As Harris County’s Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar, Annette Ramirez approaches her role with a philosophy rooted in a childhood shaped by public service.
A property tax attorney with more than two decades of experience in school finance, Ramirez brings technical expertise and community engagement to an office that touches more residents than perhaps any other local government department.
She credits her upbringing in a family committed to giving back, particularly her mother, a public school teacher for over 30 years. She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Maritime Administration from Texas A&M University at Galveston and a J.D. (Juris Doctor) from the South Texas College of Law.
After college, Ramirez began her career working in logistics and operations for oil and gas tankers and then as a property tax attorney in the legal department for Aldine ISD for over 20 years.
Now, as an empty nester, she sees her new position as an opportunity to extend that service to all of Harris County.
“If you’re only gonna have one interaction with government a year, it’s likely gonna be our office,” Ramirez told the Defender. “Between property tax, vehicle registrations and transfers of title and voter registration, you’re likely going to interact with our office. I need to make sure that that’s a good interaction.”
Priorities
Since taking office in January 2025, Ramirez has focused on evaluating every aspect of the department’s operations. She inherited an office that, she says, had suffered from “a real lack of investment” for over a decade, resulting in outdated technology, long wait times and high staff turnover.
Her immediate goals include reducing customer wait times from over two hours to 20–30 minutes, modernizing technology to improve both customer service and internal efficiency and stabilizing the workforce through training and retention to improve service quality.
Ramirez has also secured early investments from the Harris County Commissioners Court to help implement these changes, from upgrading branch internet connections to replacing outdated equipment.
The work that we and our frontline workers do every day is actually very difficult,” Ramirez said. “There are many different policies they have to follow…laws that are created from all different areas, from the comptroller to DNV to the Texas Transportation Code. I wanna make sure that they also feel that they get the resources they need to do the job.”
Navigating challenges in auto services
One of the office’s busiest areas is vehicle title processing, which recently saw a surge in demand due to new state requirements forcing all independent auto dealers onto the state’s “webDEALER” system. Ramirez said the transition has been particularly challenging for smaller mom-and-pop dealerships unfamiliar with the technology, while franchise dealers have been familiar with the system since COVID-19.
Her team processes about 2,500 commercial transactions daily, and while the law requires a 72-hour turnaround, staffing shortages and system changes have created backlogs. Ramirez’s goal is to not only meet but surpass that benchmark.
“There’s a lot of training that needs to happen as the dealers have moved on to that new system,” she explained. “Mom and pop dealerships may not have the volume of transactions; they may have difficulty with the improved and the more complicated technology. We’re having to wade through all of that as they call us for clarification and help on how to navigate those systems. They’re not calling the DMV, they’re calling their local tax assessor. So, we’ve had an increase in phone calls.”
The “My Harris County Tax” program
Drawing on her property tax expertise, the office will soon launch “My Harris County Tax,” a prepayment plan designed to help residents budget for their annual property tax bills. Beginning in 2026, taxpayers can make monthly payments toward their estimated bill instead of facing a lump sum in January.
The program will also feature user accounts on the county’s website, allowing residents to set up payment alerts via text or email. Ramirez hopes the plan will reduce delinquencies and help residents keep their homes.
“You get notifications on your phone that your coffee’s ready or you can watch your DoorDash driver delivering your food. But we don’t have the basic ability right now to remind people to pay something that’s so very important,” she added.
Boosting voter registration and engagement
Harris County’s Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar office also manages one of the largest voter rolls in the country. Ramirez is rebuilding outreach efforts previously run by Harris County’s now-defunct Elections Administrator’s office. That includes training Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs) and pairing them with voter registration events at schools, universities and community centers, she explained.
Strengthening partnerships with organizations like the League of Women Voters, civic and faith-based groups and local elected officials to expand the office’s reach into underrepresented areas, Ramirez is also focusing on digital communication. The office has launched a newsletter, increased social media activity and is exploring more ways to connect with residents online.
“We’re increasing the use of those different digital media forms to make sure people know what the tax office can do for them,” she said.
Protecting generational wealth
Expressing pride in a new partnership with the Harris County Office of Public Probate Administrator, Ramirez aims to address issues with “heirship properties,” or homes passed down without clear legal ownership, often in communities of color. Such properties can be vulnerable to tax foreclosure if ownership is not adequately documented.
Through workshops and community events, the office educates residents about exemptions, payment plans and legal tools to preserve their property for future generations.
“What we’ve learned is a lot of the low and middle-income communities of color don’t have the resources they need to make sure that they’re protecting their generational wealth,” Ramirez said. “We partner with him to make sure that we get out into the community and we explain to them how they can protect the assets and the property that they own for future generations.”
Building a legacy
For Ramirez, success will be measured in concrete improvements: shorter wait times, reduced backlogs, more registered voters and stronger community partnerships. But it’s also about building trust.
“I just got here, but hopefully, it’ll be many years from now, but I’m gonna go back to creating an office that the people of Harris County trust,” Ramirez said. “I want to leave this office running like a well-oiled machine with improved technology…to be able to adjust when we need to, but most importantly, to provide the best in class service to people of Harris County, ’cause they deserve their government to run well.”
With a blend of legal expertise and operational focus, Ramirez is trying to reshape an office that not only powers Harris County through its $10.5 billion in annual revenue.
“We power the county because all of that revenue is what goes for providing all your community services, whether that’s infrastructure or roads or safety or financing our schools. We also empower because we register people to vote and help them engage in their civic duty.”
Harris County’s Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez
“We power the county because all of that revenue is what goes for providing all your community services, whether that’s infrastructure or roads or safety or financing our schools,” Ramirez said. “We also empower because we register people to vote and help them engage in their civic duty.”
