by WES FERGUSON
The Buda Fire Department is maneuvering to lock up hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales tax revenues – while locking out area cities from the same pool of money.
During a heated exchange with Fire Chief Clay Huckaby on Tuesday night, some Buda City Council members said they were “pissed” about the “sneak attack,” and they vowed to fight back.
“I’m so disappointed. I hate to feel betrayed, but I do,” said Sandra Tenorio, Buda’s mayor pro tem. “I feel stabbed in the back. You know what this means to the city.”
The dispute stems from an election coming up on Nov. 8. The fire department’s taxing district – the Hays County Emergency Services District No. 8 – is asking voters to approve a sales tax rate increase for unincorporated areas of northeastern Hays County. An increase from the current 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent is estimated to generate an additional $500,000 every year for the fire department.
Huckaby says the money will be used for a new ladder truck, more firefighters and greater emergency protection across more than 75 square miles from Driftwood to Niederwald. Read Buda Fire Chief Clay Huckaby’s prepared remarks to the Buda City Council.
But Buda city leaders say the fire department’s efforts will effectively kill their own plans to annex and develop a large industrial corridor along Interstate 35 and other areas outside of city limits.
The city has already spent millions of dollars on road and water projects to lay the groundwork for the planned expansion. With no chance to generate sales tax revenues, however, there’s no reason for the city to spend another nickel on those projects, City Council members told Huckaby.
“You need to understand why people are so pissed about this,” Tenorio said. “People say we’re mad because you got there first. No, it’s because we invested a lot of money to get there and now we’re not there. You beat us to it.”
“We’re not trying to stop economic growth,” Huckaby countered. “We need it as much as you do.”
But if the measure gains voter approval, council members noted, there would be no more incentive packages like the one that brought U.S. Foods to Buda. With a low property tax rate, Buda relies on sales taxes for more than half of its city budget, while sales tax revenues comprise 98 percent of the budget for the Buda Economic Development Corp.
“(The areas) will probably remain undeveloped, because you have the whole piece of the pie and there’s no incentive for the city to develop it,” City Councilman Todd Ruge said.
Ken Campbell, the attorney for the emergency services district, said that in the future the district could step in to offer economic incentives to lure businesses to the area.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Huckaby also attacked Buda City Manager Kenneth Williams, claiming that Williams had vowed to kill the election. He said the fire department’s relationship with the city was deteriorating. Read Buda City Manager Kenneth Williams’ prepared remarks asking the Hays County Emergency Services District No. 8 to void the election.
“I understand the harshness, but we felt that we were attacked and now we’re trying to defend ourselves from being treated almost like third-rate citizens,” Huckaby said.
Tenorio also questioned whether Buda Mayor Sarah Mangham knew of the election long before the other council members, and she pressed the mayor to take a stand for or against the fire department’s plans.
“If somebody wants to take the entire penny and a half (tax rate) that the city was looking toward, is that a fiscal policy we should embrace or something we should be concerned about?” Tenorio asked.
“As a city we need to be concerned about that,” Mangham replied, after first saying the fire department had every right to claim the tax revenue. “But there’s a lot of things I don’t feel necessary about jumping on out there and saying it.”
Related stories:
