Two-minute impact
Following the approval of Senate Bill 2 in the Texas Legislature in October, counties with a population of over 75,000 are now required to have three nonpartisan elected board members to the local appraisal district.
Six individuals signed up to run for the three positions created on the MCAD board of directors:
Place 1
- Freddie Brooks
- Gary W. Beck
- Pete Palmer
- Tricia Danto
- Luis Pedraza
- Webb Melder
How we got here
Previously, the MCAD board was composed of individuals nominated by local taxing entities, such as the county and Conroe ISD, as well as the tax assessor-collector.
While SB 2 provided a number of initiatives, including a new homestead exemption plan and property tax calculation changes for school districts, the appraisal district elections were also added as a method to allow residents to elect members to the board according to the bill summary.
Quote of note
"You know when the appraisal district first started back in 1982 ... [it] was set to keep politics out of the process of appraisals, but now the world has changed,” MCAD Chief Appraiser Janet Jennings-Doyle said. “We’ve got constant growth, and it's just suddenly now a new way of doing things, and so now we’ve incorporated elections for the first time.”
