House Rep. Jason Isaac, Urges North Hays Co. To Vote No to Tax Increase of 133%

April 22, 2016

0 1 minute read

Dear Friends,

North Hays County Emergency Services District #1 wants to raise its tax rate by 133%.

If you live in Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Henly, or the Dripping Springs ETJ, I urge you to join me in voting NO in the upcoming local election held on May 7.

ESD #1 can currently levy property taxes at a rate of three cents per $100 of a home’s property value. It currently taxes below that cap at 2.52 cents. The proposition would raise the cap to seven cents. Again, that’s more than doublethe current maximum rate and greater than 175% of the current actual rate.

While everyone agrees that these services are and should remain a priority, especially as our community continues to grow, there’s simply no reason for such a large increase.

Property taxes are already a significant financial burden for many Texas families. For unelected bureaucrats to seek such a large and unjustified increase is simply irresponsible. This is especially critical for our community, where many families choose to live in order to avoid Austin’s high taxes and overregulation.

The ESD claims this increase is necessary because its contractor, San Marcos Hays County EMS, has raised its fees. However, in the same independent report the ESD is using to justify this request, the board admits it is “uncertain as to what extent [its] role was in overseeing the contractor.” One board member went so far as to say that “the board was not certain about what was and was not working in the EMS system.” With such a flagrant lack of oversight, I ask: How can the board be sure SMHCEMS is fulfilling the terms of its contract in a fiscally responsible manner? If the ESD is not satisfied with the fees it is being charged, why has it not put out an RFP seeking other providers that can achieve acceptable service levels at lower costs?

It seems to me that blindly paying more money for the same level of service and using fear tactics to scare voters into raising their taxes is the easy way — not the right way.