Tarrant County Appraisal District launches internal investigation, prompting calls for a leadership change

WFAA
Author: Matt Houston (WFAA)
Published: 6:55 PM CDT August 23, 2023

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Tarrant County Appraisal District has suspended a director and launched a "full investigation" into statements that "do not reflect the values of TAD's board of directors nor their management of TAD," a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. 

The investigation is centered on a portion of an audio recording that raises questions about problems with the district's website users experienced in April and May. WFAA is still working to confirm the veracity of the audio, which a whistleblower claims was secretly recorded during a staff meeting. 

In response to the development, Tarrant County judge Tim O'Hare publicly called for "a change in leadership" of the district. 

There is a serious leadership problem at the Tarrant Appraisal District. This suspension is simply not enough. TAD needs a change in leadership to restore the public’s trust, which is currently non-existent. How many scandals does it take? https://t.co/ujScYEIXJ4

— Tim O'Hare, Tarrant County Judge (@TimothyOHare) August 22, 2023

Homeowners use the Tarrant Appraisal District website to protest appraisals of their home's taxable value. The website also features a tool, which automatically offers protesting residents a settlement valuation. 

"The tool is fantastic," Tarrant-area realtor Chandler Crouch said. "The problem is that it wasn't available for about the first 30 days the website was live."

Law and the board extended the deadline to file a protest by 15 days, allowing the district time to repair its site. 

Still, Crouch said some homeowners who tried to protest their appraisal while the website wasn't working might've given up after they encountered problems. 

"They probably just clicked off and forgot about it," Crouch said. "Now, they're having to pay taxes on a higher value because of it."

District leaders initially claimed its website crashed because so many people were attempting to access it. At a May board meeting, TAD chief appraiser Jeff Law partly blamed data-gathering bots for increased traffic to the website. He said those bots were mining data that is publicly available, not exploiting weaknesses in the site's security. 

A statement to WFAA suggests the public was potentially misled about the website's cause. 

"TAD is committed to providing the public and media with accurate, factual information related to its duties, responsibilities, and actions," a spokesperson wrote in a Wednesday statement about the leaked audio recording.  

"Upon learning of the audio recorded statements, the Chief Appraiser notified the TAD board of directors and launched a full investigation of the circumstances," the statement continued. "The employee on the recording is currently suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. TAD is committed to gaining a full understanding of the context and reasoning behind the statement."

Keller Mayor Armin Mizani said he'll call for a mostly symbolic vote of no confidence in Jeff Law at his council's next meeting in September. As chief appraiser, Law oversees the suspended director. 

"I believe there's a culture problem at TAD," Mizani said. "This is one scandal too many. At the end of the day, we need a new chief appraiser."

Law survived a vote of no confidence by his own board two weeks ago for problems unrelated to the website. 

"Leadership starts at the top," Mizani said. "We've lost our trust in the Tarrant Appraisal District."