Montgomery County firefighters celebrate successful elections except ESD 14

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - Election Day was a great day for firefighters in Montgomery County, and even greater for the residents who voted in favor of the propositions that will save lives and property. There’s power in numbers, but not enough numbers voted in favor of the proposition in Montgomery County Emergency Services District 14(MC ESD #14)for improved fire protection. The measure of difference...just fifteen votes.

Unfortunately MC ESD #14 was the lone loser in the Montgomery County election where all the other ESDs won their elections overwhelmingly. ESD 14 is the Timber Lakes Volunteer Fire Department in South Montgomery County that services the Timber Lakes - Timber Ridge subdivision covering Sawdust Road to Glen Loch Drive. It’s also the only 100% volunteer fire department in the county.

At the heart of the matter was a proposition to increase the sales tax in the TL-TR area by 2%. The most immediate need is a new fire station to replace the 47-year old outdated station built in 1969. The station is not equipped for overnight stays which is the difference between a 5-minute response time and a 10-minute response time.

“Response times are crucial and staffing of a new station will help reduce times drastically,” said Brandon Sanson, spokesperson for the Timber Lakes Professional Firefighters PAC. “As the service area and population grows, so do the needs of our fire department. We need to be able to offer the same level of services the rest of the county has the ability to do.”

Without the funding the all-volunteer Timber Lakes Fire Department will not be able to grow proportionately with the community. Supporting the 2% Sales and Use Tax would provide the essential funds without raising property taxes. Residents in this area are already paying this tax rate on their cell phone bills and utility bills, and are willing to pay this same tax rate when they drive out of their subdivision to shop the surrounding areas. In fact, there are very few businesses within the subdivision to implement the tax increase.

“There aren’t a lot of businesses in this area, but every little bit helps,” said Sanson. “The voters are already paying this tax rate elsewhere. We’re just asking for the same sales tax rate as the rest of the county.”

Losing by a very narrow margin, those who voted against the proposition totaled 168 (52.17%); 154 (47.83%) voted in favor of it. By law another election can’t be held within the same year, but the ESD is discussing the possibility of asking the voters to return to the polls next May, when another county election will be held.

The outcome was disappointing given the rest of the county voted in favor of propositions to improve fire protection, yet one of the fire districts that needed community support the most, was voted down.

“Through better communication we hope to help the community know how we can better help them, if they help us help them,” said Sanson.