More property value lawsuits are being resolved in Brazos County

This podcast is a visit with Brazos Central Appraisal District chief appraiser Dana Horton and WTAW's Bill Oliver.The development of fiscal year 2026 budgets by the Brazos County commission and the College Station and Bryan city councils has included the surprise of resetting proposed tax rates due to reduced valuation numbers coming from the Brazos Central appraisal district (BCAD). Chief appraiser Dana Horton says the larger amount of decreased values is the result of resolving more lawsuits filed by the owners of mostly commercial properties.She estimates 80 percent of those property owners are fighting how the appraisal district determined equity in the valuation process.Horton says the increase in cases being resolved follows moving those lawsuits to the 472nd district court that was created in November 2023.Horton says BCAD is still working through 300 active lawsuits, and she expects the number of lawsuits to continue increasing.The chief appraiser says she has met with representatives of the elected bodies and she will be notifying them of the status of future appeals.There is also an increase in appeals of residential properties, from around 10,000 a few years ago to 18,000 last year to 22,500 this year. Horton says most of the residential appeals are resolved at the informal hearing level.