Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry asked Gov. Greg Abbott on May 5 to use his disaster powers to freeze 2020 property appraisals at 2019 values for county taxpayers.
“I’ve requested Gov. Abbott freeze property assessments at the 2019 values so local families don’t get hit with an additional economic burden during this COVID-19 crisis," Henry said in a May 5 press release. "The 2020 assessments are based on values prior to this pandemic and the economic consequences that came with it. The right thing to do at this time would be to freeze values and reassess for next year when the economic impact can be taken into account.”
Last week, Henry sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in support of a request by Rep. Mayes Middleton, R-Wallisville, to freeze property values at 2019 amounts because of the potential lack of due process to contest appraisals. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas taxpayers are not allowed to contest their appraised property values in person this year. Contesting appraisals will take extra time and resources because of the outbreak, according to the release.
For the past eight years, Galveston County has cut its tax rate below the effective rate. The county was one of few in the state during the 2019 legislative session to support imposing revenue caps on local governments, and Henry said at the time that such a reform would not be enough to deliver real relief to Galveston County taxpayers, per the release.
