Taxpayer information to be presented tonight
By CHRIS BARBEE cbarbee@leader-news.com

A free taxpayer information presentation (TIP) will be held today at 7 p.m. at Silver Wings Ballroom on the West Loop.

"There is not much you can do as gasoline and diesel prices head for $4 a gallon," said Henry Dornak, a former city councilman who as an owner of several rental properities says he has been fighting higher taxes for 50 years.

"But you can make sure you are only payng your fair share of Texas property taxes," he said.

For that reason he spoke with Tylene Gamble, Wharton County chief appraiser, who agreed to speak to the public about appraisals, how to appeal them, etc. in El Campo tonight. Dornak will emcee the program.

"There's a lot you can't do, but there's a lot you can do. If I can save someone $100 with this program, then it's worth it," Dornak said.

A question and answer session will be included in the program.

The Wharton County Central Appraisal District will have pamphlets available titled "Taxpayers' Rights, Remedies and Responsibilities."

"Do you know what the deadline is for filing your rendition?" Dornak asks. This is something local business owners should know. "Do you know what a rendition can do for you?" he asked. Are all exemptions, such as agriculture, being applied for?

"Do you now what exemptions apply to you? There could be more than one," Dornak said.

He said it is also important for property owners to understand and to meet property tax deadlines, and to understand that failing to meet the deadline can be expensive.

He also said it is important for property owers to understand the appraisal process and how new appraisals can be protested. There are answers in the pamphlet, Dornak said, but he plans to share additional ways to protest an appraisal that are not published ... tips he has picked up from years of experience.

"There are different ways to protest, including binding arbitration and district court," he said.

"City, school and county tax rates are based on what is spent. Expenditures have to be balanced by revenues. By law they have to balance the budget," Dornak said. But he said property owners don't have to accept at face value the appraised value of their property.

"This is not a political deal at all," said the City Council candidate. "This is about property taxes. I don't care where you live. If you live in the city, the county or the school district, you pay property taxes.

"Someone is bound to get some help from this if they show up. I can't believe that they wouldn't."