The Chronicle letters page today repeats a past problem of printing letters with factual inaccuracies.
Today’s factually-challenged letter comes from Jim Robinson, chief appraiser for the Harris County Appraisal District. Here’s an excerpt:
In his July 31 Outlook article, “AN APPEAL / Why we sued HCAD / Legislated rights of property owners are being ignored by appraisal district,” local tax consultant Patrick O’Connor commented on the Harris County Appraisal Review Board and the Harris County Appraisal District, suggesting that the appraisal review board consistently rules against him, violates his rights and ignores procedures required by state law. That simply is not true.
What “simply is not true” is the bolded portion of Robinson’s letter.
Not once did O’Connor suggest in his op-ed that the appraisal review board consistently rules against him. He did identify himself and his firm, presumably to give readers necessary context about his background, but that’s as far as it went. Chron.com readers cannot verify that for themselves, unfortunately, because O’Connor’s op-ed has now disappeared. However, a copy is still available in the google cache. As that copy makes clear, O’Connor’s complaint is that he thinks HCAD is ignoring taxpayer-friendly sections of state law regarding appraisal protests.
Certainly, Robinson, as chief appraiser for HCAD, is entitled to respond in an official capacity to the op-ed submitted by O’Connor, but he is not entitled to misrepresent the contents of that op-ed.
For those who are interested, a pdf copy of the legal brief filed by O’Connor is located here. That brief covers the issues from O’Connor’s perspective in much greater depth than the original op-ed. If HCAD is following state law, as Robinson asserts, then the additional sunshine and scrutiny ought not to be cause for concern (or cause to misrepresent the views of critics like O’Connor).
PREVIOUSLY: O’Connor sues Harris County Appraisal District
