Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan said, if approved during the Nov. 7 election, the sales tax dollars would help fund five new fire stations over the course of the next 10 years, reducing the department’s response times.
“With the growth that’s happening in all quadrants [of the city], it’s almost impossible for us to build stations at the pace in which it’s needed,” Sullivan said.
Diving in deeper
The Georgetown Fire Department and ESD No. 8 have an interlocal agreement and a cost-sharing agreement that allow them to share fire stations and other operational resources.
ESD No. 8 has a property tax rate of $0.094073 per $100 valuation for fiscal year 2023-24.
Sullivan said the property tax rate, which is capped by the state at $0.10 per $100 valuation, is not sufficient. According to information put out by the ESD ahead of the election, it has been operating at a net loss of $1.1 million each year from 2020 to 2023. If additional funds are not secured, ESD officials project they won’t be able to fund existing operations by 2024.
“As more of the costs for infrastructure go in the ESD, we have to be mindful as a city that we can’t subsidize the services,” Sullivan said. “Otherwise, we are now disadvantaging the city taxpayers.”
The election would raise the sales tax rate on purchases made in person and online in the ESD service area from 6.25%—which is allocated to the state—to 8.25%. Sullivan said an 8.25% sales tax is already standard throughout much of Williamson County. Several other Williamson County emergency service providers, including those for Florence, Liberty Hill and Jarrell, all are funded through both property taxes and sales tax, he said.
Why it matters
As the Georgetown area has continued to grow, Sullivan said this has affected emergency response times, necessitating additional fire stations, personnel and resources.
The response time to many areas in Georgetown’s extraterritorial jurisdiction exceed the department’s goal of nine minutes. Sullivan said this is an important target for intervening in medical emergencies involving brain damage and for stopping fires, which grow exponentially.
To address this, Sullivan said the following sites have been identified for future fire stations, which would be funded by the additional sales tax dollars.
- Hwy. 29 and the Southwest Bypass (potential opening timeline: three years)
- Leander Road and Parkside Boulevard (potential opening timeline: five years; could swap timelines with station at Westinghouse Road and FM 1460)
- Westinghouse Road and FM 1460 (potential opening timeline: seven years; could swap timelines with station at Leander Road and Parkside Boulevard)
- Hwy. 195 and Shell Road (potential opening timeline: eight to nine years)
Next steps
Bennie Piper, vice president of Williamson County ESD No. 8, said if the proposition fails it likely means no new fire stations will be built and no additional fire engines will be ordered.
The proposition will only appear on the ballots of residents within the ESD No. 8 service area, meaning those living in Georgetown city limits are not eligible to vote on the measure. It will appear as Proposition A.
“This is giving clear control to the voters to say as a priority we want to make sure we have sufficient public safety in place,” Sullivan said, adding that some retailers already charge 8.25% sales tax within the service area. “This is ensuring that the comptroller sets it up to where there's local control of where those pennies go.”
A similar ballot measure failed in May 2022 by a margin of 61.3%, or a difference of about 500 votes, according to Williamson County records.
Early voting in the Nov. 7 election began Oct. 23 and runs through Nov. 3. Here’s additional information about what’s on the ballot and where to vote in the Georgetown area.
