Election
BY AUBREY HOWELL
Fulshear voters will determine whether to increase the city’s general fund sales tax from 1% to 1.25% while reducing the city’s Economic Development Corp. A-Board sales tax from 0.5% to 0.25% during a May 2 special election. The proposition comes after a police pay subcommittee determined Fulshear’s wages were around the 55th percentile in pay compared to surrounding departments. If approved, the reallocated sales tax would be available for any “lawful municipal purpose,” including police services, economic development or other City Council priorities, per the city’s website. However, o cials speci ed this would be moving money to a di erent source and will not increase the 2% sales tax rate. Voters weigh tax reallocation
Why it matters
Fulshear sales tax split General fund: the city’s primary operating
Current Proposed
1% 1.25%
If approved, the change will take e ect in scal year 2026-27, which begins in October. The subcommittee recommended a three-year plan to adjust police pay annually including o cers reaching the:
fund nancing general government services such as public safety, street maintenance and administrative activities EDC-A: funds industrial development projects such as business infrastructure and manufacturing as well as research and development EDC-B: can fund all projects eligible for EDC-A, as well as parks, museums, sports facilities and a ordable housing
• 55th percentile in FY 2026-27 • 65th percentile in FY 2027-28 • 75th percentile in FY 2028-29
0.5%
0.25% 0.5%
The funding could help the city keep up with agencies including the Houston Police Department and Harris County who both approved increases to law enforcement pay last year, Community Impact reported. “We can’t do it all in one step, that’s a huge undertaking, but what we can do is we can take incremental progress in order to get there and show a path of how we’re going to get there,” council member Jason Knape previously said.
0.5%
Ballot language
“The reduction of the sales and use tax for the promotion and development of new and expanded business enterprises by a rate of ¼ of one percent; and the adoption of a local sales and use tax in the City of Fulshear at the rate of 1 and ¼ percent.”
SOURCE: CITY OF FULSHEAR COMMUNITY IMPACT
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