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Taxing News TAD-2016
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Volume 3, Issue 5 In God We Trust May 1, 2016 In This Issue: Armed Forces First............. 3 What’s Been Happening .... 4 A Look Back ...................... 6 New Employees ................. 9 KAB ................................... 10 Contact Information and Map of Locations ............... 11 Dates to Remember: Special Inventory Tax Due………….………..…..10 Armed Forces Day…..…...21 Memorial Day.………...…30 (all county offices closed) Value Protests for Resident Homesteads Due at Tarrant Appraisal District………….31 Ron Wright The Wright Stuff A Time to Remember The old adage that it was God who made us free, but it is the soldier who keeps us that way is worth contemplating this Memori- al Day. It is the soldier who dons a uniform, picks up a weapon and stands in the breach to defend us and protect us, whether the breach is created by naziism, com- munism, or terrorism. More often than not that breach is in far away places under conditions more difficult and dangerous than many people care to acknowledge. Some come back in caskets. Winston Churchill once ob- served, “We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” Today one could add that women also stand ready. We can forgive a great leader his 1940’s sensibilities. It was Churchill, after all. Americans are not naturally a warlike people, and many of us would prefer to not think about the necessity of depending on the rough men Churchill mentioned. Indeed, some would prefer to pretend that large standing armies of soldiers are not necessary at all. Remember the “peace dividend” of the 1990’s? The problem, as we are always reminded, is there are people in the world who are a threat to Americans everywhere Continued on Page 2
Transcript
Page 1: Taxing News TAD-2016

Volume 3, Issue 5 In God We Trust May 1, 2016

In This Issue:

Armed Forces First............. 3

What’s Been Happening .... 4

A Look Back ...................... 6

New Employees ................. 9

KAB ................................... 10

Contact Information and

Map of Locations ............... 11

Dates to Remember:

Special Inventory Tax

Due………….………..…..10

Armed Forces Day…..…...21

Memorial Day.………...…30

(all county offices closed) Value Protests for Resident Homesteads Due at Tarrant Appraisal District………….31

Ron Wright

The Wright Stuff

A Time to Remember

The old adage that it was God

who made us free, but it is the

soldier who keeps us that way is

worth contemplating this Memori-

al Day. It is the soldier who dons

a uniform, picks up a weapon and

stands in the breach to defend us

and protect us, whether the breach

is created by naziism, com-

munism, or terrorism. More often

than not that breach is in far away

places under conditions more

difficult and dangerous than many

people care to acknowledge.

Some come back in caskets.

Winston Churchill once ob-

served, “We sleep safely at night

because rough men stand ready to

visit violence on those who would

harm us.”

Today one could add that

women also stand ready. We can

forgive a great leader his 1940’s

sensibilities. It was Churchill,

after all.

Americans are not naturally a

warlike people, and many of us

would prefer to not think about the

necessity of depending on the

rough men Churchill mentioned.

Indeed, some would prefer to

pretend that large standing armies

of soldiers are not necessary at all.

Remember the “peace dividend”

of the 1990’s? The problem, as

we are always reminded, is there

are people in the world who are a

threat to Americans everywhere

Continued on Page 2

Page 2: Taxing News TAD-2016

Volume 3, Issue 5 Taxing News May 1, 2016

2

Ron Wright

The Wright Stuff, Continued

and our way of life. Sometimes,

they try to kill us, and some-

times, they succeed. And

sometimes, the only thing

between them and us are those

rough men. The inconvenient

truth that some are loathe to

admit is that sometimes we need

triggers to be pulled.

In what many consider his

most commanding performance,

Jack Nicholson as Colonel

Jessup in A Few Good Men

delivered one of the most dra-

matic speeches ever put on film.

At the end of the scene he is

escorted from the courtroom to

be formally charged with order-

ing the murder of one of his

men, but first he speaks a defiant

truth:

On February 22, 1969, 24

year old Robert David Law of

Fort Worth, a graduate of

what is now Trimble

Tech High School, was

on a long range recon

patrol in Vietnam with

five other members of

the 75th Ranger Regiment

when they encountered a

small enemy patrol. A

fierce firefight ensued.

Law was on the bank of a creek,

and his comrades were a few

feet away when an enemy

grenade landed among them.

Law looked directly at his

buddies and dove onto the

grenade, saving their lives. He

could have easily avoided the

blast by diving into the creek.

He chose instead to give his life

for theirs. For his heroic action,

Robert Law received the Medal

of Honor posthumously, one of

only four men from Tarrant

County to ever receive our

nation’s highest honor for valor

and the only one from the

Vietnam War. His body lies in

an inconspicuous grave at Mt.

Olivet Cemetery.

It is people like Robert Law

and hundreds of thousands of

others who died in our country’s

service that we honor this

Memorial Day. They are the

ones who paid the ultimate price

for freedom. It is easy to write

about the horrors of war; it’s

quite another to experience

those horrors. As Gen. Douglas

MacArthur once remarked,

“Whoever said that the pen is

mightier than the sword never

saw automatic weapons.”

Tarrant County has been

home to people in the military

since it was founded in 1849.

The county has a long history of

supporting our men and women

in uniform. That continues

today with the county’s Armed

Forces First policy of letting

those in uniform go to the front

of the line. May it always be so.

The next time you see a man

or woman in uniform, thank

them for their service. That

uniform is an affirmative state-

ment that says that they are

willing to put their lives on the

line at a moment’s notice to

protect us and keep us free. And

this Memorial Day, take time

out to remember...

“You can’t handle the truth!

Son, we live in a world that has

walls, and those walls have to

be guarded by men with

guns….You don’t want the

truth because deep down in

places you don’t talk about at

parties, you want me on that

wall! You need me on that

wall! We use words like

“honor”, “code”, “loyalty”. We

use these words as the back-

bone of a life spent defending

something.”

Page 3: Taxing News TAD-2016

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In keeping with the Armed Forces

First Initiative in Tarrant County

allowing uniformed service members

to move to the front of any line,

we’ve spotted a few servicemen in

our offices. Thank you for your

service!

Armed Forces First

DON’T FORGET!!

Value Protests are due at

Tarrant Appraisal District by May 31!!

Tax Office Stats for April 2016

Motor Vehicle Titles Processed

45,983

Property Tax

Accounts Paid

26,930

Property Tax Amount

Collected

$27,575,666

Motor Vehicle Registrations

Processed

68,967

Phone Calls Received

26,162

Newsletter Noncents

Email your answer to [email protected]

Which principle of the

Constitution allows each

branch of government to check

what the other branches do to

prevent any one branch from

becoming too powerful?

Pictured at left: Travis Moore, US Air Force

At right: Carl Vella, US Air Force

May 21

Left: Ron Wright and granddaughter, Reagan Wright. Reagan aced the 8th grade STAAR American History exam. We plan to use the exam at Staff Development Day for our History Quiz.

Attention: Resident Homesteads

Page 4: Taxing News TAD-2016

Volume 3, Issue 5 Taxing News May 1, 2016

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What’s Been Happening….

Celebrating Opening Day!

Mansfield Office: Shannon Shaw, Chris Neal (also his birthday),

and Manager Karen Edmondson. Property Tax Assessment Department:

Manager Jeff Hodges and Kirby Tibbit. Left: Administrative

Assistant Stefani

Flores and her

husband, Daniel,

enjoy Opening Day at

the Ballpark.

Above: Amelia Rice, Beckie Fernandez, and Andree

Johnson at Employee Appreciation in downtown Fort

Worth on May 3.

Left: Sandra Martin

Employee Appreciation

Day in Fort Worth

Right: Lisa Anderson

Above: Commissioner Roy

Brooks addressed employees.

Above: Charlotte

Tackett

Page 5: Taxing News TAD-2016

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What’s Been Happening

Arlington staff

Poly staff

Our Vision:

We are a professional team of positive and

dedicated individuals who serve with integrity, tenacity, and compassion in

an innovative and inclusive environment.

Left: Dallas County Tax Assessor-Collector

John Ames and staff met in Arlington on

April 22 to discuss the benefits and

challenges of having Nemo Q in our

offices for managing our customer lines

more efficiently.

Ender Reed, Liaison with Texas Association of Counties, met

with Ron Wright on April 26 to discuss the Senate Hearing

Committee on Property Tax Reform. Reed will be a guest

speaker at our Staff Development Day on May 11.

Monte Shaw, Wise County Tax Assessor-Collector and Ron

Wright met on May 5 to discuss the latest TxDMV changes.

Page 6: Taxing News TAD-2016

Volume 3, Issue 5 Taxing News May 1, 2016

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A Look Back…..by Ron Wright

Before there was an official

Memorial Day, there were brave

men of the United States Army

who died in the line of duty in

Tarrant County. They were the

three men of the 2nd U.S.

Dragoons and eight men of

Company F, 8th U.S. Infantry

who died serving their country

at Fort Worth. All but one died

in 1851; the last died in 1852.

The fort would be vacated by

the U. S. Army in 1853.

The eleven soldiers of Fort

Worth were buried near the

children of the fort’s founder,

Maj. Ripley Arnold, in a tiny

cemetery northeast of the fort.

After the fort was abandoned,

enterprising settlers, chief

among them the Father of Fort

Worth (the city) Ephraim

Daggett, took over the fort

buildings and began a new

settlement and kept the name,

Fort Worth. The tiny cemetery

would grow as the town grew.

Years later it would be known as

Old City Cemetery until 1909

when it became Pioneers Rest

Cemetery. The street leading to

the cemetery would become

Samuels Avenue.

A small monument with a

plaque near the graves in the

rear of the cemetery contain the

names of the 11 soldiers who

died at Fort Worth. It is one of

the few reminders of their

service to their country. Nearby

are the graves of the Arnold

Remembering the First Soldiers

The Fort Worth Eleven:

Private Isaac Hollyfield, 2nd Reg., U.S. Dragoons……. 17 June 1851

Private Michael Farrell, 2nd Reg., U.S. Dragoons…….20 June 1851

Corporal William McKee, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry…….24 July 1851

Private Michael Crehan, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry…….25 October 1851

Private James Ryan, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry…………..27 November 1851

Private Patrick Dolan, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry……….28 November 1851

Private Peter Riley, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry…………..29 November 1851

Corporal Thomas Scott, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry…….16 December 1851

Private John Koch, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry…………….28 December 1851

Private William McConnell, 8th Reg., U.S. Infantry…..30 December 1851

Page 7: Taxing News TAD-2016

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children, then the large stone

that marks the grave of Ripley

Arnold, himself, although he did

not die here. Within months of

leaving Fort Worth, Arnold was

killed at Fort Graham in a

senseless shootout with the fort

doctor. His body was reburied

next to his children in 1854. Not

far from the Arnold grave is the

grave of the county namesake,

General Edward H. Tarrant.

The Dragoons that Arnold

brought to the bluff overlooking

the confluence of two forks of

the Trinity River were hardened

men. They had to be. Life

didn’t get much harder than life

on the frontier of Texas in the

1850s, especially near an

untamed river that exploded

with spring rains, became almost

a trickle by late summer, and

bred mosquitos by the million.

Regular supplies had to be

augmented by what could be

hunted or scavenged from the

land. And then there was the

reason the fort was established,

marauding Indians that

continued to threaten settlers

moving into the area. Death on

the frontier was as close as the

next cough or cut. None of the

11 soldiers who died at Fort

Worth were killed by Indians.

Still, the Fort Worth Eleven

served with distinction. We

today should be grateful for their

service; their memory should be

honored like that of all

American soldiers on Memorial

Day. What they built on the

bluff became a great city and the

seat of a great county.

May they never be

forgotten.

God bless their memory,

and God bless America!

A Look Back, cont…..

Ron Wright with County Clerk Mary Louise Garcia and Lake Worth

Officials Mayor Walter Bowen and City Manager Brett McGuire.

Property Tax Manager Morris Booth, Motor Vehicle

Manager Rosie Enriquez, and Ron Wright stand in

front of the Tax Office booth at the annual Senior

Synergy held on May 5 at the Will Rogers Coliseum in

Fort Worth.

Page 8: Taxing News TAD-2016

Volume 3, Issue 5 Taxing News May 1, 2016

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What’s Been Happening….

Above, left to right: Ron Wright, Tom Spencer, Anita El Sakhawy, Dorothy

Starr and Elisa Hand review the 2017 Tax Office budget.

Above, left to right: Shannon Shaw, Ron Wright

and Karen Edmondson at the Business After Hours

in Mansfield on April 21.

Elvira Simpson, Manager at the Northwest branch in

Lake Worth, won 3rd place in the chili cook-off at

Employee Appreciation on May 3.

Jessica Montoya was awarded the Employee of the Month award at the

Northeast branch in Hurst given by Manager Joanna Fisk.

Mission Statement

We will serve the citizens of Tarrant County with pride, courtesy,

respect, and determination.

We will achieve excellence in what we do by providing accurate, effi-

cient, and timely service consistent with the laws of the State of Tex-

as and the highest ethical standard.

Page 9: Taxing News TAD-2016

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What’s Been Happening….

New Employees

Janice O’Neal Customer Service

Representative

Sarah Blackmon Customer Service

Representative

Above: All new employees are sworn in

by Ron Wright and then are required to

attend new employee orientation. Here,

Janice and Sarah are sworn in on their

first day!

Will Jones Part-Time Motor Vehicle

Amber Bundschu Part-Time Motor Vehicle

Chris Stanley Motor Vehicle

Rebekah Cantu Part-Time Motor Vehicle

Margarita Chavez Property Tax

Speaking of new, check out the newest addition to the hallway of the 1st floor of the Administration Building in downtown Ft Worth.

Page 10: Taxing News TAD-2016

Volume 3, Issue 5 Taxing News May 1, 2016

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Leo, Downtown: “Service remained friendly despite complicated matter…”

Crystal, Southwest: “Crystal was very helpful both times she waited on me and maintained a cheerful and helpful attitude.”

Judy, Southlake: “Judy was very friendly and helpful. She answered all my questions with a smile!”

Beth, Northwest: “Made a scary thing easy—great representative.”

Donna, Northeast: “Great service. Explained in detail what to do.”

Jayme, Mansfield: “This office is awesome. All clerks were professional & courteous…”

Daniela, Arlington: “Excellent service!”

Ron Wright will be honored in Commissioners Court in May for 5 years of

service, and will be joined by these employees:

Joshua Kobayashi—10 years

Ashlee McGinty—5 years

Christopher Neal—5 years

Camryn Robbins ........................ 3

Kameisha Crawford ................... 3

Marcy Hubbard .......................... 5

Kat Woldt .................................. 6

Danny Nichols ........................... 7

Lalania Gaines ........................... 7

Kim Jayme ................................. 8

Theresa Steele ............................ 8

Jan Phillips ................................ 9

Karina Villalba .......................... 10

Amelia Rice ............................... 13

Erika Fitchett ............................. 19

Julia Kelly .................................. 20

Carmen Holloway ...................... 21

Joan Coulter ............................... 23

Customer

service is not

a department,

it’s every-

one’s job.

The blue comment cards are an important tool for letting your Tax Assessor-Collector, Ron Wright, know how we are doing in all of the offices. Please complete a card at your

next visit. The office with the highest percentage of positive comment cards each quarter wins the coveted Customer Service banner to display in their office for the next quarter!

Page 11: Taxing News TAD-2016

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Main Office Building

100 East Weatherford St.

Fort Worth, TX 76196

Phone: 817-884-1100

Arlington

700 E. Abram St.

Arlington, TX 76010

Phone: 817-548-3935

Mansfield

1100 E. Broad St.

Mansfield, TX 76063

Phone: 817-473-5127

Northeast

645 E. Grapevine Highway

Hurst, TX 76054

Phone: 817-581-3635

Northwest

6713 Telephone Rd. Rm. 101

Lake Worth, TX 76135

Phone: 817-238-4435

Poly

3212 Miller Ave.

Fort Worth, TX 76105

Phone: 817-531-5635

Southlake

1400 Main St. Suite 110

Southlake TX 76092

Phone: 817-481-8141

Southwest

6551 Granbury Rd

Fort Worth, TX 76133

Phone: 817-370-4535

Tarrant County

Tax Office Locations

Hours: Monday—Friday

8:00 am—5:00 pm

CONTACT US

817-884-1100

Email Property Tax Department

at:

[email protected]

Email Motor Vehicle

Department at:

[email protected]

Questions about the newsletter may

be directed to

Vickie Doane at

[email protected]

Email [email protected] to subscribe to our monthly newsletter distribution list.

Visit our website at:

www.tarrantcounty.com

Registration renewals may be

purchased at your local Carnival, Fiesta,

Kroger, and Tom Thumb stores in Bedford,

Hurst, Keller, Mansfield, Southlake,

Arlington, Grapevine, and Fort Worth.

Check our website for a list of locations

at www.tarrantcounty.com.

Be sure to bring your renewal notice,

proof of insurance and an acceptable form

of ID such as a Texas Driver’s License or

ID card.

Page 12: Taxing News TAD-2016

Volume 3, Issue 5 Taxing News May 1, 2016

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