Reeves County Appraisal District
Appraisal Standards Review Follow-Up Report
March 27, 2009
Ms. VaLera Gatewood
Board Chairwoman
Reeves County Appraisal District
P.O. Box 1229
Pecos, Texas 79772-1229
Dear Chairwoman Gatewood:
This letter constitutes the Comptroller’s follow-up review of the Appraisal Standards Review (ASR) of the Reeves County Appraisal District (Reeves CAD) originally released in March 2008.
CADs play an integral part in setting property values because they have the statutory responsibility for determining local property values, in turn affecting funding to public schools — a critical part of the state’s tax and education policies.
The ASR made three mandatory recommendations and eight optional recommendations to help Reeves CAD achieve accurate local value in the annual Property Value Study and improve operations. While Reeves CAD is working on the implementation of these recommendations, it has not fully implemented any recommendation. Enclosed is more detail on what the CAD still needs to do.
This letter is available on our Window on State Government Web site at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/cadreports/asr/reeves01/.
We hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
Susan Combs
Enclosure
cc: Superintendent and Board of Trustees, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District
and Balmorhea Independent School District
Reeves CAD Board of Directors
Reeves County Appraisal District
Appraisal Standards Review Follow-Up Report
What Remains to Be Done
The Comptroller’s office will continue to monitor Reeves CAD’s progress toward meeting the state’s legal requirements. The following outlines steps Reeves CAD still needs to take.
RECOMMENDATION 1:
Establish typical degree-of-intensity standards for qualification of local agricultural land classes and develop productivity calculations according to Property Tax Code Section 23.51 and the steps outlined in the Comptroller’s Guidelines for the Appraisal of Agricultural Land.
Reeves CAD hired a consultant in March 2009 to address this finding. The consultant began contacting members of the Agricultural Advisory Board to acquire preliminary information to implement this recommendation. The consultant is also working with the CAD’s contractor that performs appraisal services.
To complete this recommendation, the CAD must complete a reappraisal plan specific to its in house appraisals and submit a copy of it to Property Tax Assistance Division (PTAD) by the end of July 2009.
RECOMMENDATION 2:
Develop written procedures based on International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) Technical Standards for gathering and analyzing sales data and for conducting appraisal maintenance.
The CAD’s consultant is reviewing a preliminary draft.
To complete this recommendation, the CAD should develop manuals specific to Reeves CAD and provide copies to PTAD by the end of September 2009.
RECOMMENDATION 3:
Develop, implement and distribute to appraisal staff a comprehensive appraisal manual that includes locally developed procedures for appraisals that comply with the Property Tax Code and IAAO Technical Standards.
The consultant hired by the CAD is reviewing a preliminary draft.
To complete this recommendation, the CAD should develop manuals specific to Reeves CAD and provide copies to PTAD by the end of September 2009.