ESD No. 3 board members discuss putting a sales tax referendum before voters.[/caption]

Hutto Fire Rescue Emergency Services District No. 3 board members voted in favor of placing a sales tax referendum on the May ballot at their monthly board meeting Jan. 28.

The decision passed in a 3-2 vote.

ESD No. 3 board president Bill Brown voted in favor of placing the item on the ballot. Citing the needs of the department, he spoke to Hutto City Council members Jan. 21 requesting more financial support from the city.

At the meeting, Hutto officials approved approximately $100,000 in contingent funds for one year, in exchange for the ESD striking the item off the May ballot.

Brown said he was pleased the city approved the extra funding, but it’s still not enough to meet the needs of the fire services department.

“A hundred thousand dollars is not even close,” Brown said. “We know that we’re about $1.9 million a year short. Absolutely it’s due to population growth, but we need an additional station, facilities, personnel, apparatus and other equipment; it’s all those combined.”

Hutto Fire Chief Scott Kerwood said the department has needed another fire station for several years.

“We currently have one station to serve 63 square miles in a population of approximately 43,000 people,” Kerwood said. “An initial study conducted in 2012 revealed Hutto’s fire service district was in need of three additional fire stations, and the city’s population has grown significantly since then.”

Hutto Mayor Debbie Holland was hopeful ESD board members would reject any consideration of a two percent sales tax increase and accept the city’s offer of an extra $100,000, in addition to the $105,000 Hutto gives the ESD each year.

“It (funding) was contingent on them withdrawing the May ballot; now it’s off the table,” Holland said. “The city is not opposing an additional fire station. I just think there hasn’t been a real open and honest conversation about possibilities, revenue streams. By buying that year, it would have given us a year to have some conversations; the biggest problem is, we can’t get everybody to the table.”