The Tarrant Appraisal District board welcomed new members, voted for a new chairperson and changed the length of time taxpayers can speak at future meetings.
The Jan. 16 meeting was the first since the taxing entities in Tarrant County voted for TAD board members.
Mike Alfred, Alan Blaylock, Wendy Burgess, Fred Campos and Gloria Peña were sworn in, while it was also the first meeting for Rick Barnes, who took over as the county tax collector-assessor on Jan. 1 after winning the election in November.
Barnes said Andy Nguyen, a former Tarrant County Commissioner and most recently the chief of staff to County Judge Tim O’Hare will serve as Barnes' chief of staff. Nguyen will support the TAD board in his new role, according to Barnes.
What happened?
Alfred, Campos and Burgess are new to the TAD board as members, though Burgess previously sat on the dais in her role as the tax collector-assessor. Barnes beat Burgess in the Republican primary in 2024. Blaylock and Peña were re-elected.
A Tarrant County Sheriff deputy drew orange ping pong balls from a white bowl to determine the length of the term of the taxing-entity appointments.
Blaylock, Campos and Peña will serve three-year terms. Burgess and Alfred will serve a one-year term.
Barnes and Pena were both nominated to be the chairperson with Barnes getting five votes to win without a vote needed for Pena. The board secretary nominees were Pena and Callie Rigney, with Rigney getting the five votes needed for the role and again, no vote was taken for Pena.
What they’re saying
“I appreciate the opportunity to serve this board and serve as chair,” Barnes said. “I watched every meeting for the past two years and I think the meetings are important but it is also important we run them correctly. We serve the public and we need to serve the public in a positive way.”
Sorting out details
Two changes to meetings were approved during the meeting.
The first dealt with speaking time, which was reduced from five minutes to three minutes, starting at the next meeting.
The board also voted to move its monthly meeting from Fridays to Wednesdays at 9 a.m., starting with the Feb. 26 meeting. The previous meetings have varied from the first week to the third week of the month, according to previous minutes posted.
Board member Eric Morris suggested moving the meetings from daytime to nighttime to align with school board and city meetings. The former Haltom City Council Member said the most common complaint he hears is that people would like to speak to the TAD board but can’t since it meets at 8 a.m.
Burgess countered daytime aligns better with taxing entities to be present at the meeting.
Also on the agenda
The board approved more than $200,000 for print mail notice service. Dallas-based VariVerge was awarded a contract for large print jobs such as appraisal notices for $158,959, while John Sons Press, from Fort Worth, will handle generic print jobs for $45,393.
One more thing
Elizabeth McIlvain, a Trophy Club resident, was introduced as the taxpayer liaison officer. She is a retired principal in Carroll ISD, according to Chief Appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt.
