As Harris County’s Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar, Annette Ramirez approaches her function with a philosophy rooted in a childhood formed by public service.
A property tax lawyer with greater than 20 years of expertise in class finance, Ramirez brings technical experience and neighborhood engagement to an workplace that touches extra residents than maybe every other native authorities division.
She credit her upbringing in a household dedicated to giving again, notably her mom, a public faculty trainer for over 30 years. She accomplished a Bachelor’s diploma in Maritime Administration from Texas A&M College at Galveston and a J.D. (Juris Physician) from the South Texas Faculty of Legislation.
After school, Ramirez started her profession working in logistics and operations for oil and fuel tankers after which as a property tax lawyer within the authorized division for Aldine ISD for over 20 years.
Now, as an empty nester, she sees her new place as a possibility to increase that service to all of Harris County.
“In the event you’re solely gonna have one interplay with authorities a yr, it’s possible gonna be our workplace,” Ramirez informed the Defender. “Between property tax, automobile registrations and transfers of title and voter registration, you’re possible going to work together with our workplace. I must guarantee that that’s a very good interplay.”
Priorities
Since taking workplace in January 2025, Ramirez has centered on evaluating each side of the division’s operations. She inherited an workplace that, she says, had suffered from “an actual lack of funding” for over a decade, leading to outdated expertise, lengthy wait occasions and excessive workers turnover.
Her rapid objectives embody lowering buyer wait occasions from over two hours to twenty–half-hour, modernizing expertise to enhance each customer support and inside effectivity and stabilizing the workforce via coaching and retention to enhance service high quality.
Ramirez has additionally secured early investments from the Harris County Commissioners Courtroom to assist implement these modifications, from upgrading department web connections to changing outdated gear.
The work that we and our frontline employees do day-after-day is definitely very tough,” Ramirez stated. “There are numerous totally different insurance policies they must observe…legal guidelines which might be created from all totally different areas, from the comptroller to DNV to the Texas Transportation Code. I wanna guarantee that in addition they really feel that they get the assets they should do the job.”
Navigating challenges in auto providers
One of many workplace’s busiest areas is automobile title processing, which lately noticed a surge in demand on account of new state necessities forcing all unbiased auto sellers onto the state’s “webDEALER” system. Ramirez stated the transition has been notably difficult for smaller mom-and-pop dealerships unfamiliar with the expertise, whereas franchise sellers have been acquainted with the system since COVID-19.
Her workforce processes about 2,500 industrial transactions day by day, and whereas the regulation requires a 72-hour turnaround, staffing shortages and system modifications have created backlogs. Ramirez’s objective is to not solely meet however surpass that benchmark.
“There’s loads of coaching that should occur because the sellers have moved on to that new system,” she defined. “Mother and pop dealerships could not have the quantity of transactions; they could have problem with the improved and the extra sophisticated expertise. We’re having to wade via all of that as they name us for clarification and assistance on the right way to navigate these methods. They’re not calling the DMV, they’re calling their native tax assessor. So, we’ve had a rise in cellphone calls.”
The “My Harris County Tax” program
Drawing on her property tax experience, the workplace will quickly launch “My Harris County Tax,” a prepayment plan designed to assist residents price range for his or her annual property tax payments. Starting in 2026, taxpayers could make month-to-month funds towards their estimated invoice as an alternative of dealing with a lump sum in January.
This system will even characteristic person accounts on the county’s web site, permitting residents to arrange fee alerts by way of textual content or e mail. Ramirez hopes the plan will scale back delinquencies and assist residents preserve their houses.
“You get notifications in your cellphone that your espresso’s prepared or you may watch your DoorDash driver delivering your meals. However we don’t have the essential capacity proper now to remind individuals to pay one thing that’s so crucial,” she added.
Boosting voter registration and engagement
Harris County’s Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar workplace additionally manages one of many largest voter rolls within the nation. Ramirez is rebuilding outreach efforts beforehand run by Harris County’s now-defunct Elections Administrator’s workplace. That features coaching Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs) and pairing them with voter registration occasions at faculties, universities and neighborhood facilities, she defined.
Strengthening partnerships with organizations just like the League of Ladies Voters, civic and faith-based teams and native elected officers to increase the workplace’s attain into underrepresented areas, Ramirez can be specializing in digital communication. The workplace has launched a publication, elevated social media exercise and is exploring extra methods to attach with residents on-line.
“We’re rising the usage of these totally different digital media varieties to ensure individuals know what the tax workplace can do for them,” she stated.
Defending generational wealth
Expressing satisfaction in a brand new partnership with the Harris County Workplace of Public Probate Administrator, Ramirez goals to handle points with “heirship properties,” or houses handed down with out clear authorized possession, usually in communities of coloration. Such properties may be weak to tax foreclosures if possession isn’t adequately documented.
By workshops and neighborhood occasions, the workplace educates residents about exemptions, fee plans and authorized instruments to protect their property for future generations.
“What we’ve realized is loads of the low and middle-income communities of coloration don’t have the assets they should guarantee that they’re defending their generational wealth,” Ramirez stated. “We associate with him to guarantee that we get out into the neighborhood and we clarify to them how they’ll defend the belongings and the property that they personal for future generations.”
Constructing a legacy
For Ramirez, success will probably be measured in concrete enhancements: shorter wait occasions, diminished backlogs, extra registered voters and stronger neighborhood partnerships. But it surely’s additionally about constructing belief.
“I simply bought right here, however hopefully, it’ll be a few years from now, however I’m gonna return to creating an workplace that the individuals of Harris County belief,” Ramirez stated. “I wish to go away this workplace operating like a well-oiled machine with improved expertise…to have the ability to modify when we have to, however most significantly, to offer the very best in school service to individuals of Harris County, ’trigger they deserve their authorities to run effectively.”
With a mix of authorized experience and operational focus, Ramirez is making an attempt to reshape an workplace that not solely powers Harris County via its $10.5 billion in annual income.
“We energy the county as a result of all of that income is what goes for offering all of your neighborhood providers, whether or not that’s infrastructure or roads or security or financing our faculties. We additionally empower as a result of we register individuals to vote and assist them have interaction of their civic responsibility.”
Harris County’s Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez
“We energy the county as a result of all of that income is what goes for offering all of your neighborhood providers, whether or not that’s infrastructure or roads or security or financing our faculties,” Ramirez stated. “We additionally empower as a result of we register individuals to vote and assist them have interaction of their civic responsibility.”
