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R2011-115 - 2011-09-26RESOLUTION NO. R2011-115 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, NOMINATING A CANDIDATE FOR A POSITION ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE HARRIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT. WHEREAS, those cities and towns, other than the City of Houston, within the Harris County Appraisal District have the right and responsibility to elect one person to the board of directors of the Harris County Appraisal District; for a term of office commencing on January 1, 2012, and extending through December 31, 2013; and WHEREAS, this governing body desires to exercise its right to nominate a candidate for such position on said board of directors; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS: Section 1. That the facts and recitations set forth in the preamble of this resolution are hereby, adopted, ratified, and confirmed. Section 2. That Mr. Ed Heathcott who resides in Harris County is hereby nominated as a candidate for the position on the board of directors of the Harris County Appraisal District to be filled by those cities and towns other than the City of Houston within the Harris County Appraisal District for a two year term of office commencing on January 1, 2012. Section 3. That the presiding officer of the governing body of this taxing unit is hereby authorized and directed to deliver or cause to be delivered a certified copy of this resolution to the Chief Appraiser of the Harris County Appraisal District on or before October 14, 2011. RESOLUTION NO. 2011-115 PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this the 26th day of September, A.D., 2011. _c Dits TOM REID MAYOR ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: DARRIN M. COKER CITY ATTORNEY 2 . AY p s Harris County Appraisal District iti �"� ` �� 13013 Northwest Freeway P.O. Box 920975 ,� Houston TX 77040 Houston TX 77292-0975 * *�'` Telephone: (713) 812-5800 Information Center: (713) 957-7800,. c,•�texas,-- o-- -{C7 Board of Directors G e• rn`�,i7 Glenn E:Peters, Chair ;t t:._ ; _ _ Lawrence Marshall,Se tary��sr: �£ Q+rr;; �N- Ed Heathcott ., - ) (G Gary W.Stein ▪ .r`' August 10, 2011 Toni Trumbull r' _,,�` _...._ cam _._M 4az`- 2lli Don Sumners c'+ S �k v .�/fizz ,. Chief Appraiser T r • Jim Robinson • Mayor Tom Reid ---- 1, `rJ y�42,_4t_t`_=L'___ Chief Deputy&General Counsel City of Pearland Sands L.Stiefer ______W �r��� .�1�_ f .__ Assistant Chief Appraisers / Guy Grissom - Teresa S.Terry Re: HCAD Board of Direv A Glenn Traylor - - -�-_•�. L ..-..... Director of Information&Assistance Dear Mayor and Council: Roland Altinger I am nearing the end of my second term of service on the Harris County Appraisal District(HCAD) Board representing suburban cities. With this letter, I am seeking re-election for my third term commencing January 1, 2012. By now you should have received a letter from HCAD with instructions as to how to submit a nominee for the ballot for your representative to serve on the Board of Directors. It would be my hope your city would place my name in nomination along with the other 32 cities I represent. To nominate,the governing body must adopt a resolution nominating the candidate by formal action. The mayor,as presiding officer of the city council,must submit the nominee's name to the Chief Appraiser of HCAD no later than Friday,October 14,2011. HCAD will then compile a list of nominees and draft a ballot which will be mailed to each city in the 3`d week of October. Each city must cast its vote by resolution for one of the nominees and this ballot must be returned to the Chief Appraiser no later than Thursday, December 15, 2011. It has been my privilege and honor to serve you these past four years and I seek your city's support in my re-election. Should you have any questions,please do not hesitate to call. Sincerely, 64 &94,--Z Ed Heathcott • Cell 281-435-2446 APP o ' %t Harris County Appraisal District • Interoffice Memorandum • • OFFICE OF CHIEF APPRAISER • • • • TO: PRESIDING OFFICERS OF TAXING UNITS • SERVED BY THE HARRIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT' • FROM: JIM ROBINSON, CHIEF APPRAISER SUBJECT: SELECTION OF APPRAISAL DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS - DATE: AUGUST 1, 2011 Your taxing unit participates in selecting members of the Harris County Appraisal District's . board of directors. The board is composed of six members who serve two-year terms, all of which expire December 31,2011. This memorandum describes the process of selecting directors for the two-year term that begins January 1, 2012. Participating Units The current method of selecting directors was established by resolutions of the county, cities, and school districts participating in the appraisal district in 1981, and modified in 1991 after the law was changed to provide a voting entitlement to conservation and reclamation districts. Sec. 6.031,Tax Code, authorizes an appraisal district to vary both the size and the method of selecting • its board members. The six members of the Harris County Appraisal District's board of directors are selected as follows: • One member appointed by the Harris County Commissioners Court. One member appointed by the Houston City Council. • One member appointed by the board of trustees of the Houston independent School District. • One member appointed.by votes of the city councils of the cities other than Houston. Each city council casts a single vote. The candidate who receives the most votes is elected. 6 One member appointed by vote of the boards of trustees of the school districts other than Houston Independent School District. Each board casts a single vote. The candidate who receives the most votes is elected. One member appointed by vote of the governing bodies of those conservation and reclamation districts that levied a property tax in 2010 and also plan to levy in 2011. Each body casts a single vote. The candidate who receives the most votes is elected. 1 Presiding Officers,August 1, 2011 Page 2 O In the event the county appoints someone other than the county assessor-collector to the board,the county assessor-collector will serve ex officio in a non-voting capacity as a seventh member. Board members whose terms expire December 31,2011, are: • o Glenn Peters, Chairman,representing conservation and reclamation districts • ® Lawrence Marshall, Secretary,representing Houston ISD • Q Ed Heathcott, Member,representing cities &towns, except City of Houston o Gary Stein, Member,representing City of Houston • • ® Don Sumners,Member,representing Harris County • © Toni Trumbull,Member,representing school districts, except Houston ISD • Eligibility Requirements • An individual must satisfy certain residency, employment, and conflict-of-interest requirements to be eligible to serve on the board of directors. Residency: The candidate must be a resident of Harris County, and must have resided in the county for at least two years immediately preceding the date he or she takes office. The appraisal district's boundaries are the same as those for Harris County. Employment: An employee of a taxing unit served by the appraisal district may not serve,with one exception. An employee may serve if the employee is also a member of the governing body • or an elected official of a taxing unit that participates in the district. For example, a member of the governing body of a school district who is also a city employee would be eligible to serve on the appraisal district's board of directors. Elected officials or members of governing bodies who are not employed by taxing units are also eligible to serve on the board. Conflict-of-interest: A candidate may not serve if the candidate is related to a person who is in the business of appraising property or represents property owners for a fee in proceedings in the appraisal district. Relatives barred are those within the second degree by consanguinity(blood) • or affinity(marriage). These persons include: spouse; children;brothers and sisters;parents; grandparents; and grandchildren. The spouse's relatives in the same degree are included. A candidate who contracts with the appraisal district for any purpose, or who contracts with a taxing unit served by the district for a property tax related purpose,may not serve. The same rule applies to candidates who have a substantial interest in businesses contracting with the appraisal district(for any purpose) or with the taxing unit(for property tax purposes). A candidate has a substantial interest.if the candidate or the candidate's spouse has combined ownership of at least ten percent(10%) of the voting stock or shares of the business. A candidate also has a substantial interest if the candidate or the candidate's spouse is a partner,limited partner, or an officer of the business. These prohibitions on contracting continue for the duration of the affected director's term of office. • Presiding Officers, August 1,2011 Page 3 The appraisal district may not employ any person who is related to an appraisal district director within the second degree by affinity or the third degree by consanguinity. The provision applies to existing employees at the time the director takes office and to employees hired during the director's term. Delinquent taxes: Texas law makes a person ineligible to serve as an appraisal district director if he or she has delinquent property taxes owing to any taxing unit 60 days after the person knew or should have known of the delinquency. • Selection Procedures The procedures for selecting members of the board of directors for the two-year term beginning • on January 1,2012, are as follows: • For Cities and Towns Other Than the City of Houston The cities and towns other than the City of Houston appoint one member by majority vote of their city council. The process for these cities and towns involves two steps: nomination and election. • Nomination • The city council of each city and town has the right to nominate a single candidate for the position. To nominate,the governing body must adopt a resolution nominating the candidate by formal action. The mayor, as presiding officer of the city council,must submit the nominee's • name to the chief appraiser of the Harris County Appraisal District no later than Friday, October 14,2011. The mayor must provide a certified copy of the resolution and may include a cover • letter naming the nominee. Election On Monday, October 17, the chief appraiser will prepare a ballot listing the nominees in alphabetical order. The chief appraiser will deliver a copy of the ballot to the mayor of each voting city or town. No later than Thursday, December 15,2011, each city council must cast its vote for one of the nominees, formally adopt a resolution naming the person for whom it votes, and submit a certified copy to the chief appraiser. Ballots received by the chief appraiser after December 15 may not be counted. The chief appraiser will count the votes,declare the results, and notify the winner, the nominees, and the managers of each city and town. A tie vote will be resolved by a method of chance chosen by the chief appraiser. Presiding Officers, August 1, 2011 • Page 4 For School Districts Other Than the Houston Independent School District Exactly the same procedure described for cities and towns above applies to the selection of the member who represents school districts other than Houston ISD. The board of trustees of the school districts must nominate and elect following the deadlines and procedures described above. For Conservation and'Reclamation Districts The procedure and timetable for selecting the member who represents the conservation and reclamation districts are the same as that described above for small cities and school districts. Only those conservation and reclamation districts that levied a property tax in 2010 and intend to do so in 2011 may participate. For Harris County,the City of Houston, • • and the Houston Independent School District • By December 5,2011,the governing body of each of these entities appoints a single person to represent it on the board. Each governing body must formally adopt a resolution naming the person who will serve as a board member and submit it to the chief appraiser at the address shown below: Jim Robinson Chief Appraiser Harris County Appraisal District 13013 Northwest Freeway P. O. Box 920975 Houston, TX 77292-0975 • To assist you in this process,I have enclosed a suggested form of resolution for the nomination of a candidate to the board of directors of the Harris County Appraisal District. We invite your questions or comments on the board selection process. Please do not hesitate to call me at(713) 957-5291. With kindest regards, Jim Robinson Chief Appraiser • Attachments c: HCAD Board Members Tax Assessors Attorneys •