The chairwoman of the Tarrant Appraisal District's board of directors resigned this week after the Keller City Council voted to initiate a recall, the city's mayor says.
The appraisal board learned Wednesday that Kathryn Wilemon had stepped down from her position as chair after two years in the role. According to a report in the Denton Record-Chronicle, citing fellow TAD board member Rich DeOtte who said Wilemon submitted her resignation by email and did not specify a reason.
The TAD is responsible for local property tax appraisals and exemption administration for 73 jurisdictions or taxing units in Tarrant County. The TAD does not set tax rates, those are established by each taxing unit (county, city, school district). Property appraisals are determined by the appraisal district and are then used by the taxing units to calculate and allocate the property owner's annual tax burden.
Had Wilemon not stepped down, the recall initiated by the Keller City Council could have been put before all the taxing units
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The TAD has been the subject of recent controversies, including the alleged targeting of a property tax consultant who helped residents protest and lower their tax appraisals as well as harassment allegations against an employee who was eventually fired.
But according to Keller Mayor Armin Mizani, who released a statement Thursday morning, recent controversies weren't the only reasons a recall was initiated.
In a statement on Facebook, Mizani confirmed they'd learned Wilemon stepped down and said the Keller City Council brought forth the recall against her because the city had done its part to lower the tax burden for residents but that the appraisal district wasn't making progress on their end.
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Mizani said the people who make up the Tarrant Appraisal District board of directors are appointed to two-year terms and are appointed by the taxing entities that make up Tarrant County. That means taxpayers do not directly vote for board members, but instead rely on their elected city councils, school boards, and county commissioners to vote for board members on their behalf.
Mizani said the Keller City Council met with board candidates who hoped to earn their votes and that they cast their votes on the premise that those candidates would work to make the TAD more accountable, transparent and trustworthy.
The mayor said the city council was asked to consider whether things were better with the TAD than they were two years ago and that they felt like the answer was "a resounding no."
"When a former state senator is having to formally request that the TAD Board of Directors investigate why the number of protests has spiked drastically in Tarrant County compared to others across the state; when we hear stories of a former TAD employee harassing female employees; when we hear stories of a high-ranking TAD employee targeting the livelihood and professional license of someone solely on the basis that they were assisting others with their protests, that creates serious distrust. And we as a City Council, working on behalf of all of you, are not seeing swift and appropriate action in addressing these issues," Mizani said in a statement.
Mizani added that the distrust with the TAD didn't happen overnight and that Tarrant County residents have complained about the appraisal district for many years.
"When we cast our votes in December 2021, we expected progress on behalf of our taxpayers. We haven't seen that progress. It's time for change," Mizani said.
Before joining the TAD board, Wilemon previously served several terms on the Arlington City Council before voter-approved term limits in 2018 forced her out of office the next year.
