Erika Hizel is a real estate investor who runs a nonprofit that represents small landlords. She was one of Bexar County’s three inaugural appraisal district board members and she’s now seeking a second four-year term.
Hear from the candidate
1. Please tell voters about yourself.
Erika Hizel, 54, started out in the non-profit housing sector as a bilingual (Spanish) first-time homebuyer counselor. She was recruited to San Antonio, TX, to manage a national HUD Housing Counseling Program spanning 21 states and 40+ nonprofit agency grantees. In 2007 she started her private real estate investment and development business rehabilitating distressed properties primarily in the urban core to provide affordable rentals.
Ms. Hizel is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, CA and has a Master’s degree from the University of New Mexico. Born and subsequently adopted in Mexico City, Mexico, she lived her formative years in Albuquerque. She is involved in her community having served on local charity boards including co-founding the San Antonio Property Owners Alliance in 2020- a volunteer network of mom-and-pop housing providers. She was elected to the Bexar Central Appraisal District Board of Directors in 2024 in Place 2 out of three candidates.
2. Briefly describe any professional experiences you’ve had that relate to the role of overseeing the appraisal district.
As the only incumbent returning for re-election, I have advocated across the County regarding homeownership rights in regards to the appraisal and protest process. I have advocated for homeowners my entire career -initially as a bilingual first time homebuyer counselor.
As a small minority woman business owner, I am acutely aware that the cost of living in the form of property taxes have increased for homeowners, housing providers, and small businesses. As a full time self-employed real estate professional, I have ordered and reviewed dozens of residential and commercial appraisals.
Because of this experience, I am the most qualified housing expert for this Place. Additionally I have served on private non-profit boards over various years- including eight years at the Westside YMCA -and bring the experience of overseeing budgets, operations and constituent concerns.
3. What do you believe the Bexar Central Appraisal District should be doing to make the property appraisal process more transparent to the public, or to improve customer service?
I would like to continue the work to improve taxation transparency, modernize district processes, and defend taxpayer rights. I have already accomplished much in the first two years. I helped win a first of its kind property owner protection – settle a protest and your value carries forward a year. It is the only protection of its kind in the state.
Additionally I have advocated for and accomplished having evening meetings, streaming and recording of meetings and other transparency items. I would like to evaluate what other counties are doing as in providing opportunities for the public to protest during the evening or on Saturdays so that homeowners do not have to take off work to protest their taxes.
4. In recent years, some Texas appraisal districts have transformed an administrative role into more of a policy-making body, approving changes like less frequent appraisals and caps on the amount an appraisal can rise from year to year. What role do you think BCAD should take, if any, in trying to address additional property tax relief?
To quote the District: “BCAD is responsible for the discovery, listing, and appraisal of all taxable property within its jurisdiction for ad valorem tax purposes and for the administration of applicable property tax exemptions authorized by law.” While BCAD is not responsible for setting tax rates, nor collecting taxes, we can interpret existing Property Code in the furtherance of making valuations as accurately as possible. To this end, we started partnering with property owners in 2025 to settle a value every other year so that we get more accurate valuations of the condition of the property.
Because it would be time consuming and cost prohibitive to physically see every parcel of more than 720,000 parcels every year, we use a mass computerized appraisal system which provides a value range that can be settled with the property owner. The effect of this new policy is to give the property owner another 6 to 12 months of time to not have to reprotest when nothing about their property has changed, though BCAD continues to appraise through the mass computerized appraisal system every parcel every year for data.
5. Elected appraisal district positions were created to help build public trust in the appraisal process. How would you approach public outreach?
I have outreached continually for the last two years to the neighborhood associations, to elected officials and to organizations who ask me to present. One recommendation is to increase the outreach activities through the outreach budget of BCAD to include the Board of Directors as is a common practice for non-profit and private boards.
Currently the BCAD’s outreach department is a department of one. In my outreach to the community, I learn that there are still many misconceptions about how to protest, when they can and what to use when they do that we can improve upon. Only 20-25% of the people protest their valuations, and most use a third party company. I would like to see a higher rate of owners appealing their valuations so that we get more accurate valuations and to do that will mean more involvement by the directors and the district.
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