Williamson Appraisal District Budgets Total $11 MM / Year
Property taxes are the lifeblood of the Texas government and appraisal districts are the heart that keeps everything flowing. When in shape, this heart keeps funds flowing fairly and equally from taxpayers to government bodies. However, most appraisal districts are understaffed, leading to the cutting of corners. While receiving a steadily increasing budget, the Williamson Central Appraisal District (WCAD) only had 39 appraisers on staff for a jurisdiction of 264,900 parcels. This means that errors were certainly made, opening the door for all manner of property tax appeals. Enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™, today and be ready for tax time no matter where you live in the Lonestar State. O’Connor will protest your taxes annually for you and there is no cost to enroll. You will only pay if your taxes are lowered. 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 | 6.982 | 7.582 | 7.849 | 8.423 | 8.619 | 8.756 | 9.510 | 9.875 | 10.258 | 11.827 | 13.17 | |
| ARB Operations Budget | 0.1285 | 0.1507 | 0.1663 | 0.1859 | 0.1871 | 0.1983 | 0.2278 | 0.2445 | 0.2424 | 0.282 | 0.306 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since YOU can spend YOUR money better than the government.
Williamson CAD Operations and Budgets
Few people truly understand the power that a Texas appraisal district has. Because all governmental agencies rely on property taxes for funding, the appraisal district’s ability to assess properties and levy taxes gives them great power in their respective communities. The Williamson Central Appraisal District(WCAD) is certainly no different. Williamson County has grown exponentially in recent years, while WCAD has stagnated. This means that they are stretched too thin to properly appraise the land they oversee. They have to use shortcuts, which lead to both errors and opportunities for property tax appeals.
If you are ready to protest your taxes in the face of WCAD, then O’Conner is here to help. As one of the largest property tax specialist firms in the United States, O’Connor has been battling appraisal districts in Texas for over 50 years. Based in Texas, O’Connor knows the ins-and-outs of the system and knows how best to get their clients the tax reduction that they deserve. O’Connor served over 185,000 clients in 2024 and looks to help even more taxpayers in 2025 and beyond.
Williamson CAD Total Budget Including ARB
Unlike many growing counties, Williamson has at least given increased funding to WCAD in recent years, albeit at a somewhat glacial pace. In 2023, the total budget was $11.83 million, up from $10.26 million in 2022. WCAD has received more funds each year, which is a good start. Like all appraisal districts, WCAD is small for the task it must handle, often leading to employees being overworked. In addition to WCAD, the same funds also go to the appraisal review board (ARB), an impartial body that rules on formal property tax appeals between WCAD and taxpayers. This budget has increased a little each year, but not by much. In 2023, the ARB budget was $282,300.
Total Property Taxes Levied Williamson 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 | 0.9874 | 1.0894 | 1.2230 | 1.2230 | 1.3441 | 1.4715 | 1.576 | 1.8595 | 2.2291 | 2.2291 | 2.1917 | |
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.
Williamson County Total Amount of Property Taxes Levied
In the past decade, the property taxes in Williamson County have more than doubled. In 2014, the total levy was $987.4 million, while 2023 saw a record $2.23 billion. This is above the average seen across Texas, but not to a staggering degree. For many hot counties, these tax numbers have tripled or even more, so that should be some comfort for taxpayers. While the tax base certainly grew thanks to population growth, overaggressive valuation and taxation are also contributing factors.
FTE Positions In Budget Total - WCADSource: 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 | 64 | 67 | 67 | 69 | 69 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 80 | 83 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Valuation is a subjective matter where reasonable people can differ.
FTE Positions in the Budget Total
By their nature, appraisal districts are run by near-skeleton crews. This looks to be the case in Williamson County, as WCAD only had 80 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in 2023. This is only an increase of 14 from 2014, despite the steady budget increases. WCAD will argue that advances in technology have made their workforce more efficient and things like computer models can help make accurate assessments. This has not been proven true in the past and seems to be an excuse for being undermanned despite being such an important agency.
FTEs Assigned to the Appraisal - WCADSource: 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 | 22 | 21 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 43 | 35 | 38 | 39 | 33 | |
| Residential | 8 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 15 | |
| Commercial | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | |
| All Other | 11 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since It is a great way to slow the growth of government spending (of your money).
Williamson CAD FTEs Assigned to the Property Appraisal
The FTE roster should also be taken with a grain of salt, because not all 80 employees are appraisers. There are many other functions that WCAD needs to be done and not every worker can be used to assess properties. In 2023, 39 of the FTEs were appraisers. This means WCAD added only 17 appraisers to their staff since 2014. Of those appraisers, 18 assessed residential properties, seven handled commercial interests, and 14 took care of everything else. There were 264,900 parcels of land in Williamson County in 2023. This means that 39 appraisers assessed 7,692.31 properties each.