To: The Dallas Morning News Viewpoints section
Date:  December 30, 2011
Subject: Columnist says bail bondsmen are guilty of property tax appraisal shenanigans
Result:  censored

Dear Editor,

I see from a recent column that Steve Blow is very concerned about "the gall" of bail
bondsmen who, when they talk to the tax appraiser, understate the value of properties
they own - so as to lower their taxes - but then they overstate the value of those same
properties to use as collateral for the bonds they write. The whole situation has disturbed
the tranquility of Mr. Blow's peaceful holiday spirit, he says, as he feels compelled to
put it on hold to stand up for what is true and right. That's just the kind of guy Mr. Blow is.

He cites as an example a building that was reported by a bail bondsman as worth $110,000,
to be used as collateral for a bail bond. The property was described for that purpose as
"well-built and well-maintained".  But then, when that same property was appraised at a
value of $60,000 on the tax roll, the bondsman protested and got it lowered to $52,500,
based on his description of the property as "a very old office building". Actually, based
on the exposé that Mr. Blow responded to, it looks like the low sales that such collateralized
properties get when they have to be sold, even the $52,500 may be too high.

The bottom line with Mr. Blow's concern about the tax repercussions of his example is that
this property, initially appraised by the tax district at $60,000, lost a taxable value of
$7500. Therefore, we taxpayers are deprived of the additional tax revenue that would be
assessed on that extra $7500, if not for the protest that the bondsman had "the gall" to file.

To address the matter of bail bondsmen wanting to maximize the appraisal value of their
properties for collateral purposes, that's not the problem.  The problem is that, whatever
the value of their property may be, they are allowed to use ten times that amount as the
security for their bonds.  That's ridiculous.  It would be like me using a $100,000 house
as collateral for a $1,000,000 loan.

Let me stop to say, the kind of investigation that Mr. Blow wrote about is commendable
and necessary. There are many wrongs that have been brought to light by The Dallas
Morning News, so that's good. You're doing your job on those things.

However, I just wish that you and Mr. Blow would get so excited about the undervaluations
of rich people's properties, where many big houses in Dallas are undervalued by far more
than the amounts that apply to bail bondsmen. At the top of the list of undervalued properties
is that country club in Highland Park where they've just built a 27-million-dollar clubhouse.
They have 117.5 acres of land (says their web site) in an area where the land values of
adjoining residential properties are appraised at millions of dollars an acre – not counting
the value of the houses, which themselves are often severely undervalued. All of that, and the
country club's total value on the tax roll, for land and building(s), is listed at $13,000,000.
And yet – Mr. Blow speaks of "the gall" – the Dallas Country Club is protesting the
valuation of their property, and threatening legal action – to stick the taxpayers for even
more money. Where is the righteous indignation here? Where is the investigation?

The land for Highland Park Village, across the street from the country club, is valued at
$40,000,000 for a little over 9 acres – which breaks down to about $4,500,000 an acre.
The country club's land should be valued at no less than that, and its new building at what
it cost to build it.

As far as I am concerned, not only should the value of the Dallas Country Club be raised
to a fair and reasonable, true value, but then the increased taxes should be assessed for
a quantity of past years when they did not pay their fair share of taxes.I would be willing,
however, to give them a break on the interest on that past money that they hoodwinked
their way out of paying. 

Of course, when it comes to investigating people and situations, there is a big difference
between bail bondsmen and rich people and their respective properties. The Dallas
Morning News doesn't like bail bondsmen, in their funky little $60,000 buildings. But
they love rich people, a group that includes the top executives of the newspaper, who
themselves benefit from the laws and practices that prevent the proper tax valuation of
their properties.

It is true that The Dallas Morning News has reported on these things, but it was given
low prominence, and was very short-lived. There needs to be a whole campaign to
overturn, number one, the law that allows rich people to hide the prices they pay for
their houses – a law that few states other than Texas have – so that the true value
cannot be accurately assessed.

John Vehon