Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9, the governing body that manages and sets the budget for the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department, is proposing to increase the ad valorem tax rate from $0.05271 per $100 valuation to $0.06000 per $100 valuation. The tax rate affects the amount of property taxes paid annually by residents within the district's boundaries. For example, the owner of a $200,000 home paid about $106 in property taxes to the district under the existing tax rate and would pay about $120 under the new rate, a difference of roughly $14 dollars. The owner of a $300,000 home would see a difference of about $22 in yearly taxes. A notice of tax revenue Increase published by the district indicated it would raise overall property tax revenue by an estimated 13.74 percent with the new rate. Including tax revenue raised from new property added to the tax roll this year, the district could raise just under $23.3 million. Tim Gibson, the district's managing director, said the new revenue would help fund new apparatus and more personnel for the CFVFD as well as land acquisition for new fire stations. The district opened its Station No. 13 in the Bridgeland area on Aug. 25 and has plans to open more stations as the population continues to grow within the service area. Gibson said the tax rate increase allows the district to pay for its needs without loans, which he said benefits taxpayers in the long run. "The district does not want to seek loans and pay interest on such acquisitions to the maximum extent possible," Gibson said. "For example, a new fire station costing $4 million financed over 15 years at around 3.75 percent ends up costing the district an additional $1.2 million. The district can only earn on its best day about 2 percent in interest on its investments. The taxpayers come out way ahead by not financing these acquisitions." Commissioner Tommy Balez, who was elected in May, said he is undecided about how he will vote on the tax rate but noted the district is looking to tackle major expenditures next year. He said CFVFD officials project emergency response calls to increase by 1,500 calls per year over the next decade. "No matter which tax rate is adopted, effective rate or the proposed rate, the ESD will need to use over $20 million of its reserves in 2019," Balez said. "In the upcoming years, the district and Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department must recruit more volunteers, build 10 new fire stations, relocate or expand three fire stations, and add ambulances and engines to support additional stations." The district has seen yearly decreases to its ad valorem tax rate over the past few years. It adopted a rate of $0.06000 per $100 valuation in fiscal year 2014-15, which was steadily lowered to the existing rate of $0.05271 per $100 valuation, which was adopted at the start of FY 2017-18. Two public hearings have been set to give residents within the service area the ability to comment on the proposed increase. The first hearing is set for 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1. The second will take place at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8. Both hearings will take place at the HCESD No. 9 administration building, 9630 Telge Road, Houston. A map of the area that pays taxes to the district can be found here. Balez said his decision on whether to support the proposed tax rate increase will be informed in part by public views. "I take the public's opinions on taxes very seriously," he said. "Having said that, my discussions with the public are not limited to the public hearings. I have spoken with others and I have reviewed the obligations confronting the district. When I make my decision, my primary consideration is to attempt to ascertain what is in the best interest of the district." Commissioner David Langenberg, elected in 2016 and a former volunteer with CFVFD, said he supports the proposed increase but will also pay close attention to how residents respond. He said the funding will be crucial to making sure the department is adequately staffed and volunteers are not being overworked. "As our district continues to grow exponentially, we are asking more and more of our volunteers and [are] having to hire more and more part-time firefighters to provide much needed support for them," Langenberg said. "If this trend continues, we will eventually lose our volunteer support due to burn-out, and our hundreds of part-time employees will quit and move to other areas." Langenberg said, even with the increase, the district would still have a tax rate lower than other ESDs in the area. ESDs 13, 20 and 29—which fund the Cypress Creek, Champions Forest and Northwest volunteer fire departments, respectively—each had tax rates of $0.1000 per $100 of valuation in FY 2017-18, according to the state comptroller's office. ESD No. 7 in Spring had a rate of $0.09606. ESD No. 15 in Tomball had a rate of $0.04815, and voters rejected a ballot proposition in May to allow the district to raise its tax rate ceiling from 5 cents to 10 cents. Because it exceeds the rollback tax rate, if the proposed rate is adopted residents would be able to petition for an election on whether it should be lowered to the rollback rate. Gibson said he does not anticipate a rollback election. "The marginal cost to a taxpayer is small, and the community appreciates the fire and [emergency medical] service and wants prompt fire and EMS service provided by properly trained personnel," he said.