Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9 adopted its 2017-18 budget last month, which included lowering the tax rate in the district while setting the groundwork for a new station. Operating expenses increased from $30,706,689 in the 2016-17 budget to $31,880,631 in this year's budget. The $1 million increase can be attributed to costs associated with medical equipment remediation and expenses associated with the May 2018 election. Capital expenditures decreased in the 2017-18 budget as the district wraps up construction on four new stations that received that were funded in 2017. The capital projects budget for 2018 includes $6 million for construction on Station 14 as well as $4.5 million for modifications to current facilities. The location for Station 14 has not been determined. Overall budget revenues exceeded expenditures by $19 million, which will be put in the district’s reserves. Website and community outreach expenses have been cut in half to $5,000, while payroll for ESD No.9 is up $30,000 and professional consulting costs have dropped $200,000. The district adopted an effective tax rate of $0.052710 per $100 valuation for the 2017-18 fiscal year, a decrease from last year's rate of $0.05331 per $100 valuation. The effective tax rate is calculated based on how much the rate needs to be changed in order for the district to bring in the same amount of revenue as the previous year.