Early voting results for the Nov. 5 election show voters aren't in favor of allowing a Fulshear-area fire department to collect sales tax to fund its future growth.
What you need to know
Fort Bend County Emergency Services District No. 4, also known as the Fulshear-Simonton Fire Department, put a proposal on the ballot to collect up to 2% of sales tax from within its 106-square-mile service area. Early voting results show 14,557 voters are in favor of the entity collecting sales tax, while 17,197 voters aren't.
The department provides services to the cities of Fulshear, Simonton and Weston Lakes, which includes about 120,000 residents, officials said.
Understanding the proposition
The state of Texas collects a 6.25% sales tax on every dollar spent on goods and some services, and entities have the ability to collect up to an additional 2% tax, with the total not to exceed 8.25% in any area, said Kevin Lyons, spokesperson for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
The “yes” vote on the ESD’s Proposition A would have prevented other future governmental entities from seeking those funds in the future, officials said.
ESD No. 4 officials said they sought the election because property tax revenue isn’t enough to keep up with the area’s future growth.
Demographic firm Population and Survey Analysts projected in a 2021 report 14,695 new housing units will join ESD No. 4’s boundaries between 2025-30. If each unit has three occupants, this equates to a growth of about 44,000 residents, district officials said.
If approved, ESD No. 4 board President Ed Krenek said the sales tax revenue would help fund:
- Improved training capabilities with a new facility
- Operational costs, including staff
- Salary increases
In the 12 days of early voting Oct. 21-Nov. 1, 297,649 voters—representing over 53% of registered voters—cast their ballots in Fort Bend County. This falls short of the 62% of voters who cast ballots in the last presidential election in November 2020, which had a longer early voting period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Texas Secretary of State Office’s website.
The polls closed at 7 p.m., but voters who were in line before closing will still be able to cast their ballots, per state law.
What’s next
Community Impact will update this article as more Election Day 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.
