CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Members of the Nueces County Appraisal Board are calling for change when it comes to contracting high-dollar vendors out the appraisal district.
This as members noticed a work contract for TY Pickett, a company that specializes in appraisals, has been been in place for over four decades and hasn't been through a known bidding process.
Newly-elected Nueces County Tax Appraisal Board members John Cudd and James Magill said they were surprised to learn how long the contract had gone uncontested.
"We're blaming the appraisal board for not vetting the vendors and having a bid process," Cudd said.
Magill said that while he recognizes the vendor has a long and trusted relationship with the county, there needs to be checks and balances in place to help with cost efficiency.
"This is taxpayer money that is being spent on all vendors in the appraisal district," he said. " And it is important that we know our money is being well spent."
Chief Tax Appraiser Ronnie Canales said that the decision to stick with TY Pickett predated his time with the office, arriving in 2012. However, he said that he is not opposed to change.
"Next year we're going to be looking at other vendors, they'll be a bid process that will be put out," he said.
Canales said the reason there isn't a streamline process for bidding vendors boils down to resources and manpower.
"You know we're not as big as maybe the City or County, or school districts [like] CCISD," he said. "You know they have a different way of doing things. But whenever we need things we will put it out there."
When it comes to why TY Pickett has the non-bid contract for so long, Canales said in their line of work, few vendors can actually supply that type of service.
"This vendor has a field for industry, royalties, pipelines, wind farms," he said. "The vendor that we look at has to be pretty much qualified with ample engineers to do what needs to get done."
3NEWS reached out to Appraisal Board Chairman Jerry Garcia, who agrees with the other members of the board about having a more streamlined process for work contracts.