May Meeting Speaker:

Mr. James L. Dunhams’s career has been in property tax administration and real estate appraisal. 

From 1966 – 1981 he was  employed by various firms involved in property reappraisal for tax purposes in eastern New Mexico and Central and South Texas. 

From 1981 – 1985 James served as the first Chief Appraiser for Lee County where he was responsible in establishing the district office, hiring staff and overseeing the appraisal of properties within the county, three school districts and two cities. 

From 1985 – 1997 he was  self employed as a commercial fee appraiser. During this time, the majority of my contracts involved appraising commercial properties such as office buildings, retail centers and warehouses in Travis, Williamson and Bexar Counties as well as rural farm and ranch land in various counties in central Texas. 

James served for 17 years (1997 – 2024) as a board member for the Travis Central Appraisal District.  The first four years as a residential appraiser followed by 10 years as a commercial appraiser.  This included all retail properties in Travis County, for example, major shopping centers such as Barton Creek Mall, The Domain, South Park Meadows, as well as smaller retail outlets, restaurants, fast food places, and grocery stores.  The final three years I served as Director of the Residential Department where I managed and directed a staff of 40 employees.

After retiring from Travis Central Appraisal District, James was appointed by a district judge to serve on the Appraisal Review Board of Williamson County.  He was reappointed for six years, which is the limit the legislature has set in the Texas Property Tax Code.  

James will provide us with an overview of the Williamson Central Appraisal District and  discuss the legislation that called for an election of new board members and how this could affect property taxes and municipal funding priorities. Early voting in this election runs until May 1st (no voting on Sunday, April 28). Election Day is May 4th.