Total 2018 CAD Budget Including ARBSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Total Budget | 0.606 | 0.616 | 0.623 | 0.613 | 0.651 | 0.676 | 0.678 | 0.685 | 0.703 | 0.711 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.0045 | 0.0055 | 0.0030 | 0.0035 | 0.0040 | 0.0050 | 0.0050 | 0.0060 | 0.0070 | 0.007 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
Zapata County CAD Operations and Budgets
Zapata County Appraisal District (Zapata CAD) is a mystery to many people.
- 1. Why do they exist?
- 2. Who runs the operation?
- 3. Who funds the operation?
Zapata County Appraisal District is a quasi-governmental operation made possible by Tax Code Section 6 regarding the establishment of one appraisal district in each county. Appraisal districts were legislated into existence in 1979 to begin operation in 1981; the legislation is known as the “Peveto Bill”, based on the sponsor. Previously each city, county and school district valued property in their jurisdiction separately and had hearings regarding value. The board of directors consists of representatives of largest tax entities (school, county, city, MUDs, special districts). They are largely a “budget board” with two responsibilities: 1) select the chief appraiser (who runs the appraisal district) and 2) approve the annual budget. Texas appraisal district budgets were $523 million in 2018. We hope to provide insights with the graphs.
Zapata CAD Total CAD Budget Including ARB
Zapata County Appraisal Districts annual budget, along with the budget for the ARB are below. Texas appraisal district budgets are substantial. These are public servants paid with public money. Do you feel like a valued client when you visit the appraisal district? Are you surprised at the amount of budget for Zapata County Appraisal District?
The 2018 budget for the Zapata County Appraisal District was $0.68 million, about 0.1% of the budget for appraisal districts statewide. ($523.4 million statewide)
Total Property Taxes Levied Zapata CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Property Taxes Levied | 0.0283 | 0.0283 | 0.0255 | 0.0199 | 0.0199 | 0.0217 | 0.0217 | 0.0186 | 0.021 | 0.0226 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Appealing annually helps the appraisal district avoid over-taxing a property for both market value and unequal appraisal.
Zapata County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
Zapata County tax entities total tax levies have been growing much faster than inflation. This has caused property taxes to rise much faster than inflation. Wage increases have been lean for the past 10 years. However, the total property tax levy for Zapata County and others have increased 7 to 10% consistently. This was a primary factor in the legislature passing Senate Bill 2 in 2019.
Total Texas property taxes are huge; to be exact they amounted to $67 billion in 2018. Zapata County made up $0.0199 billion of that total.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - Zapata CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| Total Number of FTEs | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions In Budget Total
Zapata County Appraisal District staffing levels are illustrated below. Texas appraisal districts reported a total of 4,609 FTEs (full-time equivalents). Increased use of technology may reduce the need for appraisal district staff, or at least slow the level of expense growth.
There were 6 full time employees at the Zapata County Appraisal District in 2019.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - Zapata CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | |||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| FTEs Appraisal Total | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| Residential | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Commercial | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| All Other | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
Zapata CAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
Zapata County Appraisal District has two groups of staff: 1) appraisers and 2) administrative staff / everyone else. Statewide appraisers (2,221) account for just under half (48%) of total staff at Texas appraisal districts. The graph provides a total and individual numbers for residential and commercial by year.
There were 3 appraisers at the Zapata County Appraisal District in 2018. That is 0.1% of all appraisers in Texas. (2,222 in Texas overall)