Webb County Appraisal District Budgets Total was $7 Million in 2024
The Webb County Appraisal District (WCAD) is responsible for accurately assessing all real property in the county, yet has a small roster of only 30 appraisers. This means that the small organization is often overmatched by the task at hand and must depend on shortcuts that often lead to wildly inaccurate appraisals. This does leave the door open to property tax protests that can challenge these values, leading to lower taxes. Join the fight when you sign up for O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today. 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 | 5.021 | 5.478 | 5.653 | 5.683 | 5.987 | 5.987 | 6.240 | 6.219 | 6.523 | 6.864 | 7.764 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.0853 | 0.0953 | 0.1023 | 0.1023 | 0.1023 | 0.1124 | 0.1198 | 0.1198 | 0.1198 | 0.116 | 0.116 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
WCAD Operations and Budgets
While WCAD handles property values, tax rates come from other sources, most notably dozens of taxing bodies. These bodies include school districts, MUDs, emergency services, and flood control. While taxpayers cannot lower these tax rates, they can challenge WCAD’s appraisals on the grounds of overassessment or unequal appraisal, possible earning a reduction in their taxes.
One of the reasons that these appeals can be successful is due to mistakes made by the WCAD. O’Connor has 50 years of experience when it comes to taking on appraisal districts and can find every error that can be used to land tax reduction. As one of the largest firms in the nation, O’Connor combines local expertise with national resources.
Total CAD Budget Including ARB
With a budget of $7.76 million, the appraisal district in 2024 was a lean organization. Most CADs are, which is often why Texas has so many issues with appraisals. The budget for WCAD has increased slightly over the past decade, at least keeping up with inflation. The same cannot be said for the appraisal review board (ARB), which has seen its budget stay largely the same since 2016. As the arbiter of formal appeal, the ARB is an important factor in the financial health of the county and will fall further behind the more relevant these secondary protests become.
Total Property Taxes Levied Webb 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 | 0.4009 | 0.4224 | 0.3989 | 0.4426 | 0.4758 | 0.5080 | 0.4725 | 0.4924 | 0.5605 | 0.5399 | 0.5449 | |
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.
Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
While not directly responsible for tax rates or levies, the appraisals created by WCAD have led to rising costs across the county. In 2024, various taxing bodies levied $544.90 million in taxes, the most since 2022. The saving grace is that taxes have generally grown slowly overtime, unlike many counties that have seen them double in recent years. Still, given the nature of Webb County’s population, even a steady increase can be a threat to families trying to keep their heads above water.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - Webb 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 | 60 | 60 | 61 | 61 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions in Total Budget
The small budget has led to WCAD having a roster of only 60 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. This number has stayed the same since 2014, despite large growth seen across the entirety of the county and especially in Laredo itself. Due to a growing population, 60 FTEs should not be enough to complete the task, leading to greater errors in both appraisals and values. This does leave an opportunity open for appeals, however, if taxpayers are willing to exploit it.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - Webb 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 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 30 | |
| Residential | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | |
| Commercial | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | |
| All Other | 17 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
FTEs Assigned to Property Appraisal
As of 2024, WCAD had the lowest number of full-time appraisers in the past decade. There were only 30 FTE appraisers, down from the previous total of 33. Many appraisal districts claim they can function with few people due to technology, though this could be wishful thinking. 14 appraisers handled homes, three commercial, and 13 took care of any other property in the county.