Mayor authorized to continue input on Hood Central Appraisal District's preliminary 2026 budget

The Granbury City Council on July 1 authorized the mayor to continue providing input and oversight to the Hood Central Appraisal District (HCAD) regarding HCAD's preliminary 2026 budget.

Mayor and council discussion centered on HCAD's recent audits and use of excess funds. The mayor reported reviewing audited financials and said differences between the 2022 and 2023 audits stemmed from a restatement the new auditor made to separate retirement-account amounts from other accounts. The mayor said HCAD appears to hold roughly $1.8 million more in retirement-related accrued balances than would be required to fully fund liabilities under TCDRS actuarial guidelines and noted HCAD is about 90-95% funded on its retirement account based on the discussion with HCAD staff.

The mayor also said staff is following up on a roughly $216,000 construction-in-progress write-off shown in audited records to determine whether spending was appropriately authorized and accounted for. Council members discussed that HCAD's preliminary budget (about $2.9 million in the packet) is higher than the agency's recent actual expenditures and asked the mayor to continue discussions with HCAD to seek justification for the higher budget request and return of excess funds to taxing entities when appropriate. Council voted to authorize the mayor to continue providing input on HCAD's preliminary 2026 budget (motion recorded as passed 6-0 in transcript).

What's next: The mayor will continue working with HCAD leadership and auditors to review line items and to press for timely return of excess funds where permitted by law. Council and staff said there is a statutory process for taxing units to disapprove an appraisal district amendment if they find it unnecessary; the mayor said he will use the information he gathers to advise the council before any formal response from Granbury is required.