Recall process begins for Tarrant Appraisal Board chair Kathryn Wilemon
TARRANT COUNTY (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Just as homeowners in Tarrant County this spring start to find out how much their property value has climbed again, there could be a change at the top of the agency that determines those values.
A recall process has started for Tarrant Appraisal Board chair Kathryn Wilemon, after city leaders in Keller questioned transparency and accountability at the district.
The vote Tuesday by the Keller City Council followed appeals from residents at city meetings, and more scrutiny on TAD leadership in the past year that included a short suspension of the chief appraiser and residential appraiser.
Other taxing units that voted to put Wilemon on the board will now get a chance over the next six weeks to also consider recalling her. The list includes Tarrant County College, Mansfield ISD and the City of Grand Prairie.
The decision appears to rest with Tarrant County though, which has more votes than all the other taxing entity combined. County Judge Tim O'Hare was aware of Keller's action, but had no comment about it Wednesday.
Property owners don't directly have any input on who sits on the board that oversees appraisals in the county. That was one of the reasons Keller decided to act, according to Mayor Armin Mizani.
"When you see a lot of the things that happened throughout the years, we need to hold TAD accountable, and that ultimately starts at the top," he said.
Some of the scrutiny on TAD started last year, after realtor and tax consultant Chandler Crouch revealed someone at the district had complained to the state about his work filing thousands of property tax protests for homeowners.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation determined there was no evidence Crouch broke any laws or rule. The TAD board allowed chief appraiser Jeff Law to do his own investigation into the complaints, then later suspended him for two weeks, and he in turn suspended director of residential appraisals Randy Armstrong who had filed the complaints.
The issue led to more complaints from residents who were kept out of a public board meeting about the dispute.
In November the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported an employee resigned after questions about conflicts of interest involving real estate.
The district has also challenged the release of an investigative report into actions by district executives.
"It really opened my eyes to other problems going on, and a culture inside the appraisal district of not dealing with problems head on," Crouch said.
CBS Texas was unable to reach Wilemon for comment Wednesday. She spoke at the Keller City Council meeting, telling members she was willing to answer questions about any allegations.
