ELECTION 2025: CHAPPELL HILL & MEYERSVILLE VFD EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT
For residents living on the east side of Washington County, an election is underway that could reshape how two local volunteer fire departments are funded.
emergency services district for the Chappell
Hill and Meyersville Volunteer Fire Departments.
The area of the ESD would align with the service
area of the two departments, not including the City
of Brenham's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
A proposition is available to voters within the service territories of the Chappell Hill and Meyersville Volunteer Fire Departments that would establish the county’s first emergency services district (ESD). The ESD would become the primary source of funding for the fire departments by setting an ad valorem tax of up to $0.10 per $100 valuation on residents in those fire districts, not including people who live in the City of Brenham’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Chappell Hill VFD captain and president Dustin Brown, who is also the ESD committee chairman for both fire departments, says they have relied on donations, fundraisers and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the county to support department operations. He says as calls for service in their territories rapidly grow, a more reliable funding source is needed to replace outdated equipment and an aging fleet of vehicles.
An ESD board, consisting of five members appointed by county commissioners and who live and vote inside the district, would set the ESD tax rate after reviewing the budgets and capital needs from both departments. The board must provide yearly audits, hold monthly meetings and submit reports to commissioners.
If the ESD is approved and once it is established, the county’s MOU for funding the two departments would be cancelled. They would also need to build a new agreement for dispatching services to cover their districts, but Brown says the relationships with other local agencies like EMS, the sheriff’s office and DPS should remain mostly unchanged.
Among the complaints of those against the ESD proposal have included criticism of imposing a new tax and establishing a new government entity separate from the county, arguing it would create unnecessary duplication of administrative services and possible opportunities for wasteful spending.
Brown invites anyone who has questions about the ESD to meet with either of the fire departments to learn about their situation and why they believe this path will improve the level of service provided to citizens.
ESD questions can also be submitted by email to wacounty.esdone.questions@gmail.com.
Click below to hear the full interview with Dustin Brown.
Start with $.10 and just wait and see what is next!!
When the ESD finds that the $.10 is not enough then they will want charge sales tax and user/service fees. There’s already talk on all the various FB posts about annexing the other VFDs into 1 county wide ESD. This will have to be voted on by each area just like now. The County’s tax base is much larger than the ESDs will be and is growing daily with all the new subdivisions being built or in planning stages.
no new taxes
Washington County taxpayers are already paying taxes for emergency services- These taxes are what pays for public safety.
Washington County commissioners court approves funding for EMS, COMMUNICATIONS, SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT,
and FIRE.
if this esd passes this is double taxation for the property owners in the proposed esd 1 .
I realize the need for more funding but there is a better way than the esd which if voted in will never go away- a tax debt you will be passing on to your kids and grandkids and 10 cents per 100. adds up quickly.
A $500,000. property valuation is a additional $500.00 on your annual taxes.
Washington County has helped fund county volunteer fire departments for over 50 years. Now we are going to get slammed with more taxes that will continue to increase as property valuations skyrocket.
Commissioners court has to be accountable to constituents/ taxpayers.
Any agency requesting taxpayer funds need to show the need, budget responsibly, plan ahead, and work with our County leaders which have been looking into better ways for additional funds for Fire Services.
Our county fire service has been making huge progress in the service they provide with limited funds.
I realize the need for increasing funding for all of our county fire departments and the best way is working together with all 10 of the county fire departments and our commissioners court to avoid duplication of services and expenses in order to provide the best fire services for the taxpayer dollars. This premature esd effort which will benefit only 2 of our 10 County fire Departments and is most certainly unfair to the property owners of the proposed esd1 due to the double taxation just for these property owners.
If the esd passes there is no more funding for Meyersville and Chappell Hill fire departments from our current washington County taxes.
ALL funding will be from property owners taxes paid to the esd1 taxing entity.
Basically you are signing a blank check by voting for the esd1
County taxpayers need to be aware of the tax burden if this esd vote passes and need be get informed.
It’s unfortunate that a different idea for handling fire protection in our county is labeled as misinformation. We have stated numerous times in our emails, mail outs and FB posts that we support the VFDs we just don’t believe an ESD is the proper approach. We believe Commissioners Court should take responsibility for fire protection on a county wide basis just like they do for all other emergency services in conjunction with the VFDs. The ESD will impose a property tax ONLY on the property owners in the Chappell Hill and Meyersville VFD districts. In response to this, the proponents of the ESD say this is only the first and once it’s passed all the other VFDs will be annexed into it. In other words, they say we will end up with a county wide approach but through an ESD which is appointed by and answerable to the Commissioners Court. If that is indeed the case, it makes no sense to us to have two governmental entities, one answering to the other to provide fire protection to the whole county. If it is not the case, we will end up with 1 or more patchwork ESDs covering some parts of the county and not others with all of the complications and problems associated with it.
For more information interested voters can also contact the “Vote No WC ESD 1” group at votenowcesd1@gmail.com or see their Facebook page “Vote No WC ESD 1”.
It’s unfortunate that a different view for handling fire protection in our county is labeled as misinformation. We have stated numerous times in our emails, mail outs and FB posts that we support the VFDs we just don’t believe an ESD is the proper approach. We believe Commissioners Court should take responsibility for fire protection on a county wide basis just like they do for all other emergency services in conjunction with the VFDs. The ESD will impose a property tax ONLY on the property owners in the Chappell Hill and Meyersville VFD districts. In response to this, the proponents of the ESD say this is only the first and once it’s passed all the other VFDs will be annexed into it. In other words, they say we will end up with a county wide approach but through an ESD which is appointed by and answerable to the Commissioners Court. If that is indeed the case, it makes no sense to us to have two governmental entities, one answering to the other to provide fire protection to the whole county. If it is not the case, we will end up with 1 or more patchwork ESDs covering some parts of the county and not others with all of the complications and problems associated with it.
For more information interested voters can also contact the “Vote No WC ESD 1” group at votenowcesd1@gmail.com or see their Facebook page “Vote No WC ESD 1”.