Appraisal District appoints Review Board members

The Falls County Appraisal District Board of Directors held its regularly scheduled meeting on March 19.

Board Members present were Byrleen Terry, Jessie Martinez, and Ian Giesler, who was sworn into his position at the start of the meeting. Also present was Chief Appraiser, Andrew J Hahn Jr.

The minutes from the previous meeting were approved first, followed by the financial reports and the Securities Pledge reports

Upon looking at the financial reports for February 2020, it was explained that $41,086.33 was spent on personnel in February. Year To Date, that number jumps to $82,210 or about 14 percent of the total personnel budget for the year, which is on track. Operating expenses total $11,302.24 for the year, also about 14 percent of the overall budget.

“It looks like we’re on schedule,” commented Terry.

Incumbent funds did not change much between the last two meetings; the fund totals $504,570.

Before the motion was made to accept the report’s data, audience member, Harvey Bates, asked a question pertaining to the janitorial staff and budget, which went unanswered as Hahn did not allow the question.

Approval of the financial reports passed unanimously.

The board also discussed appointing new members to the appraisal review board. Names considered were Roger Drews, Jim Woliver, Beth Mullins, Rusty Black, Cynthis Derry, and James Sell. Only five members were needed, so Cynthia Derry was the unlucky candidate.

Terry nominated Roger Drews as chairman and Beth Mullins as secretary.

“[Roger Drews] will be here and he’ll be a leader, I can assure you,” Terry said. “A lot of the time they look to the ladies to keep our records, so I think Beth Mullins will be glad to do it also.”

The motion to accept the nominations passed unanimously.

The Falls County Appraisal District will continue to operate as normal during the COVID-19 outbreak at this point. Deadlines have not yet been extended for the district at the state level. Staff will continue working to fix plumbing problems in the building, as well as working with the County Judge to coordinate the installation of a service tower on the roof of the courthouse in order for the appraisal district to have better internet speeds.