City staff told the Tomball City Council Sept. 2 that Cassandra Bandy resigned from the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) board of directors, leaving an unexpired term that runs through December 2027 and that the council may, but is not required to, submit a nominee.

"This is an unexpired term. That's a 2 year term... you do have the right to put forth a nomination for this position," a staff member said during the discussion, explaining the council has until a late-September deadline to submit a nomination and that the board of directors will vote on any nominees before the council's final action.

Councilmembers debated whether to renominate Melissa Noriega (an incumbent previously discussed) or to recruit other candidates. Staff offered to advertise the vacancy and return a slate of applicants at the council's Sept. 15 meeting. By the end of the discussion the council reached consensus to post a recruitment announcement outlining qualifications and meeting requirements and to seek applicants; staff said it would present a slate on Sept. 15 if applications are received.

Nut graf: The position is appointed through a multi-step process: the council may submit a nominee to the Harris County Appraisal District board; that board holds an internal vote to select its slate; and the city may then participate in subsequent steps as prescribed by the appraisal district's process.

Discussion details: Staff clarified that a nominee from the council would still need to go through HCAD's board election process and that the role primarily involves setting policy for appraisal operations; staff said the most immediate matters before the HCAD board include selecting a new chief appraiser.

Ending: City staff will prepare recruitment materials that describe duties and meeting schedules and post them through normal city channels; the council asked staff to return with applicants on Sept. 15. No formal vote or ordinance was taken during the Sept. 2 meeting.