Cameron Appraisal District Budgets Total $6MM / Year
Despite being the arbiter of government funding in the county, the Cameron Appraisal District (Cameron CAD) is understaffed and arguably underfunded. With only 37 full-time appraisers in 2023, the district was pushed to its breaking point in correctly assessing hundreds of thousands of properties. This underwhelming roster means that the CAD must take shortcuts, often leaving taxpayers holding the bag when it comes to incorrect valuations. Fight back when you join O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today. Your taxes will be analyzed, investigated, and protested every year for you, with no charge unless your taxes are lowered. Enroll, relax, and save.
Total 2018 CAD Budget Including ARBSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Millions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Budget | 4.091 | 4.252 | 4.361 | 4.497 | 4.833 | 5.175 | 5.581 | 5.734 | 6.135 | 6.783 | 7.444 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.0777 | 0.0800 | 0.0800 | 0.0800 | 0.0900 | 0.0800 | 0.0900 | 0.0900 | 0.1100 | 0.129 | 0.140 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
Cameron County CAD Operations and Budgets
While it is certainly not a headline grabber, the Cameron Appraisal District (Cameron CAD) is perhaps the most important governmental agency in the county. Being responsible for assessing properties, the appraisal district sets the baseline value that all taxing bodies target. Since Texas governments are built on property taxes, that means they wield great power with both taxpayers and their fellow agencies. Despite this fact, Cameron CAD operates on a small budget, one that has only grown slowly over time.
The only way to fight back against the greed of the appraisal district is with property tax appeals. We at O’Connor are here to help. As one of the largest property tax firms in the nation, we have the ability to bring quite a bit of resources to your struggle. We are also based in Houston and have been helping Texans for over 50 years. Not only will we help with your appeals and represent you in hearings, we will also provide world-class analytics, assessment review, and property comparison through our state-of-the-art database.
Cameron CAD Total CAD Budget Including ARB
Unlike many other CADs, Cameron CAD has seen its budget grow steadily over time. Many counties have fallen behind on funding, occasionally addressing shortcomings with massive spikes. Cameron has instead grown their CAD gradually. With a budget of $6.78 million in 2023, the district easily improved over $6.14 million from 2022. However, the appraisal review board (ARP) has not seen a meaningful increase in over a decade. This important part of the tax appeals process saw a tiny budget of only $128,700 in 2023, slightly up from $111,000 in 2022. This puts taxpayers at a disadvantage when it comes to formal protests.
Total Property Taxes Levied Cameron CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Property Taxes Levied | 0.3668 | 0.3718 | 0.3861 | 0.4073 | 0.4234 | 0.4454 | 0.4468 | 0.4771 | 0.5032 | 0.5566 | 0.571 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Appealing annually helps the appraisal district avoid over-taxing a property for both market value and unequal appraisal.
Cameron County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
Like most Texas counties, Cameron has seen taxes climb in the past decade. $556.60 million in revenue was generated by taxes in 2023. This was a large leap of over $503.20 million from 2022. While it did not double over time, the 2023 total was still significantly higher than the sum of $366.80 million from 2014. Taxes have steadily increased every year and will continue to do so, especially as the county continues to develop.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - Cameron CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number of FTEs | 58 | 58 | 59 | 61 | 63 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 66 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions in the Budget Total
While the budget for the CAD has edged up, the same cannot be said for the staff. There were only 65 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in 2023. This has not changed since 2019, when the staff grew from 63. Previously, the CAD had seen a roster of 58 FTEs for some time. The common defense for the small roster is that technological innovations, such as computer-aided assessment, have made the average FTE more efficient. While this is debatable, it does provide a solid foundation for property tax appeals.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - Cameron CADSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| FTEs | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| FTEs Appraisal Total | 34 | 33 | 31 | 61 | 65 | 69 | 69 | 71 | 54 | 37 | 29 | |
| Residential | 27 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 27 | 21 | 18 | |
| Commercial | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 20 | 7 | 4 | |
| All Other | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
Cameron CAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
Matters are complicated even more when it is revealed that a good portion of FTEs are not even appraisers. Many employees are focused on customer service, technology, or other support roles. In 2023, only 37 FTEs were appraisers. This was down from 54 in 2022. 21 appraisers were responsible for assessing homes in 2023, while only seven handled commercial properties. The remaining nine took care of things such as oil and gas, utilities, and industrial properties. This means that each appraiser is stretched quite thin, with each appraiser responsible for around 5,972 parcels of land each year. This overwork can lead to mistakes, which help when taxpayers look for appeal opportunities.