Bell Appraisal District Budgets Total $3 MM / Year
Bell County Tax Appraisal District budgets total $3 million per year to represent taxing entities. Their board of directors is selected by taxing entities and appoints the chief appraiser. There is no one at the appraisal district representing the property owner. Bell CAD has a staff of 42 in 2021, versus 41 in 2015. Bell CAD employed 20 appraisers in 2021 to represent tax entities versus 16 in 2015. The appraisal district budget is paid by tax entities. Even the playing field by enrolling in the Property Tax Protection Program. There are no flat fees and no upfront costs. Never pay anything unless we reduce your property taxes that year. Simple 3 step program: 1) enroll in 3 minutes, 2) relax and 3) save.
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 | 2024 | ||
| Total Budget | 2.820 | 3.070 | 3.317 | 3.317 | 3.416 | 3.753 | 3.656 | 3.754 | 3.793 | 4.075 | 6.678 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.0120 | 0.0120 | 0.0120 | 0.0130 | 0.0130 | 0.0130 | 0.0185 | 0.0224 | 0.0415 | 0.046 | 0.058 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
Bell County CAD Operations and Budgets
Tax Appraisal District Of Bell County (BellCAD) is a mystery to many people.
- 1. Why do they exist?
- 2. Who runs the operation?
- 3. Who funds the operation?
Tax Appraisal District Of Bell County 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. Bell County Tax Appraisal District's budget was $3 million in 2021, up 30% from $2 million in 2014. The Bell CAD budget is $21 per tax parcel versus $28 per tax parcel statewide.
BellCAD Total CAD Budget Including ARB
Tax Appraisal District Of Bell County 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 Tax Appraisal District Of Bell County?
The 2021 budget for the Bell County Appraisal Review Board was $22,350 versus $12,000 in 2014.
Total Property Taxes Levied Bell 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 | 2024 | ||
| Property Taxes Levied | 0.3511 | 0.3677 | 0.3813 | 0.4064 | 0.4311 | 0.4602 | 0.4893 | 0.5221 | 0.5935 | 0.6014 | 0.6648 | |
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.
Bell County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
Bell 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 Bell County and others have increased 7 to 10% consistently. This was a primary factor in the legislature passing Senate Bill 2 in 2019.
Property taxes for Bell County tax entities rose from $351 million in 2014 to $522 billion in 49% increase.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - BellCADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number of FTEs | 41 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 50 | 50 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions In Budget Total
Tax Appraisal District Of Bell County staffing levels are illustrated below. Bell County Tax Appraisal District staff totaled 41 in 2015 and 42 in 2021. The number of appraisers was 16 in 2015 versus 20 in 2021. The number of administrative / clerical staff was 25 in 2015 versus 22 in 2021.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - BellCADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| FTEs Appraisal Total | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | |
| Residential | 3 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 14 | |
| Commercial | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| All Other | 10 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
BellCAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
Tax Appraisal District Of Bell County has two groups of staff: 1) appraisers and 2) administrative staff / everyone else. The number of appraisers at Bell CAD in 2015 was 16 versus 20 in 2021. Texas appraisal districts employed a total of 2,293 appraisers in 2021, or one appraiser per 9,141 tax parcels.
The 20 appraisers employed by Bell County Tax Appraisal District value 176,014 tax parcel, or 8,800 tax parcels per appraiser. The Texas average is 9,141 tax parcels per appraiser.