Fort Worth

Tarrant County Tax Mess Needs Quick Fix: Commissioner

County can't immediately pay $12 million refunds to 5,000 taxpayers

A Tarrant County commissioner on Wednesday called for an urgent meeting of top officials to solve a cash crunch that has left 5,000 taxpayers waiting for a total of $12 million in refunds.

"We as elected officials and public servants have the duty to fix it and fix it now," said Commissioner Andy Nguyen.

On Tuesday, Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Ron Wright said his office was having a "cash flow" problem because of a huge number of refunds which came from the Tarrant Appraisal District.

On top of a new $9 million, Wright said his office was already working to refund $3 million from earlier overcharges.

Wright said it would take until the end of October before his office could afford to make all the refunds.

He blamed the issue on ongoing computer software issues at the appraisal district.

Nguyen echoed his criticism.

"I think it started with a technology upgrade, so that we can have a better system," he said. "The technology upgrade did not go well."

The software, called Aumentum, was sold to Tarrant County by information giant Thomson Reuters.

The company on Wednesday issued a short statement in response to an inquiry from NBC 5:

"Thomson Reuters is committed to supporting Tarrant Appraisal District and providing state-of-the-art property valuation and appraisal software," the statement said. "We are working closely with TAD to resolve any outstanding issues."

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, who previously served as county tax collector, said anyone owed a tax refund should get it.

"Citizens are entitled to their money back," she said.

But Price downplayed any problem and said a large number of refunds shouldn't come as a surprise.

"This is not a real unusual situation," she said. "The problem is we are much bigger now. We are in a very robust real estate economy."

Nguyen disagreed.

"We've got to fix it and the first thing we have to do is admit we have a problem," he said.

The person in charge of the Tarrant Appraisal District, chief appraiser Jeff Law, has not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Contact Us