El Paso Appraisal District Budgets Total $19MM / Year
For all of the power and influence granted to it, the El Paso Central Appraisal District (EPCAD) is an oddly small organization. With only 59 full-time appraisers in 2023, the staff of this vital agency has barely grown in a decade, and it is certainly inadequate to assess the many properties around a large county like El Paso, even with a budget that exceeds $19.84 million. Relying on shortcuts like computer-generated assessments, estimates, and other techniques, appraisals in El Paso are ripe for property tax appeals. Challenge this unequal system when you file your property tax protest with the help of O’Connor and enroll in our Property Tax Protection Program™. O’Connor will protest your taxes annually, turning each success into a greater victory for years to come. There is no cost to enroll, and you will only pay a contingency fee from your tax savings if you win. 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 | 13.044 | 12.662 | 13.286 | 14.279 | 14.954 | 15.664 | 16.033 | 16.033 | 18.037 | 19.838 | 22.038 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.7726 | 0.3437 | 0.3301 | 0.0405 | 0.9178 | 0.8865 | 0.9394 | 0.9708 | 1.0282 | 1.205 | 1.366 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
El Paso CAD Operations and Budgets
While the focus could be on the mayor or the city council, no department of the city government has a bigger impact on taxpayers than the El Paso Central Appraisal District (EPCAD). EPCAD sets the values for every piece of property in the county, setting the stage for the taxing bodies that follow. These taxes are what powers local government, giving EPCAD an outsized power over both the people and the government. This influence has led to countless overassessments across El Paso County and typically there is no way to correct these mistakes.
Property tax appeals are the only remedy and come in several iterations. From informal appeals, to formal hearings, to judicial appeals, each step gets more complex. If you need assistance at any point in this journey, O’Connor is here to help. One of the largest firms in the United States dedicated solely to property taxes and the rights of citizens to fight them, O’Connor has been serving clients for over 50 years. In 2024 alone, O’Connor was able to represent over 185,000 clients coast-to-coast, and we are looking forward to assisting you as well.
El Paso CAD Total Budget Including ARB
A key tool in any property tax protest is formal hearings in front of the appraisal review board (ARB). Taxpayers bring their case and evidence before a tribunal of three experts, who choose between their evidence and that of EPCAD. This impartial group is vital for the functioning of the appeal process. As important as it is, the budget for the ARB is a fraction of the whole. In 2023, the budget for EPCAD was $19.84 million. In contrast, only $1.20 million of that budget was allocated to the ARB. The ARB budget decreased slightly from 2022, while funding for EPCAD increased by $1.8 million.
Total Property Taxes Levied El Paso 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 | 0.9632 | 0.9975 | 1.0706 | 1.1295 | 1.2180 | 1.2999 | 1.3696 | 1.4318 | 1.5319 | 1.52 | 1.5913 | |
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.
El Paso County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
Like the rest of Texas, the property taxes handed out by EPCAD have gone up every year. While some of this is due to natural population increases, much of it is also from aggressive appraisals. Since 2014, property taxes have increased 57.84%, reaching a total of $1.52 billion in 2023. As property taxes are the largest expense a homeowner typically has, this increase can be devastating to a family. This thankfully puts El Paso County somewhere in the neighborhood of Hidalgo County, rather than a place that has seen taxes triple, like Collin County.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - EPCADSource: 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 | 140 | 140 | 140 | 140 | 140 | 140 | 141 | 141 | 141 | 151 | 152 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions in the Budget Total
The budget for EPCAD continues to bloom, but this is not the same story for their roster of employees and appraisers. In fact, the staff of EPCAD has stayed roughly the same for a decade. In 2014, there were 140 full-time equivalent employees (FTE) on the staff. In 2023, this had only grown to 151 FTEs. While technology may make some of the jobs easier, this is still a tiny staff increase for a task that has only grown exponentially. These staffing shortfalls in turn cause shortcuts to be used. This is where mass appraisals, computer-aided assessments, and other measures come in. These often lead to incorrect assessments and are often just glorified guestimates.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - EPCADSource: 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 | 40 | 43 | 43 | 51 | 53 | 53 | 53 | 53 | 55 | 59 | 52 | |
| Residential | 19 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 26 | 26 | |
| Commercial | 10 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | |
| All Other | 11 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 18 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
El Paso CAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
The staffing shortage is exacerbated when you realize that only 59 of the 151 FTEs are actually appraisers or involved in appraising properties. This has only gone from 40 appraisers in 2013 to 59 in 2023, a tiny jump for the task at hand. 26 of the FTEs were assigned to residential properties, 15 to commercial, and 18 to utility, oil and gas, and other property types. With 449,000 parcels of land to be appraised, that left an average of 7,472.88 parcels for each full-time appraiser to handle. Again, this is why shortcuts are taken, and inaccurate values are handed out.