Some Lampasas City Council members appeared skeptical of the Lampasas Central Appraisal District’s proposed budget for 2026 that represents a 78% increase over this year. The new budget numbers were presented for review during the council’s workshop session on June 9.
LCAD’s proposed budget of $1,589,264 was approved by its board on May 29. The appraisal district previously outlined its budget to the Lampasas County Commissioners Court and the Kempner City Council.
Chief Appraiser Juan Saucedo was at last Monday’s Lampasas City Council meeting to explain the $700,000 in increases for 2026. As he did in previous meetings with taxing entities, Saucedo underscored the efforts of BIS Consultants in the mapping and deeds processes undertaken on behalf of the LCAD.
BIS has mapped 81% of the appraisal district’s 18,000 real estate accounts and has reviewed 3,200 documents on the deeds side, including 1,167 ownership updates. Saucedo said LCAD still has 3,557 properties missing from its tax rolls.
LCAD has made it a priority to uncover the missing properties for which the taxing units are not receiving property tax revenue. In the city of Lampasas alone, Saucedo said 195 missing properties with a taxable value of $2.81 million have created a 10year loss of approximately $101,562.
Of the 195 missing properties, 106 could not be identified. In fact, Saucedo said one property had been incorrect since 1962.
“These are properties that could not be mapped or be identified,” the chief appraiser told City Council members. “They were on the roll, but they were missing the taxing unit. In other words, that taxing unit was not receiving any tax dollars for 20 to 30 years. It is unknown how long.”
For this tax season, LCAD is appraising 4,543 properties with a taxable value of $791.9 million. The district anticipates the city of Lampasas will receive over $400,000 in additional property tax revenue this year versus last year. Meanwhile, the city’s portion it will pay the appraisal district would increase around $48,000.
A large portion of the LCAD budget increase for 2026 is dedicated to payroll. Saucedo is proposing to hire two additional appraisers for 2026 to help the district catch up on its reappraisal plan and identify missing properties.
Saucedo has been adamant about LCAD increasing its budget to be closer to a tier 2 appraisal district. According to the Texas Comptroller’s Office, a tier 2 appraisal district applies to any county that contains a population between 20,000 to 120,000. The Lampasas County population has been above 20,000 since 2012.
The average budget for tier 2 appraisal districts is $1.4 million to $1.6 million, without counting collections responsibilities. LCAD handles both appraisals and collections.
Saucedo said the local appraisal district has continued to budget as a tier 3 district despite it having qualified as a tier 2 district for well over a decade.
Councilwoman Cathy Kuehne questioned Saucedo on the tier 2/tier 3 status. Kuehne noted the county’s population is close to the high end of tier 3 (counties with a population below 20,000).
Saucedo said it doesn’t matter how much or how little the county is over the 20,000 threshold; it remains a tier 2 appraisal district.
“That is how we get graded with our school district Property Value Study and our MAP [Methods and Assistance Program] review, which are our audits,” he said. “We fit in this category, and we should be budgeting as a tier 2.”
Councilman Eric Hernandez said he had reservations about the LCAD budget increase, specifically on the added staff.
In his presentation, Saucedo said the LCAD has a turnover of two staff members per year. He noted the cost to train a new employee is twice as much as retaining an employee.
In 2024, LCAD battled staffing issues that caused the remaining employees to accumulate 855 in comp hours. At $20 per hour, that expense came to $17,100. Thus far in 2025, LCAD staff has earned 179 comp hours, equaling $3,580. Those figures don’t include added hours from the chief appraiser.
With 2024 comp hours not equaling half the cost of a full-time employee, Hernandez said maybe the appraisal district could make use with one additional employee for 2026. “So, my thought here: Do you need to add two, or could you get by with one?” Hernandez said. “Because, like you were saying awhile ago, a $50,000 employee -- once you are all in on that person [it is a training expense] of $100,000. I mean, $17,000 to $30,000 is cheaper than $100,000.”
Kuehne agreed with Hernandez.
“It seems you could do a lot with one person and see how that does, and see if you need a second person the following year,” she said.
Saucedo said that LCAD has not completed its reappraisal plan since 2020. He believes in order to get the district back on track, it needs proper funding.
“I don’t think it can be done,” Saucedo said of trying to limit his staff. “I’ve been doing this 17 years. I’ve worked in three other appraisal districts that needed my help, very similar to Lampasas. I’m going to be honest with you -- this is the toughest job I’ve had.
“You have a lot of problems. The problems we are giving you here is just the very tip, very small issues. This is not costing the taxpayers and not costing you more money.”