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Titus County chief appraiser explains how property values, protests and upcoming ballot measures affect Mount Pleasant taxes
Summary
At a Sept. 16 Mount Pleasant City Council meeting PCAD Chief Appraiser Shirley Dixon reviewed how county appraisals are done, the protest timeline and several state bills and ballot propositions that could remove value from local tax rolls and affect city revenue.
Shirley Dixon, chief appraiser for the county appraisal district, told the Mount Pleasant City Council on Sept. 16 that appraisal districts use mass appraisal methods to set market value as of Jan. 1 each year, and that property owners have a structured window to protest their values.
Dixon said the appraisal districts were created in the late 1970s to provide a uniform appraisal across taxing entities and that mass appraisal — supported by computer-assisted models — is the only practical way to value tens of thousands of parcels. "Appraisal districts came about in '79 ... and it created 254 appraisal districts in the state of Texas," Dixon said.
The appraisal process, Dixon said, follows a calendar: appraisals are set as of Jan. 1; notices are typically mailed starting in April; owners have 30 days to protest after notice; the appraisal review board (ARB) hears protests between May and July; and taxing units certify values by July 25. She emphasized that the statutory valuation date is Jan. 1: "Section 23.01 of the property tax code requires that we have properties at market value as of January 1 of that year." Dixon advised owners who do not receive a notice by mid‑April to contact the appraisal office because a missing notice does not remove the right to protest.
Dixon described the ARB as a panel of local property owners appointed by the district administrative judge, and said the comptroller's office conducts periodic reviews of appraisal districts. Those reviews include a property value study that compares local appraisals to an independent sample; appraisal districts are expected to be within a 10% confidence interval. If a district consistently misses that standard, the state can place it on probation and, in extreme cases, reduce state funding tied to school district valuations.
She outlined what appraisers consider in mass appraisal — location, size, age, condition, construction type and comparable sales — and the three standard appraisal approaches (cost, sales and income). She also described notice, protest and post-ARB remedies: meeting with an appraiser, filing a protest with the ARB, and, if unsatisfied with the ARB's decision, options that include district court, binding arbitration or a state office hearing.
Dixon flagged several state-level measures that voters will see on November ballots and that local officials should watch. She described a House bill (on the ballot as Proposition 9) providing a $125,000 exemption for business personal property; she estimated that, if enacted as described, the change could remove roughly $22 million of taxable value from local rolls for 2026. She also summarized a school-related ballot item that would increase mandatory homestead exemptions and raise the exemption available to voters 65 or older or disabled.
On governance and oversight, Dixon said the appraisal district's board of directors is nominated by taxing entities and elected by their ballots; voting power for those elections is apportioned by prior-year tax levies. She said that ARB members are appointed by the district administrative judge and that parcel-level audits occur during a maps review in even-numbered years.
Dixon closed by urging property owners to check notices and to meet informally with appraisers early if they believe parcel characteristics are incorrect. She said the appraisal office posts workshop dates and contact information on its website and encouraged residents to attend informal sessions.
The presentation answered council and public questions on how commercial values are treated (cost/assessment approaches rather than frequent sales), how board members are nominated and voted on, and what happens when a district fails a property value study.
The appraisal presentation is informational; it does not change any city tax or appraisal procedure. For more information Dixon directed residents to the appraisal office website and offered contact and workshop details.
