ELECTIONS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) Board of Directors hires the Chief Appraiser, approves the TCAD budget, approves contracts, and sets general policies. The Board does not appraise property or review property values.
Beginning in July 2024, the TCAD Board of Directors will include 3 directors elected by the voters of Travis County. The candidates for the May 2024 election will appear on the ballot in the following order:
Place 1
Don Zimmerman
Jett Hanna
Place 2
Shenghao “Daniel” Wang
Jonathan Patschke
Matt Mackowiak
Place 3
Bill May
Dick Lavine
DATE OF ELECTION
May 4, 2024 — Order of General Election
Notice of Voting Order Priority for Voters with Certain Disabilities
PLACE OF ELECTION
TCAD contracts with Travis County to conduct elections.
Complete list — 2024 Early Voting Locations
Complete list — 2024 Election Day Voting Locations
The main early voting location will be located at the Austin Permitting and Development Center (6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr., Austin, TX 78752). The site will be open Monday, April 22nd through Saturday, April 27th from 7am to 7pm and Sunday, April 28th from noon to 6pm.
POSITIONS ON THE BALLOT
Travis Central Appraisal District, Travis County, Board of Directors, Place 1
Travis Central Appraisal District, Travis County, Board of Directors, Place 2
Travis Central Appraisal District, Travis County, Board of Directors, Place 3
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to serve as an elected member of the board of directors, an individual must meet certain eligibility requirements. The eligibility requirements include the following:
- General eligibility requirements for public office as defined by Section 141.001 of the Texas Election Code, except for Section 141.001(a)(5).
- The individual must be resident of the district (county) and must have resided in the district (county) for at least two years immediately preceding the date the individual takes office (Section 6.0301, Tax Code). This is a longer residency requirement than the general rule outlined in Section 141.001 of the Election Code. Given the more specific residence requirement provided under the Tax Code, candidates for the elected board of director offices will need to have resided in the county longer than the six months required under Section 141.001 of the Election Code as of the filing deadline. See Brown v. Patterson, 609 S.W.2d 287 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1980).
- An individual who is otherwise eligible to serve on the board is not ineligible because of membership on the governing body of a taxing unit. An employee of a taxing unit that participates in the district is not eligible to serve on the board unless the individual is also a member of the governing body or an elected official of a taxing unit that participates in the district. (Section 6.0301, Tax Code).
- An individual is not eligible to be a candidate for, to be appointed to, or to serve on the board of directors of an appraisal district if the individual or a business entity in which the individual has a substantial interest is a party to a contract with: 1) the appraisal district; or 2) a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district, if the contract relates to the performance of an activity governed by Title 1 of the Tax Code. (Section 6.036(a), Tax Code, effective July 1, 2024.)
METHOD OF ELECTION
Majority Vote Requirement
Section 6.0301 of the Tax Code provides that three directors of an appraisal district must be elected by majority vote at the general election for state and county officers by the voters of the county in which the district is establish. A majority vote means that the winning candidate must receive more than fifty percent of the votes. If no candidate receives more than fifty percent of the vote in an election requiring a majority, then a runoff election is required between the top two vote getters, pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Election Code.
Directors Elected At-Large by Place
In order to elect three directors by a majority vote in the same election, candidates for the appraisal district board of directors must be elected at-large by place. Specifically, the board of directors for the appraisal district must be elected to either the at-large by place 1, at-large by place 2, or at-large by place 3 position. Further, candidates must indicate on their candidate application the at-large position for which they are running. The Notice of Deadline to File an Application for a Place on the Ballot posted by the county judge will also need to adequately address this provision. If the candidate fails to provide this information on their application, the application should be rejected due to form, content, and procedure issues.
FILING TO RUN
Applications to run for the Travis CAD Board of Directors will be accepted from January 17, 2024 to February 16, 2024. The application fee is $400 or a petition in lieu of the filing fee containing 500 signatures. Interested candidates should complete the application and submit the application fee or petition to Travis County Judge Andy Brown. The deadline to file has passed.
DESIGNATION OF A CAMPAIGN TREASURER
A candidate must file a designation of campaign treasurer before accepting any contribution or expending any contribution. A candidate may file such designation prior to filing an application for a place on the general election ballot.
FILING DESIGNATION OF CAMPAIGN TREASURER AND OTHER CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS
In Person: Travis Central Appraisal District, 850 E Anderson Lane, Austin TX 78752, Attn: James Valadez
By Mail: Travis Central Appraisal District, P.O. Box 149012, Austin, TX 78714-9012, Attn: James Valadez
By E-mail: [email protected]
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS
CANDIDATE FINANCE REPORTS
IMPORTANT DATES
January 17, 2024
First Day to File for a Place on the General Election Ballot
February 16, 2024
Last Day to File for a Place on the General Election Ballot
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Last Day to File a Declaration of Write-In Candidacy
May 4, 2024
Election Day
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Each Texas county is served by an appraisal district that determines the value of all of the county’s real and personal property. Generally, a local government that collects property taxes, such as a county, city and school district, is a member of the appraisal district.
Taxing entities are the local government entities such as cities, hospital districts, junior colleges, and municipal utility districts. Taxing entities provide services to the taxpayers they service such as schools, roads, police, fire, and other services taxpayers expect.
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Property is taxed by the authority of the Texas Constitution. The Constitution sets forth five basic principles for property taxes in Texas.
- Taxes must be equal and uniform. No single property or type of property should pay more than its fair share.
- Property must be appraised on its current market value meaning the price that it would sell for on the open market when both the buyer and seller seek the best price and neither is under pressure to buy or sell.
- Each property in a county must have a single appraised value. This is guaranteed by the use of the county appraisal districts.
- All property is taxable unless federal or state law exempts it from the tax.
- Property owners have a right to reasonable notice of increases in their appraised property value.
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