Would property owners within the City Limits benefit from the creation of a new Emergency Services District enough to justify the additional property tax?
by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian
July 23rd, 2024
The Uvalde City Council will be meeting this evening at 6 PM on the second floor of City Hall for its second regular City Council meeting of the month of July,
The public is welcome to attend the meeting. A link to the live stream video feed can be found on the City of Uvalde Facebook Page prior to the meeting.
The agenda for tonight’s meeting and a pdf file of the meeting packet can be found below.
At tonight’s meeting, the City Council will consider the inclusion of municipal territory and extraterritorial jurisdiction in the proposed Uvalde County Emergency Services District No. 3, including approval of resolutions for the same. According to information provided with the item, it states: “ORDER OF CITY OF UVALDE APPROVING PARTICIPATION IN
THE ELECTION ON THE PETITION FOR THE CREATION OF UVALDE COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT NO. 3 “which would go into effect if tonight’s City Council approves the item.
Additionally the aforementioned document states: WHEREAS, the City Council, has received a request from petitioners and copy of the petition filed with the Uvalde County Commissioners Court signed by more than one hundred (100) qualified voters who own taxable real property within the area of Uvalde County, Texas, calling for the creation of an emergency services district to be known as
“Uvalde County Emergency Services District No. 3” (the “District”); and WHEREAS, the Petition has been set for a Public Hearing by the Commissioners Court to be held on August 12, 2024;
With the creation of a new Emergency Services District in the County, an additional entity funded by a determined property tax rate would be created to fund the District.
Other agenda items:
Consider approval of proposals for engineering services related to the development of a master water system plan. In a previous City Council meeting, the City Council voted not to pursue a committee recommended bid. The Council will likely consider the approval of an alternate bid.
The City Council will also hear reports presented by Uvalde Police Chief Homer Delgado of the Uvalde Police Department, David Smith of the Uvalde Municipal Golf Course and by Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Tourism Operations John Yeackle.
Agenda:
Use controls below the pdf files to see all pages
Agenda Packet:
Regular Council – Jul 23 2024 – Agenda – Pdf
A
What is an Emergency Services District?
The following is an exerpt from Q and A by Bill Longley TML Legislative Council
Texas Municipal League
What is an emergency services district?
“An emergency services district (ESD) is a political subdivision established pursuant to Chapter
775 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. An ESD generally supports or provides local
emergency services, which can include emergency medical services and fire protection services.
An ESD has the ability to impose both a sales and use tax and a property tax to support or
provide emergency services within the district. See TEX. HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE §§ 775.074,
775.0751. An ESD’s sales and use tax rate can range from anywhere between one-eighth of one
percent to two percent. Id. § 775.0751(a). An ESD’s property tax, meanwhile, may not exceed
ten cents per $100 of valuation. See TEX. CONST. art. III, §. 48-e.”
Can an ESD be created in a city’s territorial limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction without
city consent?
No. Before an ESD may be created that contains territory in a city’s limits or extraterritorial
jurisdiction (ETJ), the proponents of the ESD must submit a written request to the city council to
include the territory in the ESD. TEX. HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE § 775.014(a). The territory in
question may not be included in the ESD unless the city council gives its written consent on or
before the 60th day after the date the request is received. Id.
If the city council does not approve the request, a majority of the qualified voters and the owners
of 50 percent of the property in the city limits or ETJ that would have been included in the ESD
may petition the city council to make the emergency services available. Id. § 775.014(b). The
petition must be submitted not later than the 90th day after the date the city council received the
initial request. Id. If the city council refuses or fails to act on the petition within six months after
the petition is received, the council’s refusal or failure to act constitutes consent for the territory
to be included in the district. Id. § 775.014(c).
If the city council consents to the creation of the ESD within territory located in the city limits or
ETJ, or if consent is inferred due to inaction on the petition, several steps—including an election
ordered by the county commissioners court—must still take place in order for the ESD to be
created.
Once a city consents to having its territory included in an ESD, can the city later remove
the city territory from the ESD?
Likely not. There is no clear authority in Chapter 775 of the Health and Safety Code for a city to
remove itself or a portion of its territory from an ESD after it initially consented to the inclusion
of its territorial or extraterritorial jurisdiction when the ESD was formed.”
Office of the Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton re: Emergency Services Districts
Related
