The ARB’s Role in the Property Tax SystemAn appraisal district board of directors appoints the ARB members by selecting citizens from the community. The appraisal district board also hires the chief appraiser and sets the budget. The directors have no authority to set values or appraisal methods. The chief appraiser carries out the appraisal district’s legal duties, hires the staff, appraises property and operates the appraisal office.
The ARB is the judicial part of the property tax system. The ARB is a separate body from the appraisal office and serves a different function. It hears and resolves protests over appraisal matters. This is a very broad and important responsibility, but the ARB must be sensitive to its legal and practical limits.
First, the ARB only has authority over protests submitted to it. The ARB has no role in the day-to-day operations of the appraisal office or in appraising property.
Except where it is deciding a taxpayer protest, taxing unit challenge or a correction motion, the ARB has no authority to change a value or correct the appraisal records directly. In a challenge, it must order the chief appraiser to reappraise or correct the records related to the challenge. Only in resolving taxpayer protests can the ARB make changes or set a value on its own. Such a change only affects the property in question.
