I was catching up on my local news and a KJAS article from October 15th caught my eye. Turns out, Chief Appraiser Lori Barnett is pushing to spend over half a million dollars to spruce up her offices. Meanwhile, an article from last month revealed even more about their financial situation. Talk about priorities!

$795,403 – 2024 Contingency Fund

$1,426,406 – JCAD funding by the 17 taxing entities from Jasper County, the cities within, school districts and the new emergency services districts.

$1,658,662 – Board approved budget
($60,649 — 2024 increase from 2023)

$680,228 – Board Approved payroll and benefits for 16 employees.

$82,380 + benefits – Chief Appraiser

Who hires the Chief Appraiser?

Who are the Board of Directors and how are they appointed?

Who are the members of the Appraisal District Review Board, and how are they appointed?

The very people who set your tax rates, spend your tax dollars, demand ever more of your hard-earned money, also determine who will sit on the Board of Directors of the Appraisal District. The Board of Directors in turn hires or fires the Chief Appraiser, and (in the case of counties with fewer than 120,000 residents) the Board of Directors selects who will sit on the Appraisal Review Board and hear your protest.

Here is the audio file I have been waiting for. I am not sure who the gentleman is that tried to shut down the lady board member but it didn’t work and she made some valid points!

I continue to ask myself “what is the purpose of this life”? Born and raised in Texas and no matter my age…I will forever be a small town girl. I love the lazy Sunday afternoons sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee discussing Friday night’s football game or the turn out at the Fall festival. Beautiful weather like today does something to this East Texas girl! There is no other place I would rather be but lately I have been thinking about our small town and what is at stake if we don’t open our eyes and see what is going on behind the curtain. A curtain that is closed to everyone but a select few and those connected or related to them. I have sat back too long and watch the nepotism run rapid in our small community. Only recently have I decided to question ANYTHING! Like most of you, I am busy with the “everyday” schedule of life that I don’t have the time to pay attention to someone else’s job and how they are performing it. I am not insinuating that every civil employee is corrupt or that they even know what is going on. As with any place of employment, we usually do what were told without asking questions. What I am doing is encouraging my neighbors, my friends, my fellow citizens to start paying attention, start asking questions, there is nothing wrong with checks and balances across our community and if we are aware then the curtain can be pulled back and never be closed again.

A “letter to the editor” seems like a thing of the past but can be informative to ALL readers involved. Here is my Letter to the editor at KJAS concerning an article about a recent JEDCO meeting. I am sure with their expertise #KJAS has requested the audio and will publish the LTE in an upcoming expose but I am in the process of obtaining the recorded audio of the meeting and will drop it asap. ~JJ