Tarrant Appraisal District to discuss chief appraiser’s fate following public outcry

The performance of Tarrant County’s chief appraiser will be up for discussion Friday.

The Tarrant Appraisal District board of directors revised its Friday meeting agenda on Tuesday to add a discussion of whether to dismiss Chief Appraiser Jeff Law after it received complaints accusing him of misconduct during public comment at its June 30 meeting.

The board initially planned to discuss the issue privately in executive session.

Law’s performance came into question after appraisal district employee Randy Armstrong launched a series of complaints with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation against Chandler Crouch, a Fort Worth Realtor who has helped tens of thousands of homeowners protest their property tax appraisals.

“No one told me I was getting fired on Friday,” Law said, adding that the new agenda item was added in case the board wanted to take action on anything discussed in executive session.

He said the item was boiler plate language from the public meetings act and not an indication that the board was seeking to remove him.

Armstrong accused Crouch of misrepresenting evidence before the district’s appraisal review board in order to secure lower property appraisals for his clients.

While Law insisted during a June 10 district board meeting he had no involvement in the complaints, Armstrong’s use of his district job title and contact information lead Crouch to question the agency’s involvement.

Crouch also said he reached out to Law about the complaints in November 2021, but it was never discussed publicly by the board until its May 13 meeting.

Hundreds showed up to a June 30 district meeting to voice their support for Crouch, overwhelming the district’s 14-person meeting room and forcing several to wait outside the building in 100-degree heat for hours.

They called for more transparency at the agency at a time when property values have skyrocketed and many have struggled to keep up.

Reacting to the news Wednesday, Crouch said he was excited by the board’s decision to discuss the matter publicly, and hoped it was “willing to seek the truth and do the right thing.”

He encouraged members of the public to show up in force to the board’s meeting Friday.

“And make sure that board of directors knows that people are watching,” he said.

The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at 2500 Handley-Ederville Road.