ARB upholds values set for wind farm

By Donnie A. Lucas

Shackelford County chief appraiser Clayton Snyder reported this week that the Appraisal Review Board upheld values set for the Hackberry Wind Farm during recent protest hearings held at the appraisal district office.

The company filed a lawsuit after the review board upheld values in 2022. The wind farm paid just under half of the 2022 taxes as required by state law, but filed a lawsuit disputing the almost $430,000 still owed for last year.

“We had some negotiations about last year’s value, but the company decided to wait so they could add this year’s portion of the taxes they don’t pay to the existing lawsuit,” Snyder said. “We expect that they will want to resume negotiations in September for the combined amount after they amend their suit.”

He added that it is more cost effective for the wind farm to combine both tax years rather pursue two separate lawsuits.

“Hopefully, we will be able to arbitrate the issue quickly and get it resolved without giving up too much of the value,” he said.

Snyder said that there is no penalty or interest accruing while the matter is in litigation.

“They didn’t argue the value this year with the ARB,” he said. “They wanted to just roll the two years together and then attempt to reach a  settlement.”

He said that the company filed for the matter to be settled through an “alternative” method such as mediation instead of a jury trial.