AFFINITY REALTY JOINS CLASSIC CHEVROLET IN SPONSORING THE The Exchange Club of Sugar Land’s 35th Annual Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022, FROM 5:30 PM TO 9 PM AT FLUOR CORPORATION CAFETERIA, 1 FLUOR DANIEL DRIVE, SUGAR LAND. ON
Dinner and raffle tickets are available online at
www.ecsl.org or from Lori Bisewski at 281-799-7084.
Area soccer teams primed for state tournament – Page 4 Extend Fence Life
WEDNESDAY • APRIL 13, 2022
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 47 • No. 34 • $1.00
Missouri City manager on administrative leave By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Go to
page 2 for details
Celebrating
20th Year Anniversary
A little more than three months since his arrival as city manager of Missouri City, Charles “Tink” Jackson is out on administrative leave, and at least one resident wants to know why. The city council emerged early April 5, after spending more than three hours in closed executive session, and opted to place Jackson on paid administrative leave for 60 days, pending an inves-
By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Fort Bend County administrators last week vowed to return online court record access to the public after they say a software glitch has temporarily disabled that function. County Clerk Laura Richard and District Clerk Beverly McGrew Walker recently released a policy agreement statement saying that, for the time being, the only people with access to online court records would be attorneys or other agents of the court. “The clerks’ decision was driven by the environment in which we live where federal, state and local agencies are under constant threat from cyberattacks and data breaches which result in the revelation of private information to the public,” the statement said. The statement didn’t go over well on social media, where viewers took it as an attack on transparency. “Big thumbs down to Fort Bend County,” one person wrote. In subsequent conversations with the Fort Bend Star, both Richard and Walker explained the decision wasn’t a permanent policy change, and that it had been driven by a recent software update that caused a glitch that could have revealed private information, such as social security numbers. “This is a temporary measure,” Richard said. “It’s gone on longer than we wanted it to. … But our departments are working
SEE RECORDS PAGE 9
See related column on .................. PAGE 3
Jackson
a 6-1 vote in favor of placing Jackson on leave, no one associated with the
city has provided more information about what led to the sudden reversal regarding Jackson’s tenure. “As you may know, the city of Missouri City does not comment on personnel matters,” Councilperson Jeffrey Boney wrote when asked for comment. Mayor Robin Elack-
att and Councilmember Monica Riley provided similar responses, referring all questions to city spokesperson Tara Crain. Crain reiterated that the city does not comment on personnel matters, but confirmed that Jackson remained employed by the city. Jackson did not respond to requests for comment as of Monday afternoon. Wesley Wittig, a spokesperson for the Fort Bend
SEE JACKSON PAGE 9
Eggs-cellent
More details
on page 10 County leaders vow to restore public access to online court records
tigation into allegations surrounding him. The motion to place Jackson on leave came shortly after Councilperson Vashaundra Edwards made a motion to dismiss Jackson. Edwards asserted her motion was based on evidence released during the closed session that Jackson had allegedly violated the city’s charter requirements about ethical tenets and hiring and firing individuals in his office. Aside from those brief comments that prefaced
Children of Rosenberg hunt for holiday treats Staff Reports
Families from the Rosenberg area got an early introduction to Easter last weekend during the City of Rosenberg's Annual Easter Egg Hunt, held on the morning of Saturday, April 9 at Seabourne Creek Nature Park, 3831 Hwy. 36 S. A total of 10,000 eggs were placed at the park, where children in four different age groups ran around and tried to gather as many as possible. Afterward, the kids enjoyed frozen treats and took photos with the Easter Bunny, who was on hand for the event. More communities across Fort Bend County will be celebrating Easter this Sunday.
Children hunting for Easter eggs last Saturday in Rosenberg. (Photos from City of Rosenberg)
Appraisals skyrocketing on homes across Fort Bend County By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Sugar Land City Councilmember William Ferguson ignited a debate on social media last week when he shared a picture showing the appraised value of his home had increased almost $100,000 over the last year. His home appraised for about $471,870 in 2022 compared to $385,220 in 2021, according to the post.
“My house is not getting any bigger, but my county appraisal district appears to be out of control,” he wrote. While a $100,000 increase in 12 months might seem jarring, it appears the elected official’s experience is hardly unique. In conversation and written reports from the county’s experts on property values, the constant theme was one of a quickly growing real estate market. The total notice value for
residential property in Fort Bend County increased about 31 percent from 2021 to 2022, from about $76.5 billion to $100.5 billion, according to a report by the Fort Bend County Central Appraisal District. “The market has gotten quite frankly irrational,” said Jordan Weiss, the apchief appraiser for the appraisal district The central appraisal district is a subdivision of the state that appraises
property for a taxing unit within the boundaries of the district, according to the district’s website. It uses a standard formula for calculating the appraised value of a home. The median increase for properties with a homestead exemption is about 28 percent, according to the district’s report. “Some neighborhoods are up about 40 percent, while others are only up about 10 percent,” said
Bill Rickert, the Fort Bend County treasurer. Several factors are contributing to the rapid growth in residential property values, Weiss explained. Those include inflated construction costs, out-of-area relocations into Fort Bend County, corporate home purchases, a historically low supply of homes and more people working from
SEE APPRAISALS PAGE 9
JERRY FLOWERS
Real Estate Agent, MBA, CNE, ABE Army Veteran (RET) • 832-702-5241 Jerry@dreamhomesbyjerry.com
4500 Highway 6, Sugar Land, TX 77478