AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County Appraisal District is speaking out about changes for property owners protesting property values.
- They still offer informal meetings
- Informal meeting are not face-toface
- Says this is a more streamlined process
Earlier this week, we reported that property owners who want to protest their property values won't have the option of having an in-person informal meeting with an appraiser before having their formal meeting in front of the appraisal review board.
The Travis Central Appraisal District disputes those claims, saying that it still offers informal meetings. The difference is those meetings will no longer be face-to-face.
Now, instead of those in-person meetings, the Travis Central Appraisal District is now only offering an e-filing system.
Travis County still calls the e-File process an informal meeting, but instead of sitting down with someone and reviewing the evidence both sides have prepared, property owners now only have the option to file their protest online.
Owners will then get an email either with a settlement offer or a notification that a settlement was unable to be reached.
If the district can’t make a settlement offer on the e-File website, or if the owner disagrees with the offer, the case then goes in front of the appraisal review board for a formal meeting.
The Travis Central Appraisal District says this new process is more streamlined, efficient, and objective.
However, critics are upset, saying they weren't given adequate notice about the change to the process.
They also argue the in-person informal meetings worked, and were a valuable part of the dispute process.
In 2018, of the more than 140,000 property appeals, 66 percent were settled in those in-person informal meetings.
Only 19 percent actually went to the formal review in front of the Appraisal Review Board.
