Conroe - Montgomery Edition | October 2024

Election

BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN

On Nov. 5, Montgomery residents will consider approving the creation of a crime control and prevention district, or CCPD, which would allocate a portion of sales tax revenue to the city’s police department. City Council first began the process of creating the CCPD in May and voted to include it on the Nov. 5 ballot during an Aug. 13 meeting, per prior reporting. Police Chief Anthony Solomon said CCPDs are beneficial for smaller cities that face similar challenges as large metropolitan areas but lack resources or funding. “When you’ve got a small city that’s surrounded by a huge metropolitan area like Montgomery County, ... you’ve got to equip a small police department like us ... with ... all the things that we need,” Solomon said. Montgomery sends CCPD to Nov. 5 ballot

Current situation

The specifics

If approved, the CCPD would operate for five years, after which citizens would vote again to decide its continuation, Montgomery Mayor Sara Countryman said. Countryman said she believes this is a “win- win situation” and would free up money to be set aside for the police department’s budget every fiscal year. The creation of the CCPD would also save approximately $1 million from the general fund. “We can reinvest in the community here through our general fund for the roads, for the water and infrastructure. ... It’s freeing up dol- lars so we can focus on that for the residents,” Countryman said. By 2026, Montgomery’s population is set to double and will continue to grow with the current development plans, Solomon said, and approving the CCPD would allow city officials to reallocate funds from the budget to better prepare for the population increase. The creation of the CCPD would not result in a tax increase and would not change the overall sales tax rate, Countryman said.

The CCPD would be funded through sales tax revenue and would reallocate half of the one- half portion of sales tax dedicated to economic development to the district, Countryman said. If the proposition to create the CCPD passes, city officials would file paperwork with the state of Texas to begin the process of modifying the sales tax distribution. Solomon said with businesses such as Home Depot, Sherwin Williams and Firestone Com- plete Auto Care set to open soon, he believes the Montgomery Economic Development Corporation would not see much of a deficit. MEDC Vice President Arnette Easley said he supports the CCPD’s creation. “We’re not going to be hand feeding them forever. It’s just enough for them to get started, and then we’ll be making more from the busi- nesses that are coming in,” Easley said.

Sales tax: 2%

The crime control and prevention district could fund:

1% goes to city

1% goes to the Montgomery Economic Development Corporation

Montgomery's FY 2024-25 general fund budget

The financing and construction of a new police station

Costs related to recruitment and training of police officers

Courts: $337K (4.96%) Public Works: $1.18M (17.45%) Administration: $2.56M (37.66%) Police: $2.71M (39.9%)

If the CCPD is approved

Upgrading equipment, technology and vehicle replacement

Total: $6.78M

Supporting crime prevention and partner programs

The CCPD would get 0.5%

The MEDC’s portion of sales tax would decrease to 0.5%

SOURCE: CITY OF MONTGOMERY/COMMUNITY IMPACT

Quotes of note

Also of note

“They made it very clear that we’re not going to have a tax increase, that we are going to have more funds available to make it possible for our town to be even safer." MERRIAM WALKER, A 25-YEAR MONTGOMERY RESIDENT

“If this district is going to create funds that the city can allocate back toward the city infrastructure, particularly, it’s a no brainer. ... We don’t mind giving this district its start." ARNETTE EASLEY, MONTGOMERY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION VICE PRESIDENT

November voters will also consider term extensions. Council members and the mayor serve two-year terms; however, those terms could become four years after a three-year term transition period following the May 2025 election, according to the ballot language.

CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION