Property Tax Division Customer Survey
PTD Releases Annual ResultsOne of Texas Comptroller Carole Rylander’s 10 Principles for Texas in the 21st Century is to “improve government performance and accountability.” A key element of good government performance is customer service. The Comptroller’s office is committed to providing the best possible customer service. To measure its goal of providing the best customer service possible, the Property Tax Division (PTD) annually surveys its customers to evaluate performance in the area of customer service.
The PTD sends the customer service survey to chief appraisers and county tax assessor-collectors in alternating years. This year the PTD sent the survey to chief appraisers.
The nine-question survey focused on customer service as it relates to the PTD’s technical assistance, electronic data processing project, and annual property value study documents.
Some 160 appraisal districts responded to the survey. All of the respondents were satisfied with the service provided by the PTD, and they responded that they were either “always” or “frequently” satisfied with the PTD service.
The first question asked whether chief appraisers have accessed information at the Comptroller’s Web site. About 77 percent of the respondents indicated they had accessed the Comptroller’s Web site to find information and 92 percent responded that the information was either “very useful” or “somewhat useful.”
PTD’s customer service is most often equated with its Technical Assistance Section. This section typically responds to 1,500-2,000 telephone calls and about 100 to 150 letters monthly. When asked whether PTD staff responds to phone calls in a timely fashion, nearly all of the respondents answered the staff “always” responds timely.
The respondents also think the answers they get from staff are appropriate. Nearly all of the respondents noted that the staff either “always” or “frequently” answers their questions appropriately.
Each year, about 300 school districts file appeals of the PTD’s annual Property Value Study (PVS). The survey asked chief appraisers whether they received instructions on how to file an appeal, along with necessary forms and documents. About 82 percent of the chief appraisers indicated they received these materials.
Some 10 years ago, the PTD began accepting reports of property value electronically. This program, known as Electronic Data Submission (EDS), allows appraisal districts to submit information to the PTD electronically. Successful electronic submissions allow appraisal districts to save critical staff time previously devoted to manually completing the reports. When asked whether PTD staff adequately answered questions about the EDS, more than three quarters of the respondents (76 percent) found the assistance and information they received “very useful” or “somewhat useful.”
Several chief appraisers offered written comments concerning PTD’s customer service. Most of the comments described the PTD staff as courteous, customer oriented, responsive, and professional.
On the other hand, some chief appraisers offered criticisms about PTD’s telephone system, the annual property value study appeals scheduling process, and delays in receiving some publications.
PTD management and staff thank all the chief appraisers that took time to complete the survey. PTD is committed to serving its customers in the quickest and most effective way possible. PTD staff will continue to analyze the survey responses.
