Fort Bend County Commissioners Court approves resolution supporting taxpayer relief

The Fort Bend County Commissioners Court approved a resolution supporting taxpayer relief at its April 21 special meeting.

This resolution comes after property owners reported higher-than-expected appraisal values from the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District while facing economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Commissioners Court does not oversee the appraisal district; it is a separate entity. Additionally, appraised values in 2020 will reflect market conditions as of Jan. 1. Existing law does not allow for a temporary tax exemption or for rollback of values due to an economic disaster.

“The power to revert property appraisals to their 2019 levels lies solely in the hands of our state elected officials, such as our governor, our comptroller and our legislature,” Fort Bend Conty Judge KP George said in a statement. “I will work with any public official from any side of the aisle to better this process for our residents.”

The resolution urges state officials and the Fort Bend CAD to take action to provide financial relief to tax payers.

Actions suggested included calling a special legislative session to mandate property reappraisals and revaluations and modifying the tax code so that it will include economic disasters as a factor for issuing temporary reappraisals and for rolling back appraised values.

The resolution also suggests extending the deadline to pay all taxes and granting a moratorium—or a postponement—on property tax penalties and interest.

Lastly, the resolution called for a transparent public review of 2020 appraisal values in Fort Bend County before July 25.