Parker County commissioners sided with the Parker County Appraisal District (PCAD) regarding two lawsuits filed by the Weatherford Texas Hospital Company and the Parker County Hospital District against the appraisal district. The lawsuits center on a conflict over the taxable value of the land and buildings leased by the Weatherford Texas Hospital Company from the Parker County Hospital District.
County commissioners, according to the Weatherford Democrat, voted to authorize County Judge Mark Riley to inform each member of the Parker County Appraisal District Board that the county opposes any settlement that would reduce the current appraised value of the property that Weatherford Regional Medical Center leases.
The lawsuits, the first of which was filed in the 415th District Court in September 2012, contend that the Parker County Appraisal District has been inflating the appraised value of the land and buildings leased by Weatherford Texas Hospital Company by about $25 million since 2012.
The Hospital Company believes the taxable value should be about $35 million, according to PCAD Chief Appraiser Larry Hammonds, while PCAD has estimated a value of $60 million since 2012.
Jury trials on the lawsuits, which target mainly the same issue but for different periods of time, according to Hammonds — 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 — have been set for February 2016 and December 2016.