BY CLAIRE SHOOP
Sales tax breakdown
Looking ahead
Explained
City
6.25%: state of Texas 1%: general operating purposes 0.5%: transportation improvements 0.25%: street maintenance 0.125%: Georgetown Economic Development Corp. 0.125%: property tax relief
During the ESD’s education efforts, Sullivan said the department found people have misconceptions about what the increased sales tax would mean. He said many people believed the rate in the ESD was already 8.25% and that approval of the proposition would raise the rate to 10.25%. This is untrue, as the sales tax rate in the ESD is 6.25%—with all of the revenue going to the state. The election would raise the rate to 8.25%, with the extra 2% remaining with the ESD. Sullivan said many retailers, including online sellers, are already charging residents of the ESD 8.25%, and all of those dollars are going to the state. “In this type of initiative, what we’re doing is we’re trying to provide more local control for how those dollars are spent,” Sullivan said. Justin Word, one of the five commissioners for ESD 8, said another misconception is the thought that with all the new home growth, the ESD’s property tax rate of $0.096817 per $100 valuation would be able to sufficiently fund its operations.
If approved, Sullivan said the sales tax would provide the ESD $4 million more in revenue annually. If it’s not approved, Word said the district has no way to execute on the 10-year plan, meaning fire stations don’t get built and response times risk getting longer. Neither ESD officials nor other involved parties had heard about any coordinated efforts against the proposition. ESD resident Tom Grinstead went to an ESD event where he first heard about the ballot measure. He said he’s not worried about the sales tax increase, especially after learning he’s often already paying an 8.25% sales tax. He said he wasn’t aware of the ballot measure last year, and doesn’t know if he saw it or how he voted. He fears the same thing will happen to others. “I hope we’ve … gotten the message out there so they understand what they’re voting for,” Word said.
8.25%
Current
ESD 8
6.25%: state of Texas
2%: ESD 8
Current
6.25%
8.25%
If approved
SOURCES: CITY OF GEORGETOWN, EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT NO. 8/COMMUNITY IMPACT
He said a higher property tax rate would bring in the money to cover rising costs, but the state limits ESD property tax rates to $0.10 per $100 valuation. Additionally, Sullivan said adding a sales tax to the ESD’s revenue streams distributes the tax burden to more than just residents of the ESD, with visitors to the area now helping to pay for services.
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