TRAVIS COUNTY Commissioners Court on June 10 decided not to fight the setting of commercial and industrial property values, opting instead to study the issue and look for "legislative and legal remedies for inequities in the property appraisal system."

Commissioners directed staff to bring together a working group of the major taxing entities in Travis County, as well as the business and real estate communities. Staffers were also asked to create "an impartial analysis" of the accuracy of commercial and industrial appraisals.

The Travis Central Appraisal District appraises properties for taxing purposes. In general, a taxing entity's tax revenue comes from three categories of properties: residential, commercial and industrial.

The court revisited the topic during its June 10 meeting after a discussion the previous week.

Resident David King urged the court to "send a loud and clear message that commercial businesses should pay their fair share of property taxes" by filing

a challenge.

Former county Budget Director Leroy Nellis recommended not filing a challenge with the appraisal board but rather seeking other solutions.

"There is no question that there is an issue with the assessed values as they are set by the appeals board at TCAD and as they are set by the district courts [if appealed to that level]," he said.

Nellis suggested the Legislature pass a law to establish special magistrates with economic backgrounds to weigh in on complex commercial property appraisals.

Travis County resident Bud Wood, a former appointee to the Appraisal Review Board, said the idea that the county may postpone taking action on the issue is "an affront to the taxpayers of this county."

"It is also an indication that somehow the county did not know. The county has known for years that commercial property has been underappraised," Wood said.

Local consumer advocate Bill Oakey said the county should work with the Texas Association of Counties and the Texas Municipal League on the issue.

He expressed interest in the idea of a legal challenge because "that would give [the county] as a matter of record [something] that would illustrate the problem with the Texas commercial appraisal system."

Nancy McDonald, governmental affairs director for the Real Estate Council of Austin, said RECA opposed the county challenging valuations.

She said the most recent audit and property tax study, done for the 2012 fiscal year, showed TCAD's appraisals to be 96 percent accurate. She said challenging the appraisals will not solve the problem of unaffordability in Austin.

"We need to bring in more affordable housing products," she said.