The West News (West, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 1978 Page: 1 of 8
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This Newspaper is the
Best Form of Advertising
I n The West Trade Area
EIGHTY-EIGHTH YEAR NO. 31
®hf Wtet Nftna
West, Texas — Thursday, August 3, 1978
Jttsstfest
LABOR DAY WEEKEND
SEPTEMBER 2-3,1978
Single Copy Price 15 Cents
An Interview with the
Tax Assessor/Collector
Ben Sulak, WISD Tax Asses- 0. Who governs the assessor
sor/CoIlector, has probably collector? A. The Texas Educa-
been the most severely criticiz- tion Agency, State Laws and the
ed individual in the WISD local Board of Trustees.
re-evaluation process. The
duties of the assessor/collector
Q. How did the state get 85
are many since the position is million as the WISD evaluation?
also that of business manager. A. Gov. Briscoe appointed a
It is the duty of the
assessor/collector not only to
committee to check the wealth
of each district and their
evaluate, assess and collect findings in West I.S.D. were 85
taxes, type all forms for taxes, million,
mail, etc., but also to do the
bookkeeping for the entire 0- Is there an assessment
school system, all payrolls and made on household goods? A.
related records, teacher retire- No, it is not done. However, an
ment reports, prepare amended assessor can, by law, tax
budget reports as well as all everything in the home with a
state and federal quarterly value over $450. If a person will
reports. not admit the assessor into the
In an interview with Sulak he home he can stand outside and
said, “When the Board of assess, then the taxpayer must
Trustees voted to re-evalutate prove him wrong. This is not
property last year I told them it done (household) as it was used
was impossible to do it all at one long ago when $450 would really
time with the present staff”, have a value. Nowdays even a
(Sulak and a secretary.) It was refrigerator would be able to be
then decided to take only taxed if it had a value over $450.
residential property for re-eval-
uation this year with plans to do
commercial/industrial next
year. Sulak also said that
re-evaluation may be done by
sections at a time, such as
commercial, farmland, or resid
ential, but all property in
section must be done at one
0- How did you measure the
homes? A. When a home is built
and put on the tax rolls it is
measured for square footage.
The garage is figured at 50 per
a cent of the living area value and
porches and patios at 1/3 then
time - all commercial, all these are added to actual floor
residential or all farmland and space value,
not some of each.
Sulak said he started the
re-evaluation in October last 0- You did not measure each
year and completed the work in house during this evaluation? A.
mid June with only the help of No, I have the square foot
his son, John B. Sulak. figures in the original dwelling
The following are questions so it was only necessary to
asked by The West News and measure additions and im-
answered by Ben Sulak.
Q. What was John Sulak paid
for his assistance? A. Nothing.
John Sulak wanted the experi-
ence since he has completed all
but one course and an exam
required to become a certified
Tax Assessor. John presently
has a registered permit to
practice assessing - a permit
issued yearly.
provement buildings.
0. What else is considered in
evaluation besides square foot-
age? A. The type of roof,
foundation, more than one
bathroom, type of construction
(frame, brick, etc.), fireplaces...
well, 1 think about 14 things
decide the classification.
Q. It is said you receive a
commission or percentage on
assessments or collections.
What is your commission based
on? A. I receive only a salary
which is set by Texas Education
Agency for the job of tax
assessor and business manager.
Several years ago assessor
collectors were permitted a
percentage but of course the
salary was terribly low then, but
I do not receive a commission or
percentage of any type.
Q. Who appoints or elects the
equalization board and are they
paid? A. The Board of Trustees
appoints them and they are paid
for the number of days worked.
0- What governs or instructs
the equalization board? A. State
Laws.
Q. Do you have any input to the
Board of Trustees on the tax
rate? A. Yes, I must evaluate
and add assessments as new
dwellings, etc., are put on the
tax rolls. These are added to the
previous amount of assessments
and it is then my duty to tell the
board what the needed tax rate
is (with the inclusion of the new
property), to receive the same
amount of revenue as last year's
budget required.
Q. What is the legality of a 2
member board of equalization?
A. With two members present,
our attorney says we have a
quorum.
Q. How do you feel about the
re-evaluation in general? A. 1
was instructed to do a job and I
did it to the best of my ability,
although I am sure some
mistakes were made in covering
so much. What bothers me the
most though is the persons on
limited income, they always
suffer most.
Sulak stated that school and tax
records are open records and
are kept open for public
inspection.
Large Crowd Attends Organizational Meeting . . .
Taxpayer’s Association Formed
By Larry Knapek
A crowd of approximately
1000 taxpayers of the West
Independent School District
attended an organizational
meeting at 8 p.m. Monday on
ihe West Fair and Rodeo
Grounds. During this meeting,
the group voted to be called the
West Taxpayers Association.
Nine members were elected
as representatives for the
association. These members
were Harry Urbis, John Rau-
schhuber, R. D. Bush, Harry
Cinek, Sue Pescaia, William
Sinkule, Jack Anthony, Mrs.
Doyle Cook and James Quilter.
The association decided not to
require membership dues, but
donations, to help pay for some
of the expenses, were accepted.
Attorney David Cherry, of
Waco, and his associate were
present at the meeting to inform
the association on what they
could and could not do
regarding the school tax prob-
lems in the West I.S.D.
Cherry told the crowd that
legally the tax assessor could
tax almost everything. He gave
the taxing of tractors and tractor
equipment as examples of what
could be taxed.
Cherry also said that he was
not sure if a two man board of
Equalization was valid. He said
there was no mention of this
ever coming up in court. He did
say there was a statute which
said that a three member board
should be elected, but he could themes arising from this
not say whether any other meeting was that the taxpayers
member board was legal. of the West I.S.D. were not
He told the crowd that if they there to try to evade paying
had some kind of grievance with their school taxes, rather they
the re-evaluations made, they were present to find out if they
should go before the Board of had been given a fair shake in
Equalization and make their the recent re-evaluation of
complaints known. property in the school district.
They found out valuable
information concerning what
This session proved to be
quite interesting. One man,
James Pavlicek, said something
could be done about the tax
problem if the people would
"get in there and fight”. He
exorted the people to join
together and stand up for their
rights.
A gentleman, who had moved
into the West I.S.D. from
California, said his moving here
was like "jumping out of the
frying pan into the fire." He
said we need no more taxes.
When a question over the
percentage of money the tax
assessor gets from the school
taxes collected was asked; Joe
Laubert, a member of the West
School Board, said the tax
assessor was paid a straight
salary and did not receive a
percentage of the school taxes
collected.
Another gentleman told the
crowd that responsible men are
needed in office. He also
warned them to be careful when
voting on bond issues.
It seems that one of the main
they could and could not do and!
probably of more importance!
was the fact they joined together!
and formed the West Taxpayers!
Association.
Whether or not this associa-
tion will be able to eleviate the|l
tax problems facing the West! -------- „
I S D remains to be seen One AN ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING—for West taxpayers elected
thing for"" il is a ™inZ nine representatives ^nd^offioal^came known as the West
right direction.
During Cherry’s 30 minute
talk to the crowd, he explained
*'iat the courts give the tax
assessor a 30 percent margin for
error when assessing property.
This means he can assess the
property at 130 percent of true
market value and still be within
his rights.
He said that to file suit, a
taxpayer would have to prove
that all the property was not on
the tax rolls, or to show bad
faith by the tax assessor, or
prove discrimination in the
assessing of land.
The crowd listening for some
encouraging statements from
Cherry heard him say concern-
ing the re-evaluation of property
he "had not found any
violation.” The whole situation
The Directors of the West
Taxpayers Association express
sincere appreciation to the West
Fair and Rodeo Association for
providing the grounds, lights
and sound system for the
Monday meeting. They also
wish to thank D.E. Moody who
provided the trailer for speakers
Taxpayers Association. Monday night.
platform and David Kolar who received Monday will not be
assisted with the sound system available until later this week,
and provided the microphone however several hundred dol-
for audience use. The directors lars have been collected so far.
also wish to express apprecia- Anyone wishing to donate or
tion to the West Livestock join the organization may pick
Commission, which was on up an envelope at the following
stand-by for use in case of rain, places: Bush Drive-In, A & A
The amount of donations Building Const., or at The West
Our Own Representative from District 35A. . .
Denton Walkout Kills Statewide
Tax Cut For Farmers - Homeowners
A proposed constitutional
amendment package granting
tax relief to farmers and
homeowners was approved by
the Texas House late Friday,
but failed to achieve the
BEN SULAK, TAX ASSESSOR AND COLLECTOR FOR THE WEST I.S.D—talks about the tax r
situation during the school board meeting Tuesday night in the West High School Cafetorium. Stand.ng m.gh have been avo.ded ,f the necessary 100 votes to pass final
,0rightofsuiak„PKridmt■>,T,u,„.s«EL‘ESL*"‘S ES?
Superintendent Ronald Holzmann. and School Board members: Peggy Hill, Edwin Nors and Ed Sykora.
Committee on Taxes Includes Both
IS D Board and Tax Association
A six member committee was
appointed to find alternatives to
the tax controversy facing the
West Independent School Dis-
trict at the School Board
Meeting held at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday in the West High
School Cafetorium.
Alvin Payne. President of the
Board of Trustees suggested the
move in an attempt to cause the
least amount of burden on the
taxpayers. Payne appointed
three members to the committee
two from the school board and
the school superintendent.
He requested John Rauschu-
ber, chairman of the newly
formed West Taxpayers Associ-
ation, and any two other
representative* of the West
Taxpayers Association to be on
the committee.
Payne appointed Dennis Su-
lak, Supt. Ronald Holzmann and
Ed Sykora as the school's
representatives on the commit-
tee.
John Rauschhuber and the
other representatives of the
taxpayer association appointed
Mrs. Doyle Cook and Sue
Pescaia as the other two
members of the committee.
Payne asked the six member
committee to “work in har-
mony" and to be "equipping
themselves to examine all
alternatives.”
He also asked the committee
to return with recommendations
by August 22. This gives the
committee only 20 days in which
to come up with alternative
solutions.
Payne told the audience,
consisting of approximately 40
interested taxpayers, “there is
no question that we have
alternatives." He also stated
that the whole taxing situation is
a complex structure and asked
the committee to take into
consideration the school budget
ratio and the tax rate.
During the meeting, Payne
addressed representatives of
the West Taxpayers Association
and told them the school board
had approved the evaluation
changes. He also said the school
budget for the 1978-79 fiscal
year would have to be larger due
to inflation and additional
funding that would be needed.
The school board voted to
have another meeting on Au-
gust 29. At this meeting the
1978-79 school budget will be
considered.
A question was asked during
the meeting which concerned
the sale of the Dunbar property
to a delinquent taxpayer. Alvin
Payne said that no one on the
board knew that the taxpayer
was delinquent. He also stated
that if a taipayer is delinquent
or not makes no difference in
the accepting of bids.
The board was also asked if
there was any way they could
help the elderly with regard to
raising the $3,000 exemption for
those 65 or older. Payne replied
that "at this time he did not
think there was any way to
help.”
Football Practice
To Begin Aug. 14
All boys in grades 9 through
12 that have not signed up and
are planning to play football for
the West High School Trojans
should contact coach Derrell
Carlile. at West High School,
826-3145.
job of public relations,” said
Cherry.
He went on to explain that in
1977 the state legislature passed
a law which created a State
Board of Equalization and it also
said that all property should be
placed on the tax roll at its fair
market 'value. These he said
were the two main reasons for
the school district’s re-evalua-
tions.
“The best way to control the
situation is to control the school
board,” Cherry said. Controll-
ing the school board he said
could be done by going out and
voting for the person of your
choice at the next school board
elections.
Cherry did have one encour-
aging statement to tell the
elderly citizens in the audience
concerning the $3,000 exemp-
tion for property owners over
the age of 65, he said the state
legislature had used this figure
as the minimum amount for
exemption and that the school
board could act now and raise
this exemption figure.
Cherry concluded his report
by telling the taxpayers "to act
responsibly”. He said this
would result in responsible
action from the school board.
"If not,” he said, "then vote
them out in the next school
board elections."
Following Cherry's report,
the association elected the nine
representatives. When this was
done, Cherry held a question
and answer session with indivi-
duals in the audience.
and did not return to the House
floor.
She had originally voted in
favor of the package but was not
present when her name was
called to verify her affirmative
vote.
The amendment package
received 99 votes when a roll
call vote of the House was
completed and Bill Clayton, who
presides over the House and
rarely votes, added his vote to
bring the total to 100. Craig
Washington then asked for a
verification vote and the total
dropped back to 99 when
Denton disappeared from the
House floor.
The proposed constitution
amendment failed for the
who said backers of his bill have
sufficient strength to prevent
passage of any other tax relief or
reform bills during the special
session unless his proposal is
approved. Lt. Gov. William P.
Hobby said there is no chance
the property tax revision can
survive in the Senate.
If approved by the required
two-thirds majority, the amend-
ment package will be sent to the
Senate for its consideration. The
proposed amendments will be
submitted to voters on the Nov.
7 general election ballot if
approved by both houses of the
Legislature.
As approved by the House,
the proposed amendments:
—Remove intangible proper-
ty from the constitutionally
mandated property tax base.
—Mandates the taxation of
agricultural land on the basis of
productivity instead of market
value and authorizes the Legis-
lature to grant the same status
to land used for timber
production so long as timber
land taxes do not fall below 1978
goods and one family car not
used for the production of
income.
—Prohibits the levying of a
state income tax on individuals
or corporations.
—Limits state spending in-
creases to amounts reflecting
Saturday, July 29, 1971
the percentage increase of total
personal income of the state
during the previous two years,
but gives the Legislature the
right to go beyond that amount
on a record vote of three-fifths
of the members of the Legisla-
ture.
Reprint CourtMy
Waco Tribunp-HawM 9B
second time in the House
Monday, and a major revision of levels.
the state's property tax admin- —Grants a homestead ex-
istration was soundly defeated emption from school taxes of up
in the Senate. to $10,000 for homeowners and
The amendment vote manag- an additional $10,000 for elderly
ed only a 94-45 margin Monday and disabled persons
despite intensive efforts of
Speaker Bill Clayton and other
House leaders to its approval.
"Quite frankly. I fayor doing
nothing and going home." said
Rep. Wayne Peveto, D-Orangc.
Ross City Council
To Meet
The Ross City Council will
hold its regular monthly meet-
ing at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday.
August 8. 1978 at the Ross City
Hall.
—Requires the state to
reimburse local school districts
for all or part of the revenue lost
because of the homestead
exemption.
—Requires local government
entities to hold "truth in
taxation" hearings to explain
the exact details of proposed tax
increases before raising taxes,
and gives the voters the right to
require by petition an election to
repeal a tax increase.
—Exempts from taxation up
to $30,000 worth of household
Denton Disappears9
Delays Tax Passage
Capitol Staff
AUSTIN - Disappearance at Rep. Betty De-
nton of Waco from the House floor during a key
vote verification Friday prevented final passage of
a $600 million tax relief measure.
A House employee said Mrs. Denton was in a
restroom immediately adjoining the House
chamber throughout the verification procedure.
She was seen leaving the area long after the vote
was closed
A reporter who saw her leaving the capitol said
Mrs. Denton did not answer when he asked where
she was during the vote check
The reporter said a companion answered: “She
was indisposed.” Efforts to contact her earlier
were unsuccessful.
Mrs Denton was recorded officially as having
voted for a proposed constitutional amendment
(HJR 1) to provide tax relief to farmers and
homeowners
House Speaker Bill Clayton first declared the
measure, with his own support, had received pre-
cisely the 100 votes needed for final passage When
Rep Craig Washington of Houston demanded a
roll call recount, or verification, the total slipped
to 99 Mrs Denton was the only one of those origi-
nally recorded as voting “aye'1 who could not be
found Another vote will be required Monday
Rep Lyndon Olson of Waco voted for the resol-
ution, as did Rep. Jerry Donaldson ol Gatesville,
Rep. Stan Schlueter of Salado, Rep. Dan Kubiak of
Rockdale, Lynn Nabers of Brownwood, Forrest
Green of Corsicana and Ed Mayes of Granbury
Rep John Bigham of Temple voted “no."
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The West News (West, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 1978, newspaper, August 3, 1978; West, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth716538/m1/1/?q=waco+tornado: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting West Public Library.