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EAST BERNARD – The city of East Bernard will hold two special elections on May 10 - to establish an EMS district and to re-adopt a one-fourth cent sales tax.
The emergency services district would be used to fund the EMS in East Bernard, Melvin Sands, city secretary, said.
East Bernard has had a volunteer agency since the 1980s, Sands said, but it is getting harder on the city to get volunteers on shift during the day.
“During the day we rely on Wharton to provide EMS services. It takes 15-20 minutes. That could be time lost if it is serious,” Sands said.
If the proposition passes, the commissioners court will create a commissioners group that will determine what the tax rate is going to be; then they will administer the funds.
The sales tax proposal is to re-adopt the local sales and use tax at a rate of one-fourth of a percent to provide revenue for maintenance and repair of municipal streets.
The proposition was passed in 2004, but the city has to reauthorize it every four years, at least until this year, Sands said.
“The state Legislature changed it in their legislation last year that any re-authorizations will just go into permanent effect.”
The tax provides about $35,000 a year, Sands said.
“We spend between $80, 000 to $100, 000 on street repairs, so this helps us,” he said. “The advantage is that everyone pays it, not just property owners. Anyone who buys something in East Bernard helps maintain those roads they are driving on.”