​It's time that we create a real conversation about the property tax system in Dallas County -- one that includes all of our residents, not just big business and real estate interests. It needs to include homeowners who are raising their families in Dallas County and educating their children in our public schools. It needs to include the people who rely on Parkland Hospital, which provided over 1 million outpatient visits and 70,000 hospital stays in 2018. It needs to include local organizations and churches who have a vision for how our cities and county can make important investments that improve our neighborhoods and small businesses that account for over one-quarter of all jobs in the country.

While we know that real reform has to come from our state lawmakers, we can advance a set of principles in our county that can be implemented as the process moves forward. As the Dallas Central Appraisal District, you have the power to create a property tax protest process that is free from conflicts of interest. We believe that is the best way forward to build trust in our community and allow for more transparency in this process.

We are community members in Dallas County and we are calling on DCAD to implement four main reforms:

1. The Appraisal Review Board should publicly disclose a list of the dozens of individuals who sit on ARB panels. The list should include each person's qualifications for the position, along with any documentation compiled by the ARB related to potential conflicts of interest -- especially conflicts that might give an unfair advantage to large commercial property owners.

2. Each year on October 1st -- the day property tax bills are sent out -- DCAD should publish a report that details how much each taxing body lost in tax revenues due to property tax protests and tax abatements, including a list of 25 commercial protests that resulted in the largest reduction in appraisal value. This report should be produced annually.

3. By April 15, 2020, the ARB should institute new procedures to ensure that individuals appointed to serve on panels are free from conflicts of interest.

4. By October 1, 2020, the Dallas Central Appraisal District should make it easier for the general public to obtain information detailing the ARB's reasons for granting large property tax protests. In addition to publishing an annual report on tax losses described above, DCAD should work with the ARB to make more information available about all decisions that result in reductions of the property value of at least $10 million. The information disclosed should be identical to what would already be publicly available through a freedom of information request, and should be posted in a public "reading room" on the DCAD website.

As community members, we want to be apart of the conversation and better understand a system that has such a large impact on our everyday lives. Property taxes help to pay for the vital services that we all use. These large reductions in property value are astounding and the public deserves to understand the process and why these occur. Please take our recommendations into consideration. You may contact kara@texasnewera.org with any questions or follow-up.

Sincerely,

Dallas County Community Members