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BELTON State Rep. Hugh Shine visited the Central Texas Tea Party Monday night to talk property taxes and the impending special session of the state Legislature.

The monthly meeting of the Central Texas Tea Party was held at the Harris Community Center in Belton, and much of the meeting involved passionate discussion about property tax reform.

Shine outlined his proposal for a new property tax notice that property owners would receive. His proposal is to create a spreadsheet that outlines how each taxing entity effects the taxes paid by an individual.

This is the first process of reform, Shine said. This would be a required statement across the State of Texas so that people can look at this and make an informed decision about where there was rates could be.

Shine also discussed his proposal for additional training and scrutiny of appraisal review boards.

We were going to require training and require a local administrative judge to appoint the appraisal board chairman. We had about seven different items to address that, Shine said.

One member of the audience said he believes the focus should be on the actual appraisers, not the review board.

The appraisal districts are out of control, he said. The problem isnt the review board, its the appraisers. Those guys can do whatever they want. Theres no control over them with these huge increases.

Landowners in Bell County have seen increases in their property tax valuations this year. Residents in Harker Heights recently protested increases they said were substantial and excessive.

Shine said he proposed a 10 percent cap on increases for residences, which wasnt well received.

I got no support. I heard from the Realtors immediately when I proposed it, Shine said. They believed if there was a cap, property values wouldnt raise much and it would prevent them from selling homes.

One resident voiced his displeasure with the amount of inactivity that happened during the legislative session. Shine responded by saying the process of getting a bill passed involves a lot of moving parts.

Youve got 183 people in the process. How many of you agree on everything with your spouse? Trying to get 183 people to agree is really a challenge, he said. There are people who dont like certain legislation and they will find ways to kill it.

Shine said property tax legislation will be revisited during the upcoming special session that starts next month. Shine said his first priority is to protect the interests of his constituents.

Im going to support Bell County and the folks that live here. Im going to vote the best I can always to support the people in Bell County and our economy, Shine said. Im just like you. I pay property taxes. I want to see something happen with this so that when people get their tax statements, they understand them and they know who to go talk to to find out why their tax rate didnt change if their appraisals went up.

Tea Party member Judy Brady said asked Shine to reach out to the Republican Party to help spread the word about property taxes and similar issues.

When you get into a situation where you need us to take this door to door, let us know, Brady said. Were not here to oppose you on everything. Were here to support you as well.

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Shine discusses property taxes at Tea Party meeting - Temple Daily Telegram