Brazos County property owners for the second year have received a postcard regarding accessing property tax rate information at no charge.
This is the first year similar postcards were sent by smaller counties surrounding Brazos County as well as the rest of state.
Brazos County tax assessor-collector Kristy Roe says to follow the specific instructions on the postcard to access the free information.
Roe says if you use search engines, you will be directed to websites that want to charge you for the information.
The postcards and the websites were mandated by the legislature two years ago.
Click below for comments from Kristy Roe, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
News release from Kristy Roe:
Click HERE to read and download a handout that was prepared for the tax office staff to help handle the influx of phone calls being received from local property and mineral interest owners who have received a postcard regarding 2021 property tax information.
Two important things should be remembered about the notice and website:
1. The notice is designed to help local property owners be a part of the tax rate setting process for the upcoming tax year. It directs them to a website where they can look up their property and see exactly what is happening as the taxing units take steps to adopt tax rates which will impact them this year. The notice and the website are mandated by legislation that was passed in 2019 by the Texas Legislature.
2. Taxpayers need to enter the exact website address as listed on the postcard when they search for the website. Using a browser to search often results in finding websites that charge for the information.
So, while the postcard is not a scam, some people are being scammed. The website is part of mandated government transparency as required by the Texas Legislature. There is a website with this type of information for every county in Texas this year.