Measure would allow North Hays County to move tax cap
HAYS COUNTY — North Hays County Emergency Services District 1 (ESD1) is seeking the voters’ approval of Proposition A — a measure that, if approved, would move the tax cap for ESD1 from the current rate of $0.03/$100 of assessed home value to $0.10/$100 assessed value — the maximum allowed by the state of Texas.
Proposition A is the first step in addressing the growth of the area and ESD1’s needs, according to Bob Luddy, vice president of North Hays County ESD1. The impetus for the measure, he said, is a long-range plan to guide the district in expanding the services it provides. It is not, however, a tax increase. Approval would simply allow ESD1 to come back to voters at a future time to approve a higher tax rate if it is needed due to the growth facing the area.
North Hays EMS is one of the largest ESDs in the state, according to the geographic area served, and is one of the lowest funded in terms of revenue collected, Luddy said, noting that ESD1 covers the entire northern part of Hays County — roughly from Wimberley in the south to Travis County in the east and Blanco County in the west.
North Hays EMS contracts with San Marcos/Hays County EMS to provide EMS services to this area. There are three ambulances staffed around the clock, with an additional part-time ambulance staffed 12 hours a day during peak call volume times.
The district is constructing two new stations, strategically placed north and east of Dripping Springs, to combat the increasing call volume in those areas. Each of these stations is designed to accommodate up to three ambulances and crews to accommodate future growth.
“The growth of the area has led to an increase in the amount of 911 calls generated and the majority of calls are no longer in and near Dripping Springs,” Luddy said. “Call volume has decentralized and has moved away from Dripping Springs proper. This has led to ESD1 needing to move both ambulance station locations to address moving call volume areas and to add ambulances to address the overall increase in call volume.”
While North Hays EMS response times average under eight minutes to calls along the U.S. 290 corridor, with an overall response averaging for the entire district being just under 15 minutes, there are some areas that take EMS between 20-24 minutes to get to, mainly in the north and west areas of the district, the vice president explained.
“The increase in 911 calls combined with the increased response and transport times can lead to rare instances of ambulances not being able to arrive to an emergency in a timely manner,” Luddy said.
However, Proposition A, in and of itself, will not alleviate these issues. Should voters approve the measure, it would allow ESD1 to seek additional revenue that would be used to address population growth and increasing call volume utilizing its ad valorem, or property, tax.
Texas state law controls how ESDs can generate revenue through taxes and how much a district can tax. The maximum rate that any ESD can tax the citizens it serves is $0.10 per $100 dollars of assessed value, with the assessment being set by the county.
Most ESDs in the state tax at more than $0.05/$100 and almost every newly formed ESD immediately sets the rate at the maximum of $0.10/$100.
“When North ESD1 was formed about 35 years ago, the monetary requirements for providing EMS services were vastly different than they are today,” Luddy said. “At the time, the tax rate was set at $0.02/$100, which was raised to the current rate of $0.03/$100 about nine years later. North Hays ESD1 has been operating under that rate for the past 26 years. Under the current ESD1 tax rate, a home assessed at half a million dollars pays $150 in taxes annually for EMS service.”
Luddy stressed that this is not a tax increase. Approval of Proposition A would only allow ESD1 to potentially bring a tax increase to the voters in a future election.
“If Proposition A is not approved, ESD1 would not have any way to increase revenue in the future,” he said. “This could hamper increasing EMS services to the community.”
Proposition A is on the ballot for the May 6 election. For more information about the election, visit www.hayscountytx.com/departments/elections.
