3 mayors demand Tarrant Appraisal District fire its chief over ‘outrageous’ scandals

The mayors of Southlake, Keller and Colleyville issued a scathing letter Thursday calling for the Tarrant Appraisal District to fire the chief appraiser after the Star-Telegram reported a senior manager saying he supported lying to the public about agency problems.

The letter comes on the heels of Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare also calling for a “change in leadership” earlier this week.

TAD’s head of Information Systems, Cal Wood, was suspended Monday after a Star-Telegram inquiry into a recording of Wood telling coworkers he supported creating a “false narrative” for the media about TAD’s website issues. TAD launched a website that wasn’t operational until weeks into the 30-day window property owners have to file appraisal protests.

In their letter Thursday, the trio of mayors call the latest scandal “outrageous and a breach of the public’s trust.”

“Taxpayers have lost trust in the Tarrant Appraisal District, and it’s time for the TAD Board of Directors to appoint a new Chief Appraiser.”

The mayors said their cities will seek a vote of no confidence in Chief Appraiser Jeff Law, and encourage other taxing entities in the county to do the same.

“Sadly, this scandal is just another headline that Tarrant County taxpayers have come to expect over the last two years at the Tarrant Appraisal District,” wrote Southlake Mayor John Huffman, Keller Mayor Armin Mizani and Colleyville Mayor Bobby Lindamood.

“As Mayors of the cities of Keller, Southlake, and Colleyville, we refuse to sit complacent while the Tarrant Appraisal District tries to justify yet another scandal.”

They call on TAD’s board of directors to “hear the call of the entities and taxpayers whom they are sworn to represent. Enough is enough.”

Tony Pompa, chair of the TAD board of directors, said in an emailed statement to the Star-Telegram: “I recognize your concerns and wish to express that we hear you and take this public statement very seriously. I am in discussions with the board’s attorney and will make public comment at the appropriate time.”

‘Out of control’

Mizani, Huffman and Lindamood told the Star-Telegram in interviews Thursday that they are hearing from a growing number of constituents who are fed up with high property values and want accountability from the appraisal district.

“This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest frustrations with my constituents who pay an incredibly high amount of property taxes,” Huffman said.

“Valuations are just out of control. I know that we are a growing county and everyone’s property values are going up, but we can’t be in a position where we continue to see property values going up with no checks and balances.”

Huffman said he plans on discussing the appraisal district resolution with the Southlake council next month.

Mizani said he is also getting comments from property owners in Keller who are concerned about high values and the difficulties with the TAD website. Mizani said he wants a better explanation as to why taxpayers could not access the site to submit protests.

Lindamood said he will discuss the vote of no confidence resolution during an upcoming council meeting.

‘False narrative’

The Star-Telegram obtained a recording of Wood, the TAD head of Information Systems, during a meeting with staff in August where he discusses a strategy for sharing news of the agency’s technological situation.

“I’m OK with creating a false narrative that distances the truth from the media,” Wood can be heard saying in the recording. “That’s where I’m gonna have to really shut up today.”

Later in the recording, Wood says: “The further you create the truth from what’s being reported, the better you are. Because what do we need? Time, patience and money.”

Wood has not responded to requests for comment. TAD on Monday said that Law was launching an investigation and suspending Wood. The agency said Wood’s statements “do not reflect the values of TAD’s board of directors nor their management of TAD. TAD is committed to providing the public and the media accurate, factual information related to its duties, responsibilities and actions.”

The agency’s response has not appeared to appease its critics.

The county’s taxing entities elect members to the five-person TAD board. All five members are up for election this fall.

During its Aug. 11 meeting, the TAD board of directors took a vote of confidence in Law, as stipulated by the letter of repair. Tony Pompa, JR Martinez and Jungus Jordan voted yes. Rich DeOtte and Vince Puente voted no.

DeOtte referenced this vote in a statement Tuesday.

“After more than two years of scandals, this most recent scandal needs to be the last. I voted ‘no confidence’ in the Chief Appraiser at our last board meeting. Well, here we go again. We are well past the time to change leadership at TAD. I call on the TAD Board to convene and fix the problem once and for all. The public trust is completely lost and for good reason. We cannot continue to kick this can down the road,” DeOtte said.

The Star-Telegram has reported on numerous controversies at the agency this year, including the resignation of a TAD employee after the newspaper inquired into her potentially violating the agency’s conflict of interest policy.

TAD board chair Kathryn Wilemon was recalled after a vote by the Keller City Council, which cited several high-profile controversies. Tarrant County and the city of Keller threatened to sue TAD for its handling of the board vacancy. The situation inspired Rep. Charlie Geren to file a bill that would abolish TAD and put its functions under the control of the state comptroller.

TAD also violated Texas tax code by failing to provide property owners with an automated market review tool on its website.