Pflugerville FD board rejects tax rate petition

The Pflugerville Fire Department Board of Commissioners unanimously rejected an initiative petition that sought to reduce the department’s local tax revenue.

“Based upon the advice of (legal) counsel and having duly considered the petition presented, we understand it is not consistent with the law and therefore not something we can accept,” Board President Rico Reyes said during a Jan. 17 meeting. 

Pflugerville Residents for Responsible Taxation spearheaded the petition, which aimed to reduce the local sales and use tax rate levied by PFD from 0.5 percent to 0 percent within city limits and from 1 percent to 0.5 percent in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.

PRRT submitted more than 7,000 signed petitions to the PFD board on Dec. 16 in hopes that the petition would be validated and included on the May 6 election ballot. 

The “commissioners’ decision to deny the community the right to vote was not totally unexpected,” PRRT wrote in a Jan. 18 post on its website. “We are disappointed by the (board’s) actions and will explore all legal remedies.”

Glen Smith, a Pflugerville resident and PFD staff member, spoke about his experience with a petition canvasser at the PFD board meeting.

He said the canvasser claimed the petition was in support of PFD, prompting him to respond: “It’s wrong for you to stand here and tell people that you support the fire department, and you’re trying to take away the sales tax.” 

PFD Chief Nick Perkins told the Monitor earlier this month that the petition would have forced the department to slash up to a third of its budget and to lay off 80 to 100 firefighters and staff positions.

“Without that revenue, we would not be able to maintain and sustain our current operations,” he said. “It’s a significant attack on the fire department and an effort to defund us.”

Pflugerville residents raised similar concerns at a Jan. 10 Pflugerville City Council meeting. 

Melody Ryan, campaign spokesperson for PRRT, previously told the Monitor the petition was part of a broader plan to redirect tax revenue to the city of Pflugerville so it could fund its own EMS department. 

“We want our City Council, who we can elect or unelect, to be in charge of our (emergency) services,” she said. 

Until earlier this month, Pflugerville FD had provided emergency medical services to the city of Pflugerville. (PFD, also known as Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2, is an independent government entity.) The city has since contracted with a private ambulance company at no cost to itself. 

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.