After 42 years of public service, Chief Appraiser David Valle of the Hays Central Appraisal District (CAD) will be retiring effective at the end of July.
Valle sent in his letter of retirement to the board of directors on May 17. The board appointed Deputy Chief Appraiser Laura Raven as the interim chief appraiser at its June 11 meetings. Raven will take over on Aug. 1.
Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector Luanne Caraway said that Raven seemed like a good fit for the temporary position in order to keep the day to day operations of the Hays CAD running.
“She’s been there for many years and has been David’s (Valle) right hand for many years,” Caraway said.
Raven has been working at the Hays CAD for almost 24 years and has been the deputy chief for the last five years.
Caraway said the board of directors will start advertising to permanently fill the chief appraiser position soon via notices posted within appraiser trade associations such as the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts. The board will start interviewing for the position around the beginning of September.
Compensation for the position will be set by the board of directors when the budget is adopted in budget workshops in September. Caraway says so far the board has only discussed a possible range.
Some requirements to be a chief appraiser, according to Raven, include obtaining a professional designation as a Registered Professional Appraiser (RPA) from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), have five years experience with property tax, and complete the chief appraiser training program set by the Texas Occupations Code.
Raven said she has all of the qualifications and requirements for the chief appraiser position and she very well might apply once the job is posted.
Valle worked for the Hays CAD for 33 years and previously worked for Hays County and the San Marcos School District doing appraisal work.
“It was a pleasure and a privilege to work with Hays CAD all of these years,” Valle said.
After retiring, Valle will spend time with family, travel, and pursue other interests.
