By Andy Sevilla
As the city of Kyle expands its borders to attract more business and new residents continue to flock into the once sleepy suburb, the city’s fire department is preparing for increased service despite barely keeping its head above water.
Sour feelings emerged after the city and its fire department found themselves at odds over a sales tax sharing plan that never was. The Hays County Emergency Services District Number 5 (ESD #5) that oversees the Kyle Fire Department called for a Sales & Use Tax election in July, moments after discussions failed between both government entities over a sales tax sharing plan.
The interlocal sales tax agreement the city pushed forward granted ESD #5 a .05 percent sales tax outside of the city limits, but once Kyle annexed those areas, ESD #5 would have to give up their slice of the pie.
“The half-cent is all what we were asking for originally, but you sent us back an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that said, ‘we want it all when we annex that land,’” Fire Chief Kyle Taylor told council members at a joint workshop Oct. 3. “Well we have to grow somehow. We can’t raise (property) taxes. We have a ten-cent cap [on ad valorem taxes] and we’re at that cap.”
In an effort to “mend the fences,” Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson and council member Samantha LeMense met in late September with ESD #5 Commissioners Susan Meckel and Eric Holen, along with Kyle Fire Chief Kyle Taylor and ESD #5 lawyer Ken Campbell, in a closed-door meeting to discuss an amicable solution to the impasse.
Taylor said while that meeting and the subsequent workshop with city council went well, and the city will support ESD #5 on the election, it did not change the council’s feeling on annexation.
“I proposed they postpone the annexation,” Taylor said.
A delay of annexation would give ESD #5 a chance to stockpile some funds, potentially up to $20,000 a year based on current sales tax projections.
“Now we can expect half of that,” he said.
That additional money would possibly allow the department to hire more firefighters. Taylor would like to have 33 by 2019. Right now, he has 15.
“I understand [the council is] doing what’s right for the city to keep up with growth. But we’re serving the same growth. Sales tax is our only hope for getting more revenue,” Taylor said.
At the Oct. 3 workshop Taylor told city officials that the fire department’s present revenue flow cannot keep up with the city’s projected population growth and that the .05 sales tax generated within Kyle’s extra territorial jurisdiction is critical to help bridge the gap.
“This is way below what your comprehensive plan (projected growth) shows where we will need to be – number of spaces, number of personnel – and this doubles our budget and in five years we will not be there,” Taylor said. “At the growth of our ad valorem taxes right now, it’s just not there.”
On Oct. 3, council member Ray Bryant, who learned of the closed-door meeting that night, took exception with Johnson and LeMense meeting with ESD #5 commissioners. He asked why that discussion did not take place in the open where all officials could be involved.
LeMense said the meeting was informal and meant as a “Kumbaya” moment to repair hurt feelings over the sales tax debacle.
Johnson said the closed-door meeting resulted in the city presenting a resolution showing support of the ESD #5 election and the right for the ESD to continue to receive that half-cent in all properties annexed by the city after the November election. On Tuesday, city officials approved that resolution.
City officials, however, have also pursued an aggressive expansion of their borders since July, particularly lands pegged as future commercial hubs. The council approved the annexation of over 2,500 acres of land on first reading. They will take annexation up in final reading on Oct.15., keeping ESD #5 from collecting sales taxes on those expected high-retail properties even if voters approve the move in November.
