TOWN HALL MEETING FOR CHAPPELL HILL – MEYERSVILLE EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT JUNE 20
The Chappell Hill and Meyersville Volunteer Fire Departments will host a town hall meeting next week to offer more information about a proposed Emergency Services District (ESD) to support fire protection services.
proposed Emergency Services District
(ESD) for the Chappell Hill and
Meyersville Volunteer Fire
Departments.
(courtesy Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire
Dept.)
The meeting will be held on Thursday, June 20th at 6:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Chappell Hill, 7675 FM 2447.
At the meeting, fire department members will provide details about what an ESD is, its potential impact on the Chappell Hill and Meyersville VFDs, and what that would mean for their communities.
Initial details on the ESD were shared during a presentation to county commissioners in December 2023. At the time, the departments said they would look to receive funding via the levying of an ad valorem tax of no more than 10 cents per $100 valuation on residents living within the boundaries of either department’s service territory, excluding the City of Brenham’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
The presentation on June 20th will last roughly 30 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session. For those who wish to support the initiative, there will also be a petition to place the ESD on the ballot.
The meeting is intended for those who will be directly affected by the ESD, so event organizers ask that only those who live within the proposed district in the eastern portion of the county attend, in order for there to be enough room for them.
Anyone who has questions or would like to know if they live inside the proposed district can contact the ESD committee at wacounty.esdone.questions@gmail.com.
I’m trying to pay less on taxes, not more.
ESD are not the answer!! Our taxes will go up – NO!
The volunteer fire department will eventually go away! ESD takes over all the vol fire depts equipment. (Eventually)
After the ESD is put into place any and all equipment, gear whatever is not the vol fire depts it is the ESD … New truck – ESD,
New fire gear – ESD sooner or later the ESD will take over and put career FF in place and the vol fire dept will go away.
TAXES WILL GO UP!!!
Not a fan of ESD
I don’t see this as being a bad thing. I have toured Chappell Hills station and talked with one of their Captains. Donations are trending down; volunteers are down. If you are against this, know there may not be a fire department within three years if this doesn’t pass. I understand your point if you are okay with not having a fire department. Both of these agencies are not getting any more volunteers. If you say taxes will increase, you should probably tell how much. This is the way it was explained to me.
Your home market Value is $500,000, you have $100,000 in ag exemption, and the remaining taxable amount is $400,000. You would only pay $400 a year for fire protection. I don’t know about you, but I blow money on dumb things yearly that equal more than that. This is a positive thing for the community to ensure adequate equipment and fire trucks.
Insurance premiums also are influenced by distance from fire stations, their capabilities, their water supply, good organization and communication and other factors. A well-funded ESD would probably reduce insurance premiums some. Not sure that it would be $400 but if you have professionalized services and it costs you $200 per year net of premiums on a $500k house, that may not be such a bad deal. Chappell Hill is growing so fast that this is probably inevitable. Just a matter of time. Like it or not, Houston is coming this way. There’s nothing we can do to stop it.
The City of Brenham is also directing a lot of resources toward a second fire station and I really wish that somebody somewhere would step forward and explain to the public how this all works and what makes it a good idea.