In Georgetown Fire’s ESD 8, sales tax is applied to the ballot after an increase in calls for help

GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Georgetown Fire Department said it is concerned about no longer being able to respond quickly enough to emergencies, particularly for residents who live just outside the city limits.

On the ballot, they are calling for a new sales tax that would help them fund expanding services to areas with longer wait times.

Georgetown is growing so quickly that its fire chief worries the department is having trouble keeping up with calls in some areas outside the city limits.

Calls for help are becoming more frequent every year in Georgetown.

“A little over 10 years ago we were responding to about 6,000 calls a year,” Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan said. “This year we’ll probably end up with over 17,000.”

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Sullivan is now making his own call for help to voters as he plans for the department’s next decade.

“We can’t wait for all of this to happen before we prepare for service demand,” Sullivan said.

Voters in ESD 8, an area just outside Georgetown city limits, will have the final say on imposing a 2 percent sales and use tax.

“We are asking for the ability to keep some sales tax dollars locally so they can be used to improve emergency services,” Sullivan said.

With ESD 8 there is already a sales tax of 6.25 percent, but this goes entirely to the state. That additional two percent would instead go exclusively to the fire department, generating an additional $4 million.

Ideally, this would reduce emergency response times.

“Brain death begins to occur and is irreversible after 8 minutes,” Sullivan said.

The Georgetown Fire Department attempts to arrive within 10 minutes or less, but at this time that goal is typically not met.

“Development is moving further and further away from our current fire stations,” Sullivan said.

“What we’re finding is that it now takes us 14, sometimes 17 minutes to get there, and when you have a longer response time, that has an impact on the aftermath of both fires and also on life itself.”

The $4 million would build three new fire stations and hire more firefighters over the next decade.

“This applies to everyone because when it comes to emergencies, it really isn’t discriminatory,” Sullivan said.

But voters have rejected the proposed sales tax before.

This choice is attempt number two.

“We’re coming back this year and asking them to provide more educational information and then based on their decision what level of service we can provide,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan believes the last proposal failed due to low voter turnout and a general lack of knowledge about what the sales tax would be used for.

If it passes, it will likely be added to sales tax in the first or second quarter of 2025.

According to state law, the value cannot be higher than 8.25 percent.