Population growth and increased calls for services have prompted the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department to ask voters permission to collect 1 percent in sales tax revenue from purchases made in its service area. If approved in the May 11 election, the extra collections would result in an estimated extra $6 million annually for the department.
"The ESD has recognized that to continue to grow at the rate we're going, we need an avenue of additional funds," said Joe Davis, Cy-Fair VFD chief. "We can continue to provide services, but eventually it may entail a property tax [increase]. Instead of that, we're trying to go this route because we have so many people coming through our territory. We estimate about 300,000 people travel through our area daily, and they spend money within our area."
Funding issues
The Cy-Fair VFD serves 155 square miles of unincorporated northwest Harris County, including the majority of Cy-Fair ISD. The department has collected 6 cents per $100 value in taxes since 1994, yet in the past 10 years the service area has increased in population from about 247,800 to about 411,000 residents.
"Right now, the taxpayers and property owners are carrying the entire burden," said Bob Janusaitis, commissioner for Harris County ESD No. 9, which funds the Cy-Fair VFD. "We have people driving through or visiting who aren't participating, so [this proposal] appeared to us to be more equitable than raising [property taxes]."
The department began collecting taxes in 1984 when it became a rural fire protection district. The three cents per $100 of valuation that the 1984 designation allowed the department to levy was matched 10 years later when the Cy-Fair VFD became an emergency services district. Since then, the district has relied on steady growth in the community to continue providing services to the area without raising taxes or collecting sales tax.
One setback the department has encountered involves the strategic partnership agreements—or limited purpose annexations—the City of Houston has with utility districts in many of Cy-Fair's commercial areas. In Texas, no more than 8.25 percent sales tax may be collected on purchased items. The state keeps 6.25 percent of sales tax from purchases, and many large counties—including Harris County—have a metropolitan transit authority that levies an additional 1 percent.
Consumers pay 7.25 percent sales tax on items purchased in unincorporated areas, as opposed to 8.25 percent in a city, except in those areas that belong to an SPA. More than 24,000 businesses are within the Cy-Fair VFD's service area, and about 18,865 are in areas that have SPA's with the city. Therefore, the department could only collect the extra penny of sales tax from 20 percent of businesses—or the remaining 5,135—in its service area.
"We're providing fire, rescue and ambulance service to those areas, and the City of Houston isn't," Janusaitis said. "They're taking the funds, and we aren't getting any tangible benefit from that."
Future needs
For the past year, the Cy-Fair VFD has worked on a long-range plan that studies population growth, transportation and construction of schools and churches to determine the department's needs. If voters approve the proposal, the extra money will go toward equipment, required mandates, expanding ambulance services—which make up 80 percent of the department's 30,000 calls annually— and constructing several future fire stations.
"With [the Grand Parkway] coming in, we estimate we'll need about four stations out that way as it develops," Davis said.
Renovations of existing stations are also needed.
"Some of these buildings have been there with the same air conditioning for well over 15 or 20 years, so they haven't really been renovated," Davis said.
If the proposal does not pass, the Cy-Fair VFD could risk having to cut services in coming years or consider a property tax increase.
"There are a whole bunch of downstream consequences," Janusaitis said. "You never want to get to the point of cutting services, but looking down the road, that could be a possibility."
