OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

El Paso City Council Work Session - May 12, 2025: Appraisal Values, Board/Commission Reforms, and Public Safety Complex

City Council — Monday, May 12, 2025
BodyEl Paso, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, May 12, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:37:22

Transcript — Verbatim
0:16

Well, good morning, everyone.

0:17

We're going to call this meeting to order.

0:20

And Ms.

0:20

Prime?

0:21

Good morning, Mayor.

0:22

Good morning.

0:23

This is a work session of the Al Paso City Council for Monday, May 12th, 2025.

0:28

It is 9 02 a.m.

0:30

Mayor Johnson is present and presiding in Council Chambers, along with Mayor Potem Chavez, Representative Acevedo, Representative Malonado Rocha, Representative Boyatrejo, Representative Nino, and Representative.

0:45

Mayor, we have a quorum.

0:47

Thank you.

0:47

Representative Nina, would you lead us into the Clech?

1:15

Mayor that brings us to item number one, and this is presentation discussion by the El Paso Central Appraisal Districts Executive Director and Chief Appraiser, Dinah Kilgore on the City of Al Pasos 2025, pre-preliminary values and protest period.

1:31

Good morning.

1:32

Good morning, uh Mayor, Councilmember.

1:34

Uh Dinah Kilgore, executive director, El Paso Central Appraisal District, and David Stone, uh, deputy chief uh appraiser.

1:42

Uh we do uh kind of an in tandem, uh we work together, so I'll give part of the presentation and uh he'll give the other.

1:49

Sure.

1:50

Um, give you some ideas on some of the numbers we're looking at.

1:53

Uh some of y'all are new to the council, so we're gonna kind of uh explain who we are and and what it is we do.

2:00

Um PowerPoint is it up?

2:02

IT will bring it up.

2:04

Okay, I don't need to.

2:06

Okay.

2:07

All righty.

2:08

So we did submit uh a little presentation for you guys to keep.

2:12

Um I know you have plenty of other paperwork, but let's just add this to it, okay.

2:17

Uh so first of all, what is what is mass appraisal in the state of Texas because of the amount of appraisals that uh the taxing entities have, the amount of properties that we have back in 1979, the Pivodeau bill was put into place by state legislation to appraise properties uh under the mass appraisal basis.

2:39

Okay, right here.

2:40

Um so appraisal districts, there's about 254 appraisal districts.

2:44

Every county has appraisal district, and we appraise properties on a kind of a bell curve.

2:50

We look at neighborhoods, we look at what's going on in that neighborhood, and we come up with what the average is in that neighborhood and set those values.

2:58

If we were to try to do an individual fee appraisals, um that would be very costly, about 72 million dollars, and take about 10 to 13 years to do.

3:09

So that's why they allow for mass appraisal.

3:13

Disadvantages of mass appraisal is we don't know the particulars of a property.

3:17

Uh so that's one of the things that we have to deal with.

3:20

Is Texas is a non-disclosure state.

3:23

Uh we are Texans, we don't like to tell anybody our business, and so trying to get sales information uh sometimes is a little bit difficult.

3:30

And we also don't know what's going on in their property.

3:32

That's why the protest season is very, very important, and that's upon us, and we're gonna get into that in a little bit because there's some deadlines we really want to bring up to uh the council so that they can let their constituents know.

3:45

Um this is your annual tax calendar.

3:48

This is uh kind of our portion of it.

3:50

Uh we start uh we actually start uh appraising in August after our hearings uh with our field work.

3:57

Uh the tax part of it, you can see when they do their assessment and and collection phase.

4:01

I think this is a good calendar for for y'all to have.

4:04

Okay, now this is category taxable value.

4:06

We're gonna get into some numbers.

4:07

I'm gonna let David uh go take it over from now.

4:11

And for the record, representatives Pierro and Canales join the meeting at 9.04 and 905, respectively.

4:24

Good morning, council.

4:26

Um talking about the values that we're looking at this year.

4:30

We're looking at about a nine percent increase in taxable value for the city of El Paso over 2024 certified values.

4:40

Um we're going up from 54 billion to almost 59 billion.

4:46

Uh now uh remember this is before the hearing process, so that number will go down once the taxpayers have had the chance to protest.

4:57

On residential property, we had about a 10 percent increase.

5:01

We went from almost 33 billion last year to 36.3 billion.

5:07

Commercial property went from 10.2 billion to almost 11.3 billion.

5:16

And new construction overall was 650 million overall 363 million for residential and 206 million for commercial.

5:31

As you can see, most of the increase is coming from appreciation on existing properties.

5:45

Looking at other categories, multifamily, which includes apartments, went from 3.4 billion to 3.6 billion.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████████19%
Property Tax Appraisal█████████████████17%
Board and Commission Management████████████████16%
Public Engagement██████████████14%
Procedural████████████12%
Intergovernmental Cooperation█████5%
Public Comment███3%
Public Service Board██2%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Summary of Proceedings

El Paso City Council Work Session Summary – May 12, 2025

The City Council held a work session on May 12, 2025, from 9:02 AM to 4:46 PM (including an executive session from 12:09 PM to 4:18 PM). Council heard presentations on the 2025 pre-preliminary property values, discussed and acted on a cross-functional team’s recommendations to reform boards and commissions, and approved relocating the public safety complex from Martin Luther King Drive to Global Reach Drive. No consent calendar items were considered.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Diana Ramirez (member, Women’s Rights Commission) opposed changing the commission’s meeting frequency to quarterly without prior consultation. She requested that any redefinition of purpose be shared with commissioners before a vote, noting the commission was not informed of proposed changes.

Presentation: 2025 Pre-Preliminary Appraisal Values & Protest Period

  • Dinah Kilgore, Executive Director of the El Paso Central Appraisal District (EPCAD), and David Stone, Deputy Chief Appraiser, presented the 2025 values. Key points:
    • Total taxable value for the City of El Paso increased by approximately 9% over 2024 certified values, from $54 billion to nearly $59 billion (before protests).
    • Residential property saw a 10% increase to $36.3 billion; commercial rose to $11.3 billion; new construction was $650 million overall ($363 million residential, $206 million commercial).
    • Multifamily increased from $3.4B to $3.6B; business personal property showed a slight decrease due to pending renditions (deadline May 15).
    • Appreciation since COVID has been double-digit each year, though localized. The 10% homestead cap means capped properties automatically increase 10% annually until market value is reached.
    • The appraisal ratio study (2024) showed areas like the West Side (92%) and Central (90%) were below 95% of market value, necessitating a reappraisal.
    • Property owners must file protests by May 15, 2025 (or 30 days from notice). EPCAD encourages informal meetings; over 65% of protests were settled informally last year. Currently ~14,000 protests filed; about 2,400 lawsuits pending.
    • Beware of third-party companies charging fees for exemptions or protests that can be done for free at EPCAD.
  • Councilmembers expressed appreciation for the presentation and noted the importance of the May 15 deadline.

Discussion Items

1. Board and Commission Cross-Functional Team Update

  • City Clerk Laura Prine and Strategic Communications Director Laura Cruz-Acosta presented findings from a cross-functional team (City Clerk, Communications, City Attorney).
  • Key data: 54 active boards, 15 external, 39 internal managed by city staff; 71% meet monthly; 88% of cancellations due to lack of quorum; numerous vacancies; some boards dormant for a decade.
  • Staff recommended standardization via a uniform ordinance; consolidations, reductions in membership, sunsets, and revised meeting frequencies.
  • Specific recommendations (with options) included: consolidating Capital Improvement Advisory Committee with City Plan Commission (CPC); reducing membership on several boards to 5 (minimum) to facilitate quorum; sunsetting Health Facilities Development Corporation, Construction Board of Appeals, and Regional Renewable Energy Advisory Committee; reinstating Uptown Parking Benefit District Advisory Committee with reduced members; and updating the Women’s Rights Commission’s purpose.
  • After extensive debate and multiple amendments, council approved a comprehensive motion (see key outcomes).

2. Executive Session Items (EX2-EX7) — Action in Open Session

  • After executive session, council took the following actions:
    • EX2: Authorized settlement discussions regarding El Paso Electric fuel cost reconciliation (PUC#57149). Unanimous.
    • EX3: Authorized hiring outside counsel and filing intervention in energy efficiency cost recovery factor docket (PUC#58052). Unanimous.
    • EX4: Authorized scheduling a public hearing on El Paso Electric rate change (PUC#57568) for June 24, 2025, and requesting El Paso Electric’s presentation. Unanimous.
    • EX5-EX7: No action taken.

3. Public Safety Complex Relocation

  • Yvette Hernandez (Capital Improvement) presented the project, originally sited at Martin Luther King (MLK) Drive under the 2019 bond. The 50-acre site required $21 million more in earthwork and retaining walls due to a 35-foot elevation drop, and lacked utilities; total project was over budget.
  • Fire Chief Killings and Police Chief Passius emphasized operational benefits of a central location near the airport (Global Reach Drive): reduced travel times for apparatus and officers in training (saving up to 117 minutes per emergency deployment), proximity to Fort Bliss and the airport for ARFF training, and potential regional training partnerships.
  • Staff recommended relocation to Global Reach at the airport, which will involve a ground lease (with fair market value adjustments every 5 years) rather than land purchase. The $22 million in site preparation savings partially addresses the budget gap; further savings are being sought.
  • Representative Trejo opposed, citing bond language requiring land acquisition (not leasing) and concerns about taxpayer trust. Others supported based on public safety needs and cost savings.
  • Motion to approve relocation passed 7-1 (Trejo nay).

Key Outcomes

  • Appraisal District presentation: Noted for information; council encouraged constituents to file protests by May 15.
  • Boards and Commissions Reforms (approved unanimously after amendments):
    • Consolidate Capital Improvement Advisory Committee into City Plan Commission.
    • Add climate and sustainability purview to City Plan Commission.
    • Museums and Cultural Affairs Advisory Board: Reduce membership from 18 to 9, retain mayor/council appointment process.
    • Reactivate Youth Advisory Committee (with expanded eligibility pending council direction).
    • Reinstate Uptown Parking Benefit District Advisory Committee: reduce to 5 members, expand boundaries, meet quarterly.
    • Committee on Border Relations: retain at 9 members (motion to reduce to 5 failed).
    • Sunset Health Facilities Development Corporation and Construction Board of Appeals.
    • Sunset Regional Renewable Energy Advisory Committee; transfer climate/sustainability purview to CPC.
    • Bond Oversight Advisory Committee: Create ad hoc bond development advisory committee; update enabling resolution to include 2019 and 2022 bonds and future bonds, require biannual meetings.
    • Women’s Rights Commission: Redefine intent and purpose; engage commission for input; move under Community and Human Development Department; meet every other month.
    • Open Space Advisory Board: Retain and redefine (option 2); meet quarterly.
    • All advisory boards: Require annual report to council summarizing activities and recommendations; require annual presentation from staff attorney on charge/purview.
  • Public Safety Complex: Approved relocation from Martin Luther King to Global Reach Drive (7-1). Staff will proceed with design at the new site; guaranteed maximum price expected in fall 2025; construction anticipated in 2026.
  • Executive Session Actions: Approved as noted above (unanimous).

Meeting Transcript

Well, good morning, everyone. We're going to call this meeting to order. And Ms. Prime? Good morning, Mayor. Good morning. This is a work session of the Al Paso City Council for Monday, May 12th, 2025. It is 9 02 a.m. Mayor Johnson is present and presiding in Council Chambers, along with Mayor Potem Chavez, Representative Acevedo, Representative Malonado Rocha, Representative Boyatrejo, Representative Nino, and Representative. Mayor, we have a quorum. Thank you. Representative Nina, would you lead us into the Clech? Mayor that brings us to item number one, and this is presentation discussion by the El Paso Central Appraisal Districts Executive Director and Chief Appraiser, Dinah Kilgore on the City of Al Pasos 2025, pre-preliminary values and protest period. Good morning. Good morning, uh Mayor, Councilmember. Uh Dinah Kilgore, executive director, El Paso Central Appraisal District, and David Stone, uh, deputy chief uh appraiser. Uh we do uh kind of an in tandem, uh we work together, so I'll give part of the presentation and uh he'll give the other. Sure. Um, give you some ideas on some of the numbers we're looking at. Uh some of y'all are new to the council, so we're gonna kind of uh explain who we are and and what it is we do. Um PowerPoint is it up? IT will bring it up. Okay, I don't need to. Okay. All righty. So we did submit uh a little presentation for you guys to keep. Um I know you have plenty of other paperwork, but let's just add this to it, okay. Uh so first of all, what is what is mass appraisal in the state of Texas because of the amount of appraisals that uh the taxing entities have, the amount of properties that we have back in 1979, the Pivodeau bill was put into place by state legislation to appraise properties uh under the mass appraisal basis. Okay, right here. Um so appraisal districts, there's about 254 appraisal districts. Every county has appraisal district, and we appraise properties on a kind of a bell curve. We look at neighborhoods, we look at what's going on in that neighborhood, and we come up with what the average is in that neighborhood and set those values. If we were to try to do an individual fee appraisals, um that would be very costly, about 72 million dollars, and take about 10 to 13 years to do. So that's why they allow for mass appraisal. Disadvantages of mass appraisal is we don't know the particulars of a property. Uh so that's one of the things that we have to deal with. Is Texas is a non-disclosure state. Uh we are Texans, we don't like to tell anybody our business, and so trying to get sales information uh sometimes is a little bit difficult. And we also don't know what's going on in their property. That's why the protest season is very, very important, and that's upon us, and we're gonna get into that in a little bit because there's some deadlines we really want to bring up to uh the council so that they can let their constituents know. Um this is your annual tax calendar. This is uh kind of our portion of it. Uh we start uh we actually start uh appraising in August after our hearings uh with our field work. Uh the tax part of it, you can see when they do their assessment and and collection phase. I think this is a good calendar for for y'all to have. Okay, now this is category taxable value. We're gonna get into some numbers. I'm gonna let David uh go take it over from now. And for the record, representatives Pierro and Canales join the meeting at 9.04 and 905, respectively. Good morning, council.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com