAT'S CORRECT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY, SO THAT'S WORKED IN HERE. DOES THAT AMOUNT? DOES THAT INCLUDE YOU? IS THERE? DOES THAT LEANA MANN: NO. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: SO WE COULD, IF WE WANTED TO INCLUDE YOU ON THAT, YOU WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE THAT NUMBER. LEANA MANN: YES, YEAH. WHAT'S CURRENTLY IN THE 2026 BUDGET IS THE CONTRACT THAT WAS JUST APPROVED. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I UNDERSTAND, BUT, BUT YOU HAVEN'T CALCULATED IN IF WE WERE TO TAKE THE POSITION, WE WANTED TO HAVE MONEY THAT WE COULD PROVIDE TO THE CHIEF APPRAISER AT THE END OF 2026 IT WOULD NOT BE UNDER PERSONNEL COST. LEANA MANN: IT WOULD HAVE WE WOULD NEED A DIRECTIVE TO MODIFY THE PROPOSED BUDGET TO INCLUDE IT, AND THEN IT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN PERSONNEL COSTS IN THAT CATEGORY. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY, I'M TRYING TO GET INTO A BUDGET SITUATION WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO THAT IT'S ALREADY BAKED INTO THE AMOUNT SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK AND CHANGE YOUR YOUR CONTRACT EVERY TIME. IN OTHER WORDS, YOUR CONTRACTS IN PLACE. THERE'S BUDGET FOR YOU JUST THERE, LIKE THERE IS FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. AND IF WE DECIDE TO USE IT, WE COULD. IF WE DON'T WANT TO USE IT, WE DON'T. IT'S JUST BUDGETED SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE THE CONTRACT EVERY TIME WE ARE WE COULD PUT IT IN THE CONTRACT, BUT WE ALREADY HAVE IT IN THE BUDGET. WE DON'T HAVE TO AMEND THE BUDGET. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO PREVENT. LEANA MANN: BUT WE JUST NEED A DIRECTIVE FROM THE BOARD TELLING US WHAT TO PUT IN THE BUDGET, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND I WANT TO TREAT YOU JUST LIKE WE DO EVERYONE ELSE, AS FAR AS HAVING A POT OF MONEY TO DEAL WITH, DOES THAT MAKE AM I MAKING SENSE? LEANA MANN: YES NICOLE CONLEY: I CONCUR WITH THAT. AND ARE YOU THE ONLY ONE AFFECTED? SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, ADMINISTRATION, YOU HOLD THE SALARIES AND THEY DON'T GET IT. ARE YOU THE ONLY ONE THAT IS LEFT OUT OF THE MERIT PAY OPPORTUNITY? YES, YES. OKAY, SO I CONCUR WITH MISS CARTWRIGHT THAT WE SHOULD INCLUDE THE EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH CONTEMPLATING THAT YOU WOULD GET THE MERIT PAY AS WELL. LEANA MANN: WE WILL INCLUDE THAT IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET WHAT'S PRESENTED IN JUNE. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: IF I CAN FINISH MY THOUGHT ON THIS REAL QUICKLY, I'M SORRY, MR. CHAIRMAN, DO WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY WE DON'T AGREE WITH THE CHAT, THE SHIFTS AND THE GRADE CHANGES? AND TRY, I MEAN, I'M NOT SURE IF I AGREE WITH ALL OF THOSE THINGS, GETTING IT UP JUST TO WHATEVER IS CONSIDERED TO BE MEDIAN. I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF I AGREE WITH THAT OR NOT, WHICH IS THAT WOULD AFFECT PERSONNEL COSTS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S BAKED IN THERE. I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAVE SEPARATE THINGS THAT WE'RE DECIDING ON. IT'S BAKED INTO PERSONNEL COST, AND WE REALLY HAVEN'T DECIDED. I DON'T THINK JAMES VALADEZ: NO. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. THIS IS JUST PRESENTATION, AND THEN WE COULD GIVE DIRECTION AT THAT POINT. SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'D LIKE TO EXPLORE LEANA MANN: A WORK SESSION AND COMING UP WITH THE BEST SOLUTION, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY, GOT IT JAMES VALADEZ: MR. WANG, DID YOU HAVE SHENGHAO WANG: I DID. I THINK WE'VE COVERED IT IN OUR DISCUSSION. SO THANK YOU. NOTHING FOR ME RIGHT NOW. OKAY, KAT HARVEY: TO CONTINUE WITH THESE MAJOR INCREASES, SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DATA PURCHASES WAS ALSO AN INCREASE. THAT'S AN 86% INCREASE TOTAL DOLLAR VALUE, 293,035 THIS IS GOING TO ADD IN THE TRUE ROLE EXEMPTION PROCESSING SOFTWARE THAT WE'D LIKE TO USE, IT WOULD STREAMLINE EXEMPTION PROCESSING AND AUDITING WITH MINIMAL INTERACTION WITH THE TAXPAYER. LEANA MANN: SO THE TRUE ROLL IS JUST FOR OUR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AUDIT, NOT THE INITIAL PROCESSING OF EXEMPTIONS. WHAT IT WE DID THE PILOT IN OUR FIRST YEAR OF THE AUDIT, WHERE THEY RUN THEIR ALGORITHMS ON THE LIST OF PROPERTIES THAT ARE SELECTED FOR AUDIT, AND IT CHECKS DPS DATA, OTHER APPRAISAL DISTRICTS, OTHER EVEN STATE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE, AND REPORTS BACK A LIST OF DIFFERENT QUALIFICATIONS THAT THE PERSON MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE THAT RELATES TO HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. SO IT'S AN AUTOMATION TOOL FOR THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AUDIT. IT WAS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL IN OUR PILOT. SHENGHAO WANG: YOU'RE EXPLAINING WHY THE DATA SUBSCRIPTION AND DATA PURCHASE, AWESOME ENOUGH, AND YOU THINK THERE'S A NEW CONTRACT. LEANA MANN: IT WOULD BE A NEW CONTRACT FOR 26 SHENGHAO WANG: IS IT ONE THAT WE PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED? LEANA MANN: IT IS NOT SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY. LEANA MANN: SO THE PILOT FELL UNDER MY PURCHASING AUTHORITY BECAUSE IT WAS JUST A LIMITED NUMBER. SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, YOU'RE TRYING. OKAY, SO YOU, SO YOU'RE SAYING, LIKE WE. YOU WANT TO DO THIS CONTRACT, THE CONTRACT WILL HAVE TO BE SEPARATELY APPROVED, BUT [01:30:03] YOU WANT TO INCLUDE IN THE BUDGET FOR NOW, RIGHT? OKAY, JETT HANNA: WHO IS THE VENDOR? LEANA MANN: IT'S TRUE ROLL IO. NOW, WHEN WE ACTUALLY SELECT A VENDOR, WE WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH EITHER A STATE PURCHASING CONTRACT OR AN RFP PROCESS. SO WE DID A PILOT WITH TRUE ROLL, BUT THAT IS NOT WHO WE NECESSARILY WILL SELECT. JAMES VALADEZ: MR. HAVENSTRITE JOHN HAVENSTRITE: IS THERE AN IMPACT TO THE BUDGET THAT YOU KNOW THE SUCCESS OR THE FURTHER EXPANSION OF THE TRUE ROLL ACTIVITY SAVINGS, ADDITIONAL EXPENSES. LEANA MANN: I DON'T BELIEVE AT THIS TIME WE'LL SEE SAVINGS FROM IT, BECAUSE THERE'S ALL THEY'RE RUNNING IT THROUGH IS AN ALGORITHM WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE STAFF TO THEN SEND LETTERS AND REVIEW THEIR RESPONSES IF THEY SUBMIT BACK THE APPLICATION OR VERIFICATION. SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'LL SEE SAVINGS RIGHT OFF THE BAT. THINK ONCE OUR RECORDS ARE WE GET THROUGH ALL, YOU KNOW, 250,000 HOMESTEADS, AND WE'RE RUNNING 20% EVERY YEAR. I THINK THERE WILL BE LESS WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED, BUT WE WON'T BE THERE FOR ANOTHER FOUR OR FIVE YEARS. SHENGHAO WANG: WELL BUT MAYBE ANOTHER WAY, YOU'RE THE ALTERNATIVE OF HAVING HUMANS DO THE WHOLE THING WOULD BE MORE EXPENSIVE, DEFINITELY. YEAH. SO, SO IT'S NOT, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY COST SAVINGS TYPE, RATHER THAN LIKE YOU'RE NOT SEEING $1 DIFFERENCE IN YOUR BUDGET. LEANA MANN: YES IF WE DIDN'T DO THE TRUE ROLL EXEMPTION CONTRACT, WE WOULD PROBABLY NEED TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL FIVE STAFF JUST TO CUSTOMER SERVICE, EXEMPTION AUDITING. THANK YOU. KAT HARVEY: THE NEXT ITEM IS C3 AI CUSTOMER SERVICE SUBSCRIPTION. IT'S BASICALLY AN INTERNAL AI THAT WE'RE GOING TO USE TO FEED IT DATA THAT WE WANT, SAY, THE TAX CODE, POLICIES, COMPTROLLERS AND OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF, OR EXEMPTION STAFF, CAN GO INTO IT, ASK IT QUESTIONS AND GIVE IT REAL TIME ACCURATE DATA, SO THEY'RE NOT GOING ONLINE TO SOME EXTERNAL AI TRYING TO GET DATA OR PUTTING DATA IN THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE PUTTING INTO. AND THEN THE FINAL ONE IS THE MAPS DASHBOARD AND COMPLIANCE MONITORING SYSTEM THAT WOULD SUPPORT THAT NEW INTERNAL AUDIT AND COMPLIANCE DIVISION IN THE ADMIN DEPARTMENT IN ORDER TO FOLLOW ALONG MAPS, PBS, STUDY AND ANY OTHER COMPLIANCE THAT THE DISTRICT HAS TO FOLLOW. AND FOR JAMES VALADEZ: ARE WE GOING OUT FOR ANY RFPS ON ANY OF THESE? LEANA MANN: WE WILL HAVE TO GO OUT FOR THE EXEMPTION AUDIT UNDER RFP, UNLESS ONE OF THE VENDORS IS ON THE STATE PURCHASING CONTRACT, THE OTHER TWO ARE UNDER THE BOARD'S IT WOULDN'T REQUIRE AN RFP. KAT HARVEY: AND THEN FINALLY, JUST THE OVERALL INCREASES FOR EXISTING TOOLS, INCLUDING OUR HR TESTING PLATFORMS, TRAINING, SOFTWARE, FINANCE, LEGAL, COMPLIANCE, TOOLS AND REAL ESTATE MARKET DATA. THIS IS JUST THESE SERVICES REMAIN ESSENTIAL AND ARE JUST BEING ADJUSTED FOR GROWTH AND RISING RENEWAL COST IN ADDITION TRAINING AND EDUCATION, TRAVEL AND UTILITIES. SO BECAUSE OF THE NEW STAFF AND THE ADDITION OF PEOPLE THAT WE'RE ADDING ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, TRAINING AND EDUCATION REFLECTS THE NATURAL EXPANSION OF TRAINING NEEDS AS THE WORKFORCE GROWS. TRAVEL EXPENDITURES ARE INCREASING DUE TO THE NUMBER OF STAFF PARTICIPATING IN CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, OFF SITE TRAINING. WE RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND WE WANT EVERYONE TO STAY CURRENT WITH APPRAISAL STANDARDS, LEGISLATIVE UPDATES, BEST PRACTICES, AND THEN FOR UTILITIES, WITH ADDITIONAL OFFICE SPACE BEING FINISHED OUT AND THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES BEING IMPLEMENTED, WE ANTICIPATE MODEST GROWTH IN UTILITY USAGE TO MAINTAIN A SAFE AND COMFORTABLE WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR THE STAFF AND THE PUBLIC, JAMES VALADEZ: CLARIFYING THAT WE'RE STILL USING EDUCATIONAL SPACE TO BRING THOSE ON SITE WHENEVER POSSIBLE, LEANA MANN: CORRECT KAT HARVEY: MOVING INTO DECREASES APPRAISAL SERVICES. WITH THAT SHIFT TO IN HOUSE LAND APPRAISAL, WE ARE GOING TO BE REDUCING THE COST FOR THAT EXTERNAL COMPANY THAT WE WERE USING. IT REFLECTS OUR STRATEGIC DECISION TO BUILD THAT IN HOUSE, LAND APPRAISAL DIVISION. THAT IS A $250,000 DECREASE TO THE BUDGET AND THEN CAPITAL EQUIPMENT. A LOT OF THE ONE TIME PROJECTS WERE COMPLETED LAST OR THIS YEAR. SO THIS YEAR, WE REMODELED THE LITIGATION DEPARTMENT, REPLACED END OF LIFE, IT EQUIPMENT. AND THAT DOES NOT CARRY FORWARD INTO 2026 I AND HERE'S THE OVERALL BUDGET RECAP FOR ALL DIVISIONS, APPRAISAL DISTRICT, APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD, AND TOTAL INCLUDING THE BUILDING APP. [01:35:11] JAMES VALADEZ: MS CONLEY. NICOLE CONLEY: SORRY, JUST ONE FOLLOW UP BY FUNCTION OR BY I'M SORRY I'M LOSING THE TERMS, BUT I'M ASSUMING THAT WE'RE LIKE 85% PERSONNEL AND PEOPLE, AS OPPOSED TO CONTRACTS. AND JUST SO WHAT'S THE RATIO BETWEEN PERSONNEL AND CONTRACTS? AND SO WHEN WE SORT OF MAKE CHANGES AND EFFECTUATE WE MAKE CHANGES AND ADJUSTMENTS IN THE BUDGET. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PERSONNEL AND SALARIES PRIMARILY CORRECT. LEANA MANN: YES, IT'S LESS THAN THE 80% BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR LITIGATION BUDGET IS SO LARGE, BUT WE CAN GET THOSE EXACT NUMBERS FOR YOU FOR THE JUNE MEETING. NICOLE CONLEY: LITIGATION IS KIND OF PEOPLE, THOUGH IT'S NOT, LEANA MANN: NO, I THINK WE'RE CLOSER TO LIKE 60% PEOPLE ON BENEFITS. NICOLE CONLEY: OKAY, GOOD, LEANA MANN: BUT I'LL GET YOU AN EXACT NUMBER. JAMES VALADEZ: JETT. JETT HANNA: YES, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF THINGS I JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN ON. WE'D HIT SOME DISCUSSION. I THINK I DON'T WANT TO ABOUT THE LEGAL SERVICES BUDGET, AND I'M SEEING THAT THAT WE'RE NOT ANTICIPATING MUCH OF AN INCREASE THERE. SO SO DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE LOOKING AT ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL LITIGATION. LEANA MANN: I THINK THE NUMBER OF TRIALS THAT WE WILL GO TO IN 2025 WILL INCREASE AT THIS POINT IN TIME. I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'LL HOLD TO 2026 I THINK BY THE TIME WE GET TO OUR ADOPTED BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER, WE'LL HAVE A MUCH BETTER FEELING OF HOW THAT'LL PLAY OUT. OKAY, SO THERE MAY BE SOME DIRECTIVE FROM THE BOARD BEFORE THE ADOPTED BUDGET THAT TO INCREASE THE LEGAL SERVICES. JETT HANNA: OKAY. YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WHERE THAT FIT IN IN THIS PROCESS. THE OTHER THING I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP, AND IT'S A LITTLE UNCLEAR TO ME HOW MUCH FOR THAT THIS IS A BUDGET QUESTION OR JUST A POLICY QUESTION, BUT WAS, IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT I BRING IT UP DURING THE BUDGETING PROCESS, AND IT IS EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION. I REALLY APPRECIATE OUR EMPLOYEES. I DID NOT FEEL HOWEVER THAT THE THE PARTY THAT GOT PUBLICIZED LOOKED GOOD, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO WHAT I SEE GOING ON IN OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TOWN AND I, I KNOW AT THE COUNTY THOSE SORTS OF THINGS REQUIRE SPECIFIC APPROVAL, APPROVAL FROM THE BOARD OR FROM THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. IN THE CASE OF THE COUNTY, I JUST WANT TO FLAG THAT AND FIGURE OUT WHEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD HAVE SOME POLICIES ABOUT WHAT WE DO FOR EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION AND HOW THAT GETS STRUCTURED. I SEE THERE'S NO CHANGE IN THE BUDGET FOR THAT FOR THIS YEAR, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADDRESS THAT ISSUE. LEANA MANN: I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE. WE HAD A RECORD PROTEST SEASON WHERE OUR STAFF WERE WORKING EXTRA HOURS, VERY ADVERSARIAL ON THEY WENT THROUGH A LOT OF STRESS THAT YEAR, AND SO WE REWARDED THEM. I THINK THE ARTICLE EVEN REFERENCED ANOTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENT THAT SAID IT WAS KIND OF RIGHT IN LINE WITH WHAT THEY'RE DOING. THE EVENT WAS WITHIN OUR BUDGET. IT WAS UNDER MY SPENDING AUTHORITY, AND I THINK OUR STAFF DESERVED IT. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: MAY I AGREE WITH MR. HANNA, FRANKLY, I THINK THAT ANY EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION EVENT SHOULD BE APPROVED BY THE BOARD FIRST, AND I THINK THAT THE EVENT SHOULD BE PERHAPS LIMITED IN SCOPE AND AND PERHAPS ONLY HELD HERE AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE. I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY COGNIZANT OF OUR ROLE AS GOVERNMENT, IN GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND AND WHAT WAS DONE LAST YEAR THAT. WITHIN THE SCOPE OF WHAT PRIVATE ENTITIES DO FOR [01:40:02] THEIR EMPLOYEES. I THINK WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT POSITION. AND I APPRECIATE OUR EMPLOYEES, AND I KNOW THEY WORK VERY HARD DURING THE PROTEST SEASON. THERE ARE OTHER WAYS THAT CAN BE APPRECIATED THAN PLAYING TOP GOLF. JAMES VALADEZ: MR. HAVENSTRITE. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: WHERE IS THIS DISCUSSION IN THE MATERIAL? THE EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION LINE ITEM, WHERE WOULD WE SEE THAT? PAGE 44 THANKS. JAMES VALADEZ: SO I YOU HAVE ANY STATEMENT ON THAT, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OR WHAT WE WERE TALKING JUST TO MAKE CLEAR, I THINK IT SHOWS A $55,000 EXPENSE APPRECIATION, APPROPRIATION, IS THAT CORRECT? AND JUST SEEMS TO ME THERE YOU COULD HAVE TWO OR THREE EVENTS ON $55,000 A YEAR, AND PERHAPS WE COULD CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS. OR WE CAN CUT OUT THE LINE ITEM ALTOGETHER. JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CONLEY. NICOLE CONLEY: I DO HAVE A COMMENT. AND IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT SORT OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN THE TYPES OF PROGRAMMING OFFERED FOR EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION, I LOVE TO SEE SOME OF THOSE MONIES TRANSFERRED INTO TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR THE TEAM AND THE STAFFING AS A WAY TO SORT OF GIVE IT, NOT NECESSARILY LOSE INVESTMENT IN EMPLOYEES AND SORT OF MEANINGFUL WAYS, BUT ALLOWING THEM TO SORT OF PURSUE, YOU KNOW, HIGHER CERTIFICATIONS IN WAYS THAT MAKE THEM MORE EFFICIENT, TO SORT OF AT LEAST GENERATE SOME IMPETUS AROUND SORT OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT IF WE WERE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH REDUCING THE EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD SUPPORT TRANSFERRING AN APPORTIONMENT OF THOSE DOLLARS TO TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYEES. JAMES VALADEZ: MR. WANG, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? SHENGHAO WANG: YEAH, CAN I? CAN I ASK MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS, IS THE CONCERN ABOUT THE NEGATIVE PUBLIC OR THE KIND OF PUBLIC PERCEPTION, OR THAT THIS KIND OF PRACTICE IS INHERENTLY DISFAVORED? I PERSONALLY, I THINK THAT I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH WHAT HAPPENED. AND YOU KNOW THAT SOMEONE MIGHT DISAGREE WITH HOW GOVERNMENT DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE COST PER PERSON AND THE TOTAL COST, I THINK, TO ME, DOES NOT SEEM LIKE A BIG DEAL IN THE SCOPE OF THINGS. AND I THINK THAT, AS MISS MANN SAID, GIVEN THE UNUSUALLY DIFFICULT, YOU KNOW, PROTEST SEASON THAT THEY WENT THROUGH, THAT IF I WERE IN MISS MANN'S SHOES, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR. SO I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE THE ORIGIN OF THESE CONCERNS ARE. JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CARTWRIGHT, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: MY CONCERN IS TWOFOLD. FIRST, FIRST OF ALL, I REALLY DO THINK IT'S A QUESTION ABOUT THE GOVERNMENTAL, PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS, WHETHER IT SHOULD BE MONIES, TAX DOLLARS, SHOULD BE SPENT IN THIS MANNER. HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT, FROM THAT VIEWPOINT. THE OTHER THING I HAVE IS IN TERMS OF EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW UNDER APPRECIATED I'D FEEL IF I HAD TO GO PLAY TOP GOLF AS AN EMPLOYEE. I DON'T THINK YOU CAN JUST ASSUME THAT EVERYBODY FEELS APPRECIATED BY ONE EVENT OR ONE THING. IT'S JUST IT'S JUST DIFFICULT WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE STAFF OF OVER 150 PEOPLE AND TO ORGANIZE AN EVENT AROUND SOMETHING LIKE TOP GOLF OR GOING TO A TENNIS CLUB OR ANYTHING ATHLETIC WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, JUST PUNISHMENT FOR ME AS AN EMPLOYEE. SO I'M NOT SURE YOU'RE APPRECIATING EMPLOYEES. I AGREE WITH MISS CONLEY THAT IT MIGHT BE MORE APPROPRIATE TO USE THE MONEY TO TO SPEND FOR AN EMPLOYEE TO GO AND GET SPECIAL TRAINING IN AN IAAO CONFERENCE ARE APPRECIATE THEIR WORK IN SOME OTHER MANNER OF THEIR CHOOSING. SO THOSE ARE MY TWO CONCERNS. LEANA MANN: SO. MR. WE DID DO A SURVEY OF THE STAFF, AND THEY'VE [01:45:03] PICKED TOP GOLF 10 YEARS IN A ROW, AND I TURNED IT DOWN EVERY YEAR. I CONVINCED MARYA IT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA. BUT THEY THEY CHOSE THAT WE HAD A ROUGH YEAR. LOOKING BACK, I WON'T DO IT AGAIN, BUT I THINK THEY DESERVED IT. JAMES VALADEZ: MR. HAVENSTRITE JOHN HAVENSTRITE: IS THIS SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO ARE WE ARE WE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION NOW TO SORT OF INFORM CHANGES THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET? MY GENERAL THINKING WITH RESPECT TO THIS EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION STUFF IS, IS THAT WE'VE IT SEEMS TO ME THAT OUR OUR STAFF, IS UNDERPAID WHEN COMPARED TO THE MARKET, JUST VERY BROADLY SPEAKING, AND I WOULDN'T MIND SEEING THAT $55,000 OR WHATEVER WE CHOOSE TO BE IN THAT EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION BUDGET JUST SORT OF ADDED TO THE MERIT PAY OPPORTUNITIES SO THAT WE WE WERE NOT BONUSING, BUT WE'RE PROVIDING, WE'RE PROVIDING SOME SORT OF MERIT BASED APPRECIATION AT THE END OF THE YEAR TO MORE EMPLOYEES, OR TO EMPLOYEES IN A MORE MEANINGFUL WAY THAN IT WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE. I'VE BEEN I WORK FOR A NONPROFIT, AND NONPROFITS THROW LOUSY PARTIES, RIGHT? I DON'T, I DON'T FIND THEM TO BE ALL THAT ENTERTAINING. AND I WOULD MUCH PREFER, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE A COUPLE OF TRIPS TO THE GROCERY STORE PAID FOR BY MY EMPLOYER THAN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY GOLF WITH FOLKS THAT I SPENT EIGHT HOURS, YOU KNOW, NOT TALKING TO. LEANA MANN: THINK THE STAFF WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATIVE. JETT HANNA: I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I THINK THAT THE THE THE BUDGET, PRESENTATION HAS BEEN EXCELLENT. I APPRECIATE HOW PROFESSIONALLY AND WELL THOUGHT OUT IT HAS BEEN. AND YOU KNOW MY FIRST REACTION HEARING 7.73% WHEN ALL OF OUR ENTITIES HAVE TO DEAL WITH 3.5% WAS YIKES, BUT Y'ALL HAVE PRESENTED A VERY GOOD CASE FOR THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR HERE. WE MAY HAVE SOME SMALL TWEAKS HERE AND THERE AND AND SO I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT BRINGING UP THE EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION THING, I THINK THAT JUST HAVING A POLICY IN PLACE WILL HELP REINFORCE THAT WE ARE RUNNING LEAN AND MEAN AND TRYING TO DO WHAT'S NEEDED FOR OUR ENTITIES, SO AND FOR THE TAXPAYER. JAMES VALADEZ: MS CONLEY NICOLE CONLEY: FOR THE PURPOSES OF FACILITATING THE BUDGET PROCESS, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD AGREE TO LIKE WHAT IS A REASONABLE BUDGETARY AMOUNT THAT WE CAN AGREE FOR BUDGET I'M NOT SURE THAT THE GOVERNANCE CAN SORT OF DICTATE THE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES, I WOULD BE RELUCTANT IN SORT OF DICTATING THE ACTIVITIES THAT YOUR EMPLOYEES HAVE COALESCED AROUND, THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT THEY WANT. BUT CERTAINLY IT'S THE NUMBER RIGHT? IS 55,000 APPROPRIATE FOR EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION WHEN YOU SORT OF CONSIDER THE FACT THAT OTHER BUDGETS ACROSS THE ENTITIES, AND SO I WOULD PROPOSE THAT MAYBE WE SETTLE ON A BUDGETARY AMOUNT THAT WE FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH AND GIVING BROAD PARAMETERS AROUND SORT OF MINIMIZING EXPOSURE TO THOSE ACTIVITIES, BUT IF THE EMPLOYEES APPRECIATE GOING TO TOP GOLF OR BARBECUE OR WHATEVER LIKE, I JUST FEEL LIKE THAT'S BEYOND SORT OF OUR SCOPE OF GOVERNANCE IN MY IN MY OPINION. AND SO IF WE COULD SETTLE ON A BUDGETARY AMOUNT THAT WE THINK IS APPROPRIATE, THEN I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE MORE BEFITTING FOR THE GUIDANCE FROM THIS BOARD, AND THAT'S JUST MY THREE CENTS. JAMES VALADEZ: MY ONLY COMMENTARY ON THE APPRECIATION LINE ITEM IS THAT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE TRUE BENEFIT OF THAT LINE ITEM IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR DEPARTMENTS THAT DON'T NORMALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO SIT DOWN WITH ONE ANOTHER. DOESN'T MATTER IF THEY'RE SHARING LUNCH AROUND A BUNCH OF FOLDING TABLES ON THE THIRD FLOOR BREAK ROOM, OR IF THEY'RE TOP GOLF, I THINK THE DEBATE TO MS. CONLEY'S POINT IS THAT YOU KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER IS, BUT I THINK IT'S MORE ABOUT HAVING THE ACTIVITY AND MOMENT WHERE THEY GET TO ACTUALLY HUMANIZE. WITH ONE ANOTHER AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE APPRECIATIVE OF THE WORK THAT [01:50:02] EVERYONE'S DOING THROUGH SUCH A DIFFICULT PROCESS TO NAVIGATE EVERY YEAR, WHETHER THAT COMES, YOU KNOW, AT TOP GOLF OR SOMETHING ELSE, BLANCA ZAMORA GARCIA: I WANT TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH HAVING APPRECIATION DAYS FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES IS IMPORTANT. I RECALL WHEN I WAS A CLASSROOM TEACHER, AND WE WOULD HAVE SOME, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THREE TIMES A YEAR THAT WE WOULD GET TOGETHER IN THE CAFETERIA, BUT IF LUNCH WAS CATERED FOR EVERYONE, AND EVERYONE WOULD HAVE A GOOD TIME AND GET TO TALK AND VISIT WITH PEOPLE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO BECAUSE YOU'RE WORKING. SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THOSE, TO HAVE THOSE THAT THAT TIME, TO BE ABLE TO SHARE A MEAL WITH YOUR COWORKER THAT CAN'T TALK TO BECAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS SO BUSY, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU DO IT. I JUST, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT COST THAT WOULD BE SHENGHAO WANG: FOR THE I AGREE WITH MS. CONLEY'S POINT THAT I THINK IT IS BEYOND THE PURVIEW OF THE I MEAN, WE MIGHT SAY, LOOK, DON'T GO TO STRIP CLUBS. AND I THINK THAT'S FAIR. BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT FOR HERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET AND $55,000 OVER 180 FTES, $300 PER PERSON PER YEAR. THAT'S LIKE A COUPLE OF PIZZA PARTIES OR WHATEVER, RIGHT? SO I TO MS. CONLEY'S POINT, WHICH I AGREE WITH. I THINK $55,000 IS A PRETTY REASONABLE AMOUNT, AND ALSO NOT THAT MUCH IN THE SCHEME OF THE BUDGET. JAMES VALADEZ: THE ONLY DIRECTION I WOULD HAVE TO THIS END WOULD BE, I THINK THE COMMENT WAS MADE TO REDIRECT IT TOWARDS EDUCATION, OR IAAO STATUS OR SOMETHING. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT CLERICAL AND STAFF THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE EXPOSURE TO IAAO STANDARDS WOULD BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, SHARE IN THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE APPRECIATED. LEANA MANN: IT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION IF Y'ALL ARE GOING TO CHANGE THAT LINE ITEM TO PUT IT TOWARDS SALARIES, AS JOHN SUGGESTED, YEAH, SHENGHAO WANG: I MEAN $300 PER EVEN IF WE PUT THE WHOLE THING TOWARDS SALARIES, $300 PER PERSON PER YEAR. I MEAN, IT'S BETTER THAN $0 PER PERSON IN A YEAR. BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK EVEN COMPARED TO JUST THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT THEY'RE ALREADY PLANNING TO MAKE. I THINK IT'S NOT THAT MUCH, AND I THINK THAT THERE'S INDEPENDENT MORALE VALUE OF THE STAFF CHOOSING SOME KIND OF SHARED ACTIVITY. SO I WOULD NOT SUPPORT THE RELOCATION OF THE EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION BUDGET, AND I DON'T KNOW IT MAY BE JUST BECAUSE I'M JUNIOR, BUT IF MY BOSS SAID TO ME, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB, WE'RE GOING TO SEND YOU TO TRAINING SO YOU CAN DO MORE WORK FOR US. LIKE I WOULD NOT FEEL VERY APPRECIATED. LIKE YOU CONGRATULATE, RIGHT? IT'S A PIE EATING CONTEST WHERE THE REWARD IS MORE PIE. BUT, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND JUST AS I WOULDN'T FEEL APPRECIATED TO PLAY GOLF. I MEAN, SHENGHAO WANG: RIGHT, BUT THE EMPLOYEES ARE CHOOSING THIS, VERSUS THE EMPLOYER YOU'RE SAYING, WE'RE LIMITING YOUR REWARDS TO FORMAL TRAINING THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, BENEFIT US AS A DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THAT'S A GOOD POINT. NICOLE CONLEY: MAYBE THOSE AMBITIOUS EMPLOYEES, RIGHT, SHENGHAO WANG: RIGHT? I MEAN, MAYBE YOU CAN OPT OUT OF IT OR SOMETHING, BUT, BUT, BUT, THERE'S ALREADY, LIKE A TRAINING AND EDUCATION BUDGET AS WELL FOR THAT. SO LAST THING I'LL SAY ON THIS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT A ROUGHLY $35 MILLION BUDGET, AND I THINK WE SPENT MORE THAN ENOUGH AIR TIME ON A $55,000 LINE ITEM. JAMES VALADEZ: DO WE NEED ANY DIRECTION ON THIS BASE? ARE YOU LEANA MANN: WE WOULD NEED DIRECTION FROM THE BOARD ON ANY CHANGES YOU WANT MADE? I KNOW DEBBIE BROUGHT UP THE SALARY SURVEY, SO ANY DIRECTIVES THAT Y'ALL WANT TO GIVE US TO GO BACK AND UPDATE THE PROPOSAL FOR JUNE. JAMES VALADEZ: AND THIS IS JUST KIND OF A AN AD HOC YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO VOTES BEING TAKEN. SO IF SOMEONE HAS SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO GIVE DIRECTION ON, THEY CAN GIVE IT AT ANY TIME. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: DO YOU FEEL LIKE SO YOU'VE HEARD THIS BROAD DISCUSSION ABOUT ABOUT HOW TO EXPRESS EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION. DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE DISCRETION TO ALLOCATE THESE FUNDS IN A MANNER THAT YOU THINK IS IN LINE WITH THE EMPLOYEES WANTS AND NEEDS LEANA MANN: I DO, AND BELIEVE ME, I DON'T WANT TO END UP IN AN ARTICLE AGAIN EITHER. SO I WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE USE THE FUNDS APPROPRIATELY WHILE STILL REWARDING EMPLOYEES FOR THEIR HARD WORK. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: SO IF WE LEAVE IT AS IS YOU, YOU'RE GOOD AND LEANA MANN: YES AND EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION ALSO COVERS SOME PROGRAMS, SO WE HAVE, LIKE, OUR DUAL DESIGNATION PROGRAM THAT'S IN THERE. SO IF WE REMOVED THAT ENTIRE LINE ITEM, WE'D ALSO BE REMOVING THAT PROGRAM INCENTIVIZING EMPLOYEES TO GET EXTRA DESIGNATIONS THROUGH ITEM. SO I THINK THERE'S SOME THINGS [01:55:02] IN THAT LINE ITEM THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN. YOU KNOW, $40,000 A YEAR FOR A CHRISTMAS PARTY AND A COUPLE LUNCHES, I THINK IS ADEQUATE AND WE CAN APPROPRIATELY USE THOSE FUNDS. THANK YOU. SHENGHAO WANG: I GENERAL QUESTIONS THAT I HAD FROM EARLIER FOR THE QUESTION ABOUT, LIKE, THE LEGAL SPEND, WHAT IS THE CADENCE OF SOMEONE FILES A PROTEST THEN AND END UP FILING A LAWSUIT? WHEN DOES THAT LAWSUIT GO TO TRIAL AND LIKE, WHAT'S THE LIFE CYCLE OF THAT PROCESS FOR? LEANA MANN: IT DEPENDS. SO THERE ARE SOME CHANGES THAT ARE GOING ON WITH THE D WALK DOCKET IN TRAVIS COUNTY THAT ARE REQUIRING MEDIATION, BUT IT CAN BE YEARS, AND AGAIN, WE'RE THE DEFENDANT IN THE SUIT, SO WE'RE NOT PUSHING THE LAWSUIT. IT'S UP TO THE PLAINTIFF, AND IT REALLY VARIES BASED ON THEIR STRATEGY. SHENGHAO WANG: SO WHEN YOU SAID WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION IN SEPTEMBER FOR, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET PLANNING PURPOSES, WHAT? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN BETWEEN NOW AND THEN THAT? LEANA MANN: I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO OUR LITIGATION STRATEGY AND THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, YOU CAN SET THAT AS AN AGENDA ITEM IN JUNE TO TALK ABOUT, SHENGHAO WANG: OKAY, BUT THINGS WILL HAPPEN THAT WILL GIVE US MORE INFORMATION. YEAH, OKAY, I APPRECIATE THAT. AND THEN, OH, AND THEN, WHEN YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE INSURANCE COSTS GOING UP, WERE YOU THAT? DO YOU, IF YOU RECALL, WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT LIKE PROPERTY AND PHYSICAL OR WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT LIKE HEALTH AND BENEFITS FOR THE EMPLOYEES. LEANA MANN: IN 2025 WE EXPERIENCED AN INCREASE IN PROPERTY AND LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE THROUGH TML, AND THAT WAS ACROSS ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN TEXAS, MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE NATURAL DISASTERS THAT WE HAD. SHENGHAO WANG: AND ARE THOSE PRIMARILY RENEWED ON A YEARLY CYCLE THOSE OKAY, THANK YOU. THAT'S IT. JAMES VALADEZ: CAN YOU CONFIRM THE MERIT BASED AMOUNT IS ALLOCATED FOR YOU FOR THE END OF 25 LEANA MANN: YES, OKAY, AND THAT WAS IN THE CONTRACT. JAMES VALADEZ: SO WE WOULD JUST NEED TO CLARIFY 26 IS THAT CORRECT? DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY DIRECTION TO STAFF THAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE GENERALLY? DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: GENERALLY? YEAH, I DO. YOU MENTIONED THAT UNDER PERSONNEL COSTS THAT YOU HAVE INCORPORATED 3% FOR EMPLOYEES, AND ANOTHER 3% FOR A TOTAL OF 6% FOR 2026 THAT YOU CAN USE FOR GIVING RAISES BASED NOT ONLY ON MERIT, BUT HOW THEY'RE PERFORMING THEIR WORK. IS THAT CORRECT? LEANA MANN: CORRECT DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THAT WE MAY GIVE, NOT THAT YOU MAY UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NOT DIRECT, BUT IT'S MAY YOU'VE BAKED IT INTO THAT? YES, I WANT THIS. I WANT IT TO BE 2% FOR ALL EMPLOYEES AND 4% FOR MERIT. I MEAN, IF THAT MAKE STILL A TOTAL OF SIX, BUT WITH MORE EMPHASIS ON 4% ON THE MERIT INCREASE THAT YOU'VE BAKED IN AND LIKEWISE, WHAT IT THE CHIEF APPRAISER TO BE PART OF THAT EQUATION, UNDERSTANDING THAT YOUR YOUR CONTRACT GOES THROUGH DECEMBER, 2026 WE HAVE A CONTRACT AMOUNT ALREADY IN THERE. WE DO NOT HAVE A MERIT INCREASE FOR 2026 IN OUR CONTRACT. BUT I WANT THE MONEY TO BE ALLOCATED OR BUDGETED SO THAT WE AS A CONTRACT COMMITTEE CAN KNOW THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A BUDGET AMENDMENT, THAT IT'S ALREADY BAKED INTO THE TO THE BUDGET, AND WE CAN USE THAT AMOUNT IF WE IF WE SEE, IF WE WANT TO. SO THOSE, THOSE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I LIKE TO HAVE CHANGED, AND BUT, BUT TO PUT THE CHIEF APPRAISERS THAT AMOUNT IN AS IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES, WHICH ARE KIND OF AN EMPLOYEE AND KIND OF APPOINTEES ARE THAT THE OTHER THING IS, ON ALL THE CHANGES THAT YOU WERE PRO THAT YOU WERE PROPOSING, AS FAR AS CHANGING GRADES AND IN ORDER TO MEET MEDIAN SALARY REQUIREMENTS, I WOULD LIKE TO RESTRICT THAT JUST TO THE GIS EMPLOYEES AND TO THE COMMERCIAL APPRAISERS, AND LEAVE EVERYTHING ELSE AS IT IS, BECAUSE I NOTICED THAT THE GIS EMPLOYEES WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY LOW, IS THAT CORRECT? AND THE COMMERCIAL APPRAISERS FOR LIKEWISE LOW, EVERYTHING ELSE I THOUGHT WAS RELATIVELY CLOSE, AND I DON'T AGREE WITH BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY ANALYSIS. JAMES VALADEZ: CAN YOU CAN YOU TOGGLE BACK TO THAT SLIDE? I'M ALWAYS COGNIZANT OF THE. A CLERICAL STAFF AND SUPPORT [02:00:02] STAFF. AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHILE I TAKE THE POINT THAT WE WERE INSIDE OF MARGIN OF, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SINGLE DIGITS, I DON'T THINK IT HAD GOTTEN TO 10, BUT I JUST WANTED DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: THEY HAD ALREADY TALKED ABOUT TO MAKE THE ACTUAL RECLASSIFYING ROWS FOR CHIEF FOR THE COMMERCIAL APPRAISERS AND GIS TECHNICIANS. WERE YOU RECLASSIFYING FOR COMMERCIAL FOR CLERICAL? JAMES VALADEZ: I JUST DON'T SEE IT BROKEN OUT LEANA MANN: THEY'D GET AN 8% ADJUSTMENT DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: DOWN BELOW. LEANA MANN: ALSO, IF WE ONLY DID COMMERCIAL, WE WOULD NEED TO ALSO MOVE TEAM LEADS UP, BECAUSE IT WOULD THROW OFF MANAGEMENT VERSUS SALARIED. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: OKAY, SO I GUESS I'M SAYING I'LL KEEP THE RECLASSIFIED ROADS ROLES, BUT NOT THE PROPOSED ADJUSTMENTS. AND JAMES VALADEZ: I'M SAYING I WOULD WANT TO SEE THE PROPOSED ADJUSTMENT. SO I WOULD, I WOULD ALMOST BE, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: HE WANTS TO SEE THOSE UP PREVIOUS SLIDES THAT SHOWED THE THERE WE GO, RIGHT THERE. BUT YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN FOR THE CLERKS AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS IS JUST 1.67% IS THAT CORRECT? LEANA MANN: IT IS. BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY ARE INCREASING THEIR STARTING PAY, SO THE COUNTY HAS ALREADY SAID THEY'RE GOING UP IN OCTOBER, SO WE'RE BEHIND. THIS WON'T OURS WON'T TAKE EFFECT TILL JANUARY, SO I THINK WE'LL BE CLOSER TO FIVE OR 6% BELOW MEDIAN BY THE TIME WE START OUR 2026, BUDGET. JAMES VALADEZ: AND REALLY, IF I'M READING THIS CHART CORRECTLY, IF YOU GO TO THE VERY BOTTOM, IT'S REALLY THE 8.38% WHEN YOU TAKE INTO EFFECT, EVERYBODY, RIGHT? LEANA MANN: JUST THE DEED CLERK, DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: NO, JUST THE DEED CLERKS. JAMES VALADEZ: OKAY, THAT'S BUT, I MEAN, LIKE ALL OF THAT WOULD BE CLASSIFIED AS CLERICAL. SO IT'S NOT JUST 1.67 AND 1.67 IT'S IN ADDITION TO THAT 8.38 AND WE WOULD AVERAGE THOSE TO BE SOMETHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF FOUR AND A HALF OR 5% RIGHT? SO IT'S MEANINGFUL, AND SPECIFICALLY, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A DEPARTMENT THAT IS PROBABLY FEELING THE PINCH MORE IN TERMS OF COST OF LIVING AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY HAS A LOT OF THE NUANCE OF THE DAY TO DAY OPERATION TO REALLY MAKE THE ENGINE MOVE. I MEAN, I RESPECT EVERYTHING THAT THE APPRAISERS ARE DOING ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOLKS THAT ARE INTERACTING WITH THE COMMUNITY ON A DAILY BASIS, I WOULD HATE TO LOSE, YOU KNOW, SOME TENURED CLERICAL STAFF OVER, YOU KNOW, TWO OR 3% THAT WE'RE LEAVING ON THE TABLE HERE WHEN, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S COMING FROM A SALARY POSITION THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AS LOW AS 41 LEANA MANN: WOULD THE BOARD BE OPEN TO DOING A COLA, JUST ADJUSTING THE ENTIRE PAY SCALE OF LOOKING AT EACH INDIVIDUAL POSITION. JAMES VALADEZ: OH, SORRY, JOHN, JOHN HAVENSTRITE: LOOKING AT THE CLERICAL. WHAT SORT OF TURNOVER RATE DO WE HAVE WITH THIS GROUP? KAT HARVEY: IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE REALLY HELD ON THE STAFF. WE'VE DONE A VERY GOOD JOB OF PROVIDING FOR THEM AND HAVING GOOD MANAGEMENT, AND WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A LOT OF TURNOVER THERE. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: OKAY. AND REMIND ME, IF YOU WHAT, HOW YOU'VE TREATED SALARIES IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. LEANA MANN: FOR THIS PARTICULAR, LAST SALARY ADJUSTMENT WAS IN 2022 WHICH TOOK EFFECT IN THE 23 BUDGET. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: SO THEY'VE GONE, SO THEY'VE GONE TWO YEARS WITHOUT A SALARY INCREASE IN THIS WOULD BE THE THIRD IF WE CHOSE NOT TO ADJUST SALARIES AND FOR THIS GROUP LEANA MANN: CORRECT. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: OKAY, AND THIS IS A GROUP THAT WE'VE HAD A PRETTY GOOD, PRETTY GOOD RUN WITH, IF WE'RE HANGING ON TO OUR TENURED EMPLOYEES, KAT HARVEY: YEAH. AND THE NATURAL PROGRESSION IS SOMEBODY FROM ONE OF THESE DIVISIONS WOULD, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY MOVE UP AND GO UP INTO A HIGHER POSITION, AND WE WOULD BRING IN NEW PEOPLE. JOHN HAVENSTRITE: SO IT'S A GROUP THAT YOU USE AS A SORT OF A ENTRY LEVEL PLATFORM, OKAY, I'M, I'M INCLINED TO WANT TO OFFER THESE FOLKS SOME, SOME OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THEIR THEIR THEIR TAKE ON IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF THEY ARE A DEVELOPMENTAL GROUP, THEY'RE A GROUP THAT WE WANT TO HANG ON TO. AND IF IT'S A GROUP THAT WE HAVEN'T HONORED WITH A PAY INCREASE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, I'M NOT SURE THAT WOULD WANT TO RISK IT FOR A THIRD MY GENERAL MY GENERAL THOUGHTS. NICOLE CONLEY: IT LOOKS LIKE YOU MIGHT HAVE A SPLIT BOARD, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU TAKE THIS GUIDANCE, BUT I DO CONCUR WITH THE CHAIRMAN. OBVIOUSLY, I'M MORE INTERESTED IN SORT OF PROTECTING THOSE LOWER SALARIES WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH AFFORDABILITY IN BASIC SORT OF LIVING HERE IN AUSTIN. SO ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE FRONT END EMPLOYEES. SO I CONCUR WITH YOU THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO DO ADJUSTMENTS THAT THEY HAVE TO BE PART OF IT. I CAN'T SORT OF SIGN OFF ON DOING SORT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND MANAGERIAL SORT OF ADJUSTMENTS AND INCREASES WITHOUT ADDRESSING THOSE LOWER LOWER. FIND STAFF, I MEAN, IN THE STEPS AND MAINTAINING YOUR SALARY [02:05:03] STRUCTURE SCALE, I DON'T NECESSARILY, I DON'T SUPPORT A COLA AT THIS TIME, JUST BECAUSE, OBVIOUSLY THE EXPENSE, IT'S GOING TO BE MORE COSTLY. I'M ALREADY 773, IS ALREADY A, YOU KNOW, A PERCENTAGE POINT INCREASE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONTENDING WITH, ANYTHING ABOVE THAT, I THINK IS GOING TO BE CHALLENGING FOR US TO JUSTIFY. SO I THINK THAT THIS IS A GOOD INTERIM WAY TO ADDRESS MOST OF STAFF IN A WAY THAT'S MEANINGFUL ACROSS THEIR SALARIES, WITHOUT NECESSARILY A COLA. I DO WANT TO ASK ABOUT THE TWO AND FOUR SPLIT. MISS CARTWRIGHT, SO THE FOUR IS MERIT, RIGHT? THAT'S BASED ON EXPECTATIONS, AND YOU MEETING YOUR JOB REQUIREMENTS. THE 2% YOU SAID IT WAS A LUMP SUM. IS THAT BASED ON MERIT OR EXPECTATIONS TOO? OR IS JUST BECAUSE I KNOW YOU DO LUMP SUM PAYMENTS, JUST TO NOT ANNUALIZE THOSE INCREASES, RIGHT? SO ONE TIME COST PAYMENT, SO THAT YOU'RE NOT PART OF A PERPETUAL ANNUAL, RECURRING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, BUT THE 4% WOULD BE BASELINED, RIGHT? LEANA MANN: RSO THAT MERIT LUMP SUM IS STILL MERIT BASED, SO YOU HAVE TO BE MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE JOB THROUGHOUT THE THE FOUR OR THREE OR FOUR REVIEWS THAT YOU GET THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BUT IT'S A ONE TIME PAYMENT, BUT IT'S A ONE TIME RIGHT AT THE END OF THE YEAR. SO IN THAT OTHER PART IS ADDITIONAL. SO IF YOU'RE EXCEEDING YOUR RANK OF FOUR OR FIVE ON THE SCALE, THEN YOU GET THE ADDITIONAL STEP IN YOUR PAY, NICOLE CONLEY: WHICH IS RECURRING IN THE OUT YEARS. OKAY, THANK YOU. I WOULD JUST GIVEN WHERE WE'RE AT AND GIVEN THE ECONOMY, AND GIVING SOME OF THE YOU KNOW, INDICATORS THAT YOU KNOW IT'S JUST TIGHTENING. I'D BE AVERSE TO ANYTHING THAT GOES ABOVE THE 7.73% BUT CERTAINLY COULD, COULD, COULD SUPPORT THE TWO FOUR WITH THE LUMP SUM, 2% AND THE 4% RECURRING. SHENGHAO WANG: CAN I ASK A QUESTION JUST ABOUT THE PROCEDURE? SO WE THE BOARD MEMBERS, ARE GOING TO SAY WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS. WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT. AND YOU'RE GOING TO COME BACK WITH JUST LIKE THESE ARE, THIS IS THE COST OF WHAT YOU'VE ASKED US TO LOOK INTO. AND THEN LATER IN THE PROCESS, WE'LL VOTE THUMBS UP OR THUMBS DOWN ON EACH OF THESE AMENDMENTS. IS THAT? LEANA MANN: SO WE WILL TAKE THE FEEDBACK FROM THE BOARD AND PRESENT A FORMAL PROPOSED BUDGET ON JUNE 12, OKAY, THAT THEN HAS TO BE TURNED TO THE TAXING ENTITIES BY THE 14TH OF JUNE. OKAY, SO ANY CHANGES THAT COME FROM THAT MEETING. WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO IMPLEMENT THEM BEFORE WE SEND THEM OUT, BUT IT MAY BE THE ADOPTED BUDGET WHERE YOU ACTUALLY ARE REVIEWING THOSE CHANGES AND SAYING SHENGHAO WANG: SO, I GUESS I GOT REALLY CLOSE. SO IF, IF WE, WHATEVER WE MEANS A MAJORITY OR TWO THIRDS OR ALL, OR NONE, OR WHATEVER. SAY, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU DO X? THEN THAT GETS BAKED INTO ONE PIE. AND THEN THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU WANT THE WHOLE PIE? OR DO YOU WANT NO OR DO YOU WANT TO? BUT IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GONNA GO ONE BY ONE AND SAY, DO THIS OR DON'T DO THIS, RIGHT? LEANA MANN: THE BOARD ADOPTS A BUDGET AS SHENGHAO WANG: I MEAN, I JUST SAY, SO I'M NOT EVEN HUNGRY RIGHT NOW. I'M TALKING ABOUT PIE SO, I MEAN, SO WHAT WILL YOU DO IF YOU KNOW, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, GRADE AND STEP ADJUSTMENTS, THAT THERE DOES SEEM TO BE SOME DISAGREEMENT WITHIN THE BOARD IS THAT SOMETHING WE NEED TO RESOLVE TODAY TO TELL YOU, LIKE, MAKE THIS CHANGE OR DON'T MAKE THIS CHANGE, OR SO, LEANA MANN: I THINK WHAT WE'LL DO IS PRESENT TWO OPTIONS. WE'LL GIVE YOU A COST FOR WHAT DEBBIE'S SUGGEST SUGGESTED, AND THEN A COST FOR WHAT'S CURRENTLY IN ALL OF THE CHANGES WE PRESENTED. AND THEN WE COULD TAKE A FORMAL VOTE ON THE 12TH JAMES VALADEZ: MISS CONLEY. NICOLE CONLEY: SO I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I WAS SUGGESTING. LIKE, CAN YOU SUBMIT A BASELINE BUDGET, AND THEN WE VOTE ON THOSE, SET THOSE ADJUSTMENT IN TWO DIFFERENT BUCKETS, LIKE THE AS MISS DEBBIE, AND THEN WE VOTE ON THAT, AND THEN WE VOTE ON THE CLERICAL PIECE, WHETHER OR NOT TO INCLUDE THOSE FOLKS, AND DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: I'LL WITHDRAW THAT. NICOLE CONLEY: DOES ANYONE INTERESTED IN A COLA? I MEAN, THAT'S ANOTHER THING. I MEAN, I THINK THE TWO THE CURRENT STRUCTURE, IS FINE FOR ME. I'M, YOU KNOW, RELUCTANT TO SORT OF ADD MORE RECURRING EXPENSES. JAMES VALADEZ: THINK MY ISSUE WITH THE COLA WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD JUST EXACERBATE SOME OF THESE DIFFERENCES THAT ALREADY EXIST IF IT'S A UNIFORM INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD. SO I'D RATHER CORRECT THE ISSUE THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US THAN EXACERBATE IT FURTHER. SHENGHAO WANG: AND IT'S, I THINK IT'S ALSO ALL MORE EFFICIENT ALLOCATION, RIGHT? THE DOLLARS, IF I LOOK THIS, THESE ARE THE PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED. SO WE'RE GOING TO PUT OUR RESOURCES TOWARDS THESE. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: AND I WITHDRAW MY IDEA ABOUT JUST THE COMMERCIAL. IN THE GIS AND JUST LEAVE IT LIKE IT IS, BASED ON [02:10:03] THE CONVERSATION FOR BUT I WOULD LIKE TO STAY WITH MY SUGGESTION ON THE TWO AND 4% INCLUDING THE CHIEF APPRAISER IN THAT NUMBER, LEANA MANN: AND THAT WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING IN THE OVERALL BUDGET. DEBORAH CARTWRIGHT: IS THERE A WAY THAT YOU COULD PRESENT US WITH A BUDGET THAT HAS AN OVERALL INCREASE OF 6% RATHER THAN 7.25 SO THAT WE CAN VOTE ON THAT, HOW WE'D HAVE THOSE WOULD BE TWO OPTIONS, WELL, THREE OPTIONS THAT WE WOULD HAVE LAID BEFORE US. WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO GET IT DOWN. YEAH, BASED ON WHAT YOU KNOW AND WHAT YOU THINK IS POSSIBLE. JAMES VALADEZ: ANY OTHER DIRECTION, OKAY. NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS ADJOURNMENT. THE NEXT BOARD MEETING THAT WE HAVE [5. Adjournment] IS JUNE 12, AT 11:30AM THAT'S THURSDAY AT 1:31 THE TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS STANDS ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.