A legal memorandum released ahead of a Friday meeting of the Potter County Appraisal District Board of Directors says Potter and Randall counties cannot legally merge their appraisal districts into one entity. The memo was written by attorney Andrew C. Devine of Law Offices of Ryan Henry, PLLC, and was included in the public agenda packet.
According to the memo, Texas law allows the two districts to share office space, software, administrative staff and a Chief Appraiser through an interlocal agreement. It says the districts cannot combine their governance or finances. The memo says each board must prepare, hold public hearings on and adopt its own budget under Texas Tax Code § 6.06. It also says each board must independently appoint the Chief Appraiser, select a depository, set public comment policies and elect its officers. The two boards have met jointly for decades and recently voted to adopt a single consolidated budget.
The release follows months of disagreement over a 1987 agreement that governs the district. Potter County board members have said they want to revise the agreement because they believe it gives Randall County disproportionate voting power. On September 25, the Potter County board authorized Chairman Zac Plummer to release the legal guidance. The Randall County board has taken a more cautious approach, according to the report.