Commissioners finalize split of county’s 996 appraisal-district votes after multiple proposals and arithmetic corrections

Guadalupe County commissioners spent a lengthy portion of their Nov. 5 meeting on how to allocate the county’s 996 votes to nominees for the Guadalupe appraisal district’s board of directors. The judge explained recent state changes require voter-elected directors and that the court must allocate its weighted 996 votes among nominees for terms beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

Commissioners debated options — an equal split, concentrating votes on preferred nominees, or ensuring each nominee receives at least one vote to preserve recall rights under state tax code — and several motions were proposed on the record (proposals included giving 100 votes to most nominees with three candidates receiving 112 each; alternate proposals allocated 150 votes to four preferred candidates with the remainder divided among others). The county auditor flagged arithmetic errors in multiple proposals and the body withdrew and restated motions until the spreadsheet matched the required total. The auditor also reminded the court that, under section 6.033 of the tax code, a taxing unit may only call for recall of an appointed director for whom it cast votes; commissioners noted that practice explains past decisions to cast at least one vote for all nominees.

After restating the motion to match the auditor’s spreadsheet, the court voted to allocate votes as announced on the record; the motion passed with no opposition noted. The judge closed the item by confirming the court will follow the formal allocation filed under the adopted resolution.