Tax caps could hurt fire, EMS

By Raymond V. Whelan • Daily Tribune Staff Writer

BERTRAM - The Burnet County Commissioners Court is warning local fire and emergency medical service providers the Legislature could jeopardize funds they receive from the county in the future.

The problem is possible tax caps coming out of Austin, officials said, but one solution to a funding crisis could be emergency services districts.

About 75 percent of county revenue comes from property taxes, County Judge Donna Klaeger said Thursday during a workshop in Bertram at the Iron Star Hall.

“We want you to know your Legislature is interested in capping us,” the judge told several members of the Burnet County Emergency Services Association.

The commissioners took no action during the workshop regarding the establishment of emergency services districts in Burnet County.

An ESD is a voter-approved political subdivision that collects property taxes to fund fire protection and emergency medical services. Under the state constitution, an ESD can levy no more than 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Several personnel from county fire departments and EMS units attended the workshop to hear Precinct 2 Commissioner Russell Graeter, Precinct 3 Commissioner Ronny Hibler and Klaeger discuss ESDs as an alternative to receiving county funds.

“We got them up to date,” Klaeger told The Daily Tribune. “There is nothing more we can do.”

Currently, the only ESD in the county is Burnet County ESD No.1, which supports EMS providers in Horseshoe Bay, Blue Lake, Deer Haven, Oak Ridge and other small communities.

During the meeting, representatives from the Cassie Volunteer Fire Department said they had collected 140 signatures on a petition to form an ESD to finance fire protection in their area.

Weeks prior to the meeting, EMS officials from Burnet and Marble Falls said they also would support the establishment of two ESDs for EMS units, one to cover a northern section of the county, the other to cover a southern section.

Klaeger began the workshop by recalling there was “a lot of talk” during the 80th Legislature about caps on property taxes. But the session ended without lawmakers passing new restrictions on the amount of property tax revenue counties may collect, Klaeger added.

However, during a meeting over a land transfer between Gov. Rick Perry and the commissioners earlier this year, the governor hinted lawmakers would order counties to limit their property tax collections in the near future, Klaeger said.

If property tax caps become reality, county officials might have to cut funds to non-mandated services, including fire protection and EMS units, the judge said.

“I guarantee fire and EMS would be the last (services) to get cut,” Klaeger said. “I hope that gives you a little bit of comfort.”

Nevertheless, if the worst-case scenario for fire departments and EMS units prevails, “at some point, funding could cease from the county,” the judge told the crowd.

Furthermore, after caps on property tax collections by the county become law, the state could order the county to reserve more of its revenue for mandated services, such as indigent health care and indigent legal defense - perhaps even if property appraisals go down.

“It (the flow of tax revenue) may be beyond our control,” Hibler said. “That is a cold, hard fact.”

Klaeger said commissioners have conducted public hearings over the past several weeks on ESDs, and they will hold more hearings the first and third day of the month during upcoming weeks.

Meanwhile, with the possibility of receiving less money from the county, each fire department and EMS unit must make a decision on how they want to be funded in the future, she said, and consider whether an ESD is right for them.

The commissioners cannot dictate support for ESDs, Klaeger said.

“We want to keep you informed,” she said. “It is your deal. This is not the county making anybody do anything.”

All the commissioners can do is receive a petition for an ESD and forward the document to the county clerk, the judge added.

Then, Elections Administrator Melanie Huff will determine if the ESD petition complies with several legal requirements before it can go to voters for approval on an election ballot.

Next year, the first election date is May 10. The final date to call a May election is March 10, while the deadline to submit a petition for a proposed ESD is Jan. 22.

“I would suggest do not start your petition until you contact Melanie Huff, so you know you have all the information she will require to make her job easier,” Graeter told the crowd.

By the end of this month, Klaeger told The Daily Tribune, she would ask the governing bodies of each municipality in the county whether they would consent to include their extra-territorial jurisdiction within a proposed ESD.

raymond@thepicayune.com

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Tax caps could hurt fire, EMS