ANNUAL REPORT 2014 WISE COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Back in 1979 State Representative Wayne Peveto saw his property tax bill (SB621) pass the House and Senate and was sent to Governor Clements for signing. The Peveto Bill had lost battles in 1975 and 1977. The bill requiring that all Property Tax Appraisals be consolidated onto one central office in each county. The only exception was Potter-Randall which to this day shares a CAD office. The reason was that the town of Amarillo spilled across the county line between Potter and Randall Counties. Prior to this each taxing unit (county, school, and city) had their own staff conducting appraisals for your property. You might have one value on your home by each of the different offices. Several tax offices would assess brick houses for $4500 and frame houses for $3500 no matter the size or quality. Part of the language in the Pete Peveto Bill required the State Property Tax Board as it was called in the 80 s to conduct an annual study of the values in each district to determine that properties were being appraised at the market value for that area. This annual PVS (property value study) is still in place today but will was modified beginning in 2010. We now have the PVS every other year and the MAP (Methods and Assistance Program) every other year. GENERAL INFORMATION In 2014 the Wise County Appraisal District appraised 222,744 parcels of property with a total appraised value of $10,354,902,410. These appraisals are completed by staff and outside contractor and are reviewed annually. The appraisal roll is made up of multitude of property types as follows: 27,404 residential properties, 1,817 commercial properties, 170,602 mineral properties, and various other properties. The largest valued properties consist of a combine cycle electric power plant, a graphite manufacturing plant, natural gas processing plants, and several limestone crushing plants. The oil & gas industry is a major influence on the economy in Wise County.
2014 Wise County Report of Property Value PROPERTY TYPE TOTAL MARKET VALUE % of TOTAL A. Single - Family Residences $1,647,959,890 16.89% B. Multi - Family Residences $26,043,910 0.27% C. Vacant Lots $87,590,690 0.90% D. Rural Real $1,829,898,040 18.75% E. Farm & Ranch Improvements $834,229,110 8.55% F1. Commercial $562,957,880 5.77% F2. Industrial Real $350,749,880 3.59% G. Oil, Gas, & Minerals $2,572,664,990 26.36% J. Utitlities $703,001,690 7.20% L1. Commercial Personal $612,562,220 6.28% L2. Industrial Personal $25,084,300 0.26% M. Other Personal $39,628,280 0.41% O. Residential Inventory $9,062,130 0.09% S. Special Inventory $16,356,100 0.17% T. Totally Exempt $440,860,666 4.52% $9,758,649,776 Most of the taxing units in Wise County offer some level of homestead exemption to residential homesteads in the county. All ISD s are required to grant a $15,000 value exemption to regular homesteads and an additional $10,000 of value to over-65 and disabled persons. A local option percentage exemption is offered by Bridgeport ISD, Slidell ISD, and Wise County ranging from 1% to 20%. These are in addition to state mandated exemptions. Wise County, all ISD s, and several cities offer frozen levies to the Over-65 and disabled.
EXTERNAL REVIEW AND MONITORING The Wise County Appraisal District is reviewed annually by the Property Tax Assistance Division (PTAD) of the Texas State Comptroller s Office. In the recent Methods and Procedures (MAP) audit by PTAD completed in 2010 the Wise CAD was recognized as Meeting or Exceeding Expectations in all categories measured against the international standards of assessment. The MAP audit is conducted biennially in even numbered years and the Property Value Study (PVS) is conducted biennially in odd numbered years. The odd and even numbered years is not a state mandate, but the current pattern in Wise County. Below are the results of the 2013 PVS Study conducted by PTAD. This report is the CAD Summary Worksheet which shows the overall results of the CAD. Individual studies were conducted for all ISD s in Wise County with similar results. All ISD worksheets are available on our website at www.isouthwestdata.com under the drop down box for Wise CAD.
Wise CAD conducts internal ratio studies on a regular basis to ensure that we are reflecting actual Market Conditions in out appraisal efforts. LOCAL ARB APPEALS For the Tax Year 2014 the Wise County Appraisal District had 884 properties protested resulting in the following: 418 hearings heard by the Appraisal Review Board (ARB), 481 cases settled informally prior to the hearing, 520 cases withdrew prior to the hearing, 228 property owners did no show for their hearing, and 24 cases being rescheduled to the Fall.