Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan said he was surprised to see there wasn't sufficient support for Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 8's proposition that would increase sales and use tax in the entity's territory by 2% and allocate it toward ESD operations.
"While it's not the outcome I thought would occur, it's nonetheless the voice of the residents, and I look forward to moving forward in the next coming weeks and months to better understand what their concerns are; we'll problem-solve this together," he said. "The reality is I want to respect and support the decision of the voters, and clearly they do not want a sales and use tax for the purpose of enhancing the services in the ESD territory."
In the coming months, Sullivan said department leaders and the ESD board will have to evaluate the ability to open up new fire stations and the services they provide. If the proposition had passed, Sullivan said the funding would have supported five additional fire stations over the course of the next 10 years to serve Georgetown's growing population, particularly in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
He said the department and ESD are in the early stages of a Fire Department Master Plan update and will be able to incorporate the results of the election into that plan. The 10-year plan will be available to the public around early spring, he said.
"The initiative itself was to try to improve response times and to improve the level of service that's in the ESD territories that are experiencing significant growth, but if the voters there are happy with the response times being what they are then that's where we'll just have to re-identify how we have our deployment plans and build-out plans," Sullivan said. "But it all has to be done within the framework of what voters and the taxpayers are willing to pay, and I fully respect that."
With all Williamson County precincts reporting results, the proposition received support from 1,846 voters, or 46.83% of the electorate, while 53.17% of voters, or 2,096 people, voted against it.
Updated Nov. 7, 11 p.m.
With 64 of 65 Williamson County election locations reporting results, a majority of the electorate voted against a proposition that would increase sales tax in Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 8 by 2% and allocate those dollars toward the ESD.
The proposition has received 1,845 votes in favor, or 46.88%, and 2,091 votes against, or 53.13%.
If results hold, ESD No. 8 will not be able to build additional fire stations to serve Georgetown's growing population, officials said.
Posted Nov. 7, 7:15 p.m.
A measure that would funnel 2% of sales tax from transactions within Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 8 toward the its operations is opposed by a little more than half of early voters.
As of 7 p.m. Williamson County is reporting early voting results. Called Proposition A, the measure has received 1,087 votes in favor of it and 1,111 votes, or 50.55%, against it.
What you need to know
ESD No. 8 provides fire and EMS services to more than 28,000 people living outside Georgetown city limits, primarily in the Georgetown extraterritorial jurisdiction. 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.
If approved by voters, Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan said 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 and helping to serve Georgetown’s growing population.
If it does not pass, ESD officials said it likely means no additional fire stations will be built.
The proposition, if passed, 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%.
Read more about the ESD, its partnership with the city of Georgetown and how it would be affected by the outcome of the election here.
What’s next?
Community Impact will update this article as more election day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
