Eugene Rupp, Ellis County appraiser, told the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 12 that valuation or assessment caps—commonly discussed as a way to reduce homeowners’ tax bills—do not lower the total dollars taxing entities must collect.

“Appraised valuation or assessed valuation caps do not result in less taxes being collected by taxing entities,” Rupp said, and instead “result in taxes being shifted and can quickly lead to disparities and distortions in local housing markets, losing tax fairness and equity by creating winners and losers.” He used a three‑page handout and a worked example based on $250,000 starting values to show how a 3% cap would require increases in the mill levy to preserve taxing entities’ revenue, leaving some lower‑value properties paying more while higher‑value properties pay less.

County commissioners pressed Rupp on details and options. Rupp noted that the assessment process adjusts values by neighborhood and year and that the state’s current residential assessment rate (discussed in the packet) is applied after appraised value to produce taxes. He cautioned that although a cap can create an impression of tax relief for some, over time the cap shifts burdens: “Suddenly, homeowner number one’s paid $680 more in taxes over 10 years,” he said in the presentation.

Rupp also explained a separate change taking effect in 2026: legislation passed last year exempts many categories of personal property—examples he listed included golf carts, UTVs, ATVs, trailers up to 15,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and boats—from property tax, removing roughly $1,000,000 of assessed value from the county’s tax rolls. That reduction of personal‑property assessed value, he said, will shift the tax burden toward real estate unless the state provides offsetting revenue or changes assessment/levy structures.

Commissioners discussed other avenues for homeowner relief, including changes to state exemption thresholds and the county’s use of sales tax revenues to offset property tax. One commissioner noted the county’s existing sales tax that offsets property tax collections and asked staff to continue evaluating options for extending or adjusting that revenue source.

Rupp said his handout and slides will be available at the appraiser’s office and encouraged members of the public and local taxing officials to contact his office for one‑on‑one explanations.

The presentation was informational; no formal action or vote on policy changes was taken at the meeting.