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Dallas County Appraisal District proposes $38.48 million FY25-26 budget, cites $1.5M election cost
Summary
The Dallas Central Appraisal District presented a proposed FY2025-26 budget of $38,483,607, a 3.99% increase driven in part by election costs and personnel expenses; the district asked committee members for feedback ahead of an April public hearing.
Shane Dougherty, chief appraiser of the Dallas Central Appraisal District, told the Government Performance and Financial Management Committee that the appraisal district is proposing a $38,483,607 fiscal year 2025–26 budget, a 3.99% increase from the previous year's $37,006,000. Dougherty said the rise primarily reflects a $1,500,000 allocation in the FY25-26 budget to pre-fund half the cost of a publicly elected board election that the district expects could total about $3,000,000 if a full election or runoff occurs. He said the district instead opted to smooth the cost over two budgets to avoid spikes.
Dougherty described the district's staffing level recommendation of 245 employees and said roughly 70% of the budget is people-driven (salaries, insurance, benefits). He outlined division responsibilities, including appraisal services, information technology (the district develops its own software in-house), legal services, administrative services and community relations. He detailed cost drivers: staffing merit increases (recommended at roughly 3.25–3.27 percent based on a market survey), increased electricity and janitorial costs, and a 14% projected rise in medical insurance premiums. He also noted prior cyberattack preparations and cybersecurity investments and said some cyber-monitoring costs have decreased over time.
Dougherty said the proposed increase to the city of Dallas share would be about a 0.53 percentage-point increase, raising the city's allocation from about $5,000,940 to $5,972,000 under the formulas used by taxing jurisdictions. He said the appraisal district will conduct a public hearing April 9 and seeks board adoption of the budget by that date. Committee members thanked Dougherty, asked about possible cuts (staff said staffing and appraisal review board paneling are primary levers), and discussed the potential impact of pending legislation (a legislative exception for business personal property values up to $250,000 was noted as a potential staff driver for future staffing changes).
Dougherty said the district will continue outreach with cities, schools and county taxing entities before board action and welcomed committee feedback ahead of its April public hearing.
