OR 147 Appoints Commissioners to serve as the Board of Eaqualization for the year 1975 ORDINANCE NO. 147
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS, APPOINTING
COMMISSIONERS TO SERVE AS THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION FOR THE YEAR
1975 AND FIXING A TIME FOR THE MEETING OF SUCH BOARD; SETTING
FORTH CERTAIN PROCEDURES FOR THE CONDUCT OF HEARINGS BEFORE THE
BOARD, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIl, OF THE CITY OF
COPPELL, TEXAS:
Section 1. APPOINTMENT OF COr~MISSIONERS:
That James J. Gilchrist
Wayne Jackson
and
Loucille Young
are hereby appointed to serve as the Board of Equalization for the
City of Coppell, Texas, in accordance with Article 1048 of Vernon's
Annotated Civil Statutes of Texas.
Section 2. MEETINGS OF TIlE BOARD:
The meetings of the Board of Equalization shall be con-
ducted in five phases. Each of the five phases may require more
than one session, however, each phase shall be referred to herein
as the First, Second, Third, Fourth or Fifth meeting of the Board.
The "Third Meeting" or phase may be conducted immediately follow-
ing and on the same day as the "Second Meeting", provided such does
not prejudice the right of any person to adequately prepare himself
for his hearing.
Section 3. DATE AND TIME OF FIRST MEETING:
The First Meeting of the Board of Equalization for the
City of Coppell, Texas, shall be held at 7 o'clock p .M. on
the ]Oth day of June , 19 75 .
Section 4. THE FIRST MEETING:
Prior to the First Meeting of the Board, the Mayor shall
have provided each member of the Board with a copy of this Ordinance.
The First Meeting of the Board shall be opened by the
Mayor of the City, with the City Secretary acting as Secretary of
the Board.
The Mayor shall have the Oath of Office administered to
the appointed Commissioners.
The Mayor shall then open nominations for the Chairman
of the Board, who will be selected by a majority vote of the members
of the Board.
The elected Chairman of the Board will then assume the
office and take charge of the meeting.
The Board may appoint an ex-officio secretary to the
Board, should it appear that the clerical duties of the office will
require the same. If appointed, the ex-officio secretary will re-
lieve the City Secretary of the duties of "Secretary of the Board"
and shall, during the term of appointment, act in the official
capacity as the "Secretary to the Board", until relieved by final
adjournment of the Board or other orders of the Board. The ex-
officio secretary shall be paid for his or her services in such
amounts as may be mutually agreed upon between said secretary and
the Board of Equalization, subject to the approval of the City
Council.
When the Chairman of the Board finds that the Board has
qualified and is ready to enter upon its duties, he shall call upon
the City Tax Assessor and Collector to bring before the Board his
or her lists or books. In the event the Tax Assessor's lists are
not ready for examination, the "First Meeting" shall recess to con-
vene on call of the Chairman of the Board. When the Tax Assessor's
lists are ready to be considered by the Board, the "First Meeting"
shall be continued and such lists and books shall be examined for
the purpose of correction, equalization, appraisement and for the
purpose of considering any complaints that may be made at that time.
In the event the Board determines that the values on the lists or
books of the Assessor shall be changed, the Board shall make such
correction so that the values of such properties are set at the proper
figure. When the Board has made its examination and has determined
that the value of such properties are correctly equalized, the Board
shall adjourn to a date set for their "Second Meeting" which shall
be not less than ten (10) nor more than fifteen (15) days from the
date of adjournment, such date to be fixed in the order of adjournment.
Section 5. NOTICE OF SECOND MEETING:
In all cases where the Board of Equalization shall raise
the value of any property appearing on the lists or books of the
Assessor or shall raise the value of any property above its value
as established for the preceding year, or shall raise the value of
any property above the value as rendered by the owner of such prop-
erty or the person rendering the same, the Board shall cause the
Secretary of the Board to give written notice to the owner of such
property or the person rendering the same, which said Notice shall
state the increased valuation placed upon such property and that
the owner may appear at such "Second Meeting" if he desires, to file
his protest before the Board and request that the Board schedule
his case for a hearing so that he may show cause why his property
should not be so valued. The Board shall also direct the Secretary
to publish notice of this meeting of the Board of Equalization in
the official newspaper of the City.
Section 6. SECOND MEETING:
The Second Meeting of the Board of Equalization shall
be for the sole purpose of receiving from each person wishing to
appear before the Board, his request for hearing. A copy of the
"Request for Hearing" form to be used by persons wishing to appear
before the Board is attached hereto as Exhibit "A". Also, attached
hereto as Exhibit "B" is an Information Sheet which shall be given
to each person requesting a hearing before the Board.
A separate Request for Hearing form must be filled out
and filed for each person wishing to appear before the Board. Any
Attorney representing any person or persons must fill out a separate
"Request for Hearing" form for each person he will represent before
the Board. The Board of Equalization will not hear cases at its
"Second Meeting". As soon as all persons wishing to file requests
for hearing have done so, the Board shall determine whether or not
it wishes to hear any cases on that same day. If the Board does
wish to hear some or all of the cases on that same day, it shall
close its Second Meeting and proceed into its Third Meeting after
working out a schedule for the various hearings. Any person who
is scheduled for a hearing at a day other than the same day as the
"Second Meeting", shall be given written notice mailed to the address
shown on the Request for Hearing form.
Any person wishing to be heard by the Board must file
or cause to be filed with the Board, his request for hearing at
the Second Meeting and except as provided for in Section 8 of this
Ordinance, the Board shall not receive or schedule for hearing any
request for hearing not filed prior to the adjournment of said
"Second Meeting".
Section 7. THIRD MEETING:
The Third Meeting or phase of the Board's hearings shall
be devoted to hearing the various cases filed with the Board. Said
third phase of the Board's hearing shall consist of as many meetings
as shall be necessary to hear all of the requests filed with the
Board at its "Second Meeting". At the end of each meeting, the
Board shall announce the names of the persons scheduled to be heard
at the next meeting of the Board and shall insure that such persons
are so notified. When the Board finds that it has given ample
opportunity to those requesting a hearing to have such a hearing,
including those persons requesting a hearing under the provisions of
Section 8 of this Ordinance, the Board shall close its public hear-
ings and recess to convene on call of the Chairman of the Board.
Section 8. COMPI~AINT:
Any person who has failed to file a Request for Hearing
with the Board prior to the end of the Board's Second Meeting and
wishes to be heard by the Board, may file with the Board at any time
before the final action of the Board, a written complaint addressed
to the Chairman of the Board of Equalization, and the Board shall
schedule a hearing on said complaint prior to closing the public
hearings of the Board. Said "complaint" shall be in writing and
shall set forth the description of the property involved and shall
state the complainant's reason for not filing his request for a
hearing with the Board prior to the closing of its Second Meeting.
Provided, however, that said complainant shall have the right to be
heard by the Board even though his reason for failing to file his
application for hearing be without merit.
Section 9. FOURTH MEETING:
On call of the Chairman of the Board of Equalization,
the Board shall reconvene for its Fourth Meeting or phase, at which
time the Board will review and deliberate the various cases and make
its decision in regard to the same. The Board shall direct the
Secretary to notify all persons who have come before the Board of
the decision of the Board with respect to their property.
When the Board is of the opinion that the values on the
lists or books of the Tax Assessor have been equalized, the Board
shall by a motion duly passed, approve said lists or books and re-
turn the same to the Tax Assessor, directing the Tax Assessor to
make up therefrom a General Tax Roll and return said Tax Roll to-
gether with the approved list or books to the Board at its next
meeting. The Board shall then recess until its next session to be
called by the Chairman.
Section 10. FIFTH MEETING:
At the Fifth Meeting of the Board of Equalization, the
Board shall receive from the Tax Assessor the "General Tax Roll" as
made up from the approved lists or books of the Tax Assessor and if,
upon examination of the same, the Board is of the opinion that the
Tax Roll is correct in accordance with the approved lists or books
of the Tax Assessor, the Board shall approve said "General Tax Roll"
and upon finding no further business to come before the Board, shall
adjourn for the year.
Section 11. PRESENTATION OF TAX ROLL TO CITY COUNCIL:
Upon approval of the "General Tax Roll" by the Board of
Equalization, the Tax Assessor shall present same to the City Council.
Section 12. EMERGENCY CLAUSE:
The fact that the Laws and the Statutes of the State
of Texas require that an Ordinance be passed fixing the time for
the meeting of the Board of Equalization, and the fact that it is
necessary that said Board of Equalization meet in the immediate
future, creates an urgency and an emergency and requires that
this Ordinance take effect immediately from and after its passage.
DULY PASSED by the City Council of the City of Coppell,
Texas, on the 27 day of Iv~ay , 19 75.
ATTEST:
CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CASE NO.
REQUEST FOR HEARING
It is requested that I be scheduled for a hearing
before the Board of Equalization for the City of Coppell, Texas,
in session for the Year 1975, and,
The following information is submitted in connection
with my request:
1. Name of Property Owner requesting the hearing:
2. Address where all notices from the Board should be mailed:
3. If Property Owner is to be represented by an Attorney, give
the name and address of the Attorney:
Receipt is hereby acknowledged of a copy of "Instructions
for Filing Request for Hearing Form and General Information
Concerning Hearings before the Board of Equalization for the
Year".
Signature of Property Owner
EXHIBIT
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING "REQUEST FOR HEARING" FORM & GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
CONCERNING HEARINGS BEFORE THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION FOR THE CITY OF
COPPELL, TEXAS
1. A separate Request for Hearing form must be filed for each
person wishing to be scheduled for a hearing before the Board.
2. Any Attorney representing any person or several persons must
fill out a separate Request for Hearing form for each person he will repre-
sent before the Board.
3. Upon filing the Request for Hearing form with the Board, the
Board will take the matter under consideration and schedule a date on which
the property owner may appear to be heard concerning the valuation placed
upon his property.
4. PROPERTY OWNERS ARE ADVISED:
than thirty (30)
for completion.
(a) That should their presentation to the Board last longer
minutes, the presentation will be recessed to another date
(b) That the Board may consent to hear two or more property
owners jointly and in such case should their presentation last longer than
one hour, the presentation will be recessed to another date for completion.
(c) That should a property owner feel that his presentation
will last longer than the time mentioned above, he should make such known to
the Board at the time of filing his request for hearing and the Board will
attempt to schedule his presentation at a special time in order to allow
more time for his hearing.
(d) At your hearing, the Board is primarily interested in
information which you can supply which might alter their view with regard
to the value placed on your property. You are advised that the Board has
no authority to add property to the tax list and, therefore, will not be
concerned with receiving information about property which you feel has been
left off of the Tax List. Any property known to you which is not on the
Tax Assessor's list should be reported directly to the Tax Assessor.
5. The property owner shall appear before the Board as scheduled
or as called by the Board. The hearing shall be conducted in an informal
but orderly manner, and any property owner may present his own case before
the Board or may be represented by his duly appointed Attorney.
6. IN GENERAL, THE USUAL HEARING BEFORE THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
IS CONDUCTED IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER: The property owner, upon being called
before the Board, identifies himself and the property on which the valuation
is being contested. As soon as the Board has located the property on its
Plat Book or List, the property owner will be given an opportunity to state
to the Board his reasons why he feels the valuation of said property should
be changed. After presenting his statement and other evidence, the Board
will have an opportunity to ask questions and secure additional information
upon which to base its decision. Thereafter, the Board will close the hear-
ing and take the case under advisement. When tile Board has heard all of the
property owners, it will meet to review and deliberate the various cases and
make its decision thereon. Each property owner will thereafter be notified
of the decision of the Board in regard to his property.
7. All hearings before the Board will be open to the public.
However, in order to conduct the hearings in an orderly manner, the Board
will not recognize persons in the audience for open comment, nor will the
Board allow open discussion among the audience while a hearing is in progress.
Only the protesting property owner presently before the Board and those
appearing in his behalf will be heard.
THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION OF THE CITY OF
COPPELL, TEXAS FOR THE YEAR 1975
EXHIBIT B