JCAD nears votes needed for new building

The Jack County Appraisal District is close to the number of votes it needs to finance the purchase of a new office building.

The JCAD Board of Directors met in late February to adopt a resolution authorizing the board chairman and chief appraiser to acquire property at 203 S. Church St. in Jacksboro for a cost not to exceed $500,000. The cost included the purchase of the building valued at $345,000 along with any remodeling work necessary to create functional office space for the district.

Appraisal districts in Texas are fully funded by local taxing units like cities, counties, school districts and special districts. Each taxing unit pays an amount based on the amount of property taxes levied by that unit compared to the total of taxes levied by all units in the district.

Prior to 2025, CADs were generally not allowed to finance the purchase of real property. Senate Bill 2073 amended the Texas Tax Code last year, authorizing appraisal district boards to finance real property purchases or improvements.

If the proposal were approved, the project would be financed through Government Capital Corporation. JCAD’s respective taxing entities would be solely responsible for the repayment of the loan, and total payments from taxing entities to the appraisal district would increase by $66,433 when financed for 10 years.

After moving to a new location, JCAD would then sell the current building with an expected purchase price of $100,000 to $150,000. Following the terms set by GCC, those funds could be placed in a growth account and later applied to the overall balance of the loan once repayments reached the halfway point.

Jack County Deputy Chief Appraiser Nichole Rose said JCAD purchased its current building at 210 N. Church St. in 1990, but beginning in 2022 the district was forced to start making repairs to the building due to a lack of foundational and structural integrity as well as the presence of mold inside the building.

JCAD spent more than $123,000 between 2022 and 2025 for remodels and repairs, with approximately $60,000 being spent in 2025 alone.

Rose said in addition to the failing state of the building, her office would also need more usable space as the county continues to grow. The location at 203 S. Church St., although 400 square feet smaller than the current facility, would allow JCAD to remodel and add 1,200 square feet of additional office space for employees.

With a total of 12 voting entities, six so far have voted in favor of the proposal, including Jack County, Bowie ISD, city of Jacksboro, Midway ISD, Jacksboro ISD and city of Bryson.

Bryson ISD voted 7-0 against the proposal at the board’s Monday, March 23 meeting.

Jack County commissioners initially tabled their vote with a request for more information regarding the possibility of leasing a building rather than buying one outright.

Rose said there were few options that would fit her office’s needs in Jacksboro, and some commissioners agreed owning the building was better for the appraisal district in the long run.

“I thought about renting and I think that’s a bad deal,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Henry Birdwell, Jr. said. “I think every time you have your lease come up they’re going to go up (in rent) on you. That’s a headache that’s not needed.”

But Precinct 1 Commissioner Gary Oliver was not convinced, saying the public would probably be more receptive to JCAD officing out of a building that was on the tax roll.

“I’m going to be a nay for now. I appreciate all the work that went into this (proposal), but I just can’t support it at this time,” Oliver said.

The measure passed the court in a 4-1 record vote, with Oliver the sole vote against it.

A total of five entities still have not voted for or against JCAD’s proposal, including East Keechi Water Control and Improvement District, Jack County WCID #1, Graford ISD, Perrin-Whitt CISD and the Jack County Hospital District.

Perrin’s school board tabled any action during its regular Tuesday, March 17 meeting, asking for more time for consideration.

Taxing entities are required to meet the Monday, April 13 deadline to submit their vote either for or against the proposal. With one vote allowed per entity, JCAD needed a total of nine votes in favor of the proposal, or 75%, to move forward.

Any governing body of a taxing unit failing to act on the proposal would be treated as approved by default rather than disapproved.