“We don't mind paying taxes,” said Sandy Clark, one of Moon’s “Tax Warriors," a small group of ladies who organized the meeting. Low valuations affect revenue for these entities. Hohertz wrote that properties in Comanche County are appraised “as ethically and impartially as possible” so that institutions such as school and hospital districts can draw taxes based upon the worth of properties within their borders. “All the new values are based on the actual purpose the building was constructed for and varies greatly due to specialized design and built-in features.” “The reason why Western was hired by the Board of Comanche CAD was to get values equal, consistent and in compliance with State Comptroller requirements,” he wrote. That group is run by former Taylor County Chief Appraiser Richard Petree, who answered many of the questions posed. The district hired Western Valuation and Consulting of Abilene for the appraisal.
On Sunday, she emailed her responses to inquiries regarding the valuation and have been edited for brevity. Moon said he invited Chief Appraiser Jo Ann Hohertz to the meeting but she said couldn’t come Thursday night because of a prior commitment. “Everyone is fearful about the cost of living going up.” “We're a poor county but I suspect if you have this in any county, I think people would react this way,” said Keith Moon, Peggy's husband. Just over 200 people came to the Comanche meeting, and it was reported about the same number were at the De Leon gathering. Thursday night’s meeting of the Comanche County Taxpayers Co-op at the Reunion Center was similar to an event held the week before in De Leon, where folks were equally up in arms about their valuation increases. With the new assessment, that figure will jump to nearly $5,000. Last year, Boyd said she paid roughly $2,900 in taxes on her event center. “So when we get hit with something like this, it just makes it harder to own a small business.” “All these buildings on the square are historic, we spend a lot of money on them just trying to maintain them because they are over a hundred years old,” Boyd said. One building on the square saw its valuation soar 120 percent. When she saw her building’s valuation increase by 60 percent, she took it upon herself to assess 18 other commercial properties on the south side of the city square, pulling the numbers from the Comanche County Central Appraisal District’s website. Mary Boyd owns Reunion Center, a large meeting hall downtown that used to belong to World War II veterans.
If you have a business in Comanche County, you likely got a shock to the system. If you own property, you’ve gotten an estimate from your county tax appraiser informing you of its value. “Because everyone's tax appraisals jumped through the ceiling,” Peggy Moon explained. COMANCHE – They weren’t happy here Thursday night.
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