Harris County ESD 9 board to set tax-rate hearing notices, discuss election

The Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9 board put two decisions with long-term consequences for Cy-Fair homeowners on its May 28 agenda: the paperwork that starts the district’s tax-rate hearing process and a discussion of its commissioner election.

The tax-rate item is more than a formality. Under Texas truth-in-taxation rules, most taxing units must calculate a no-new-revenue tax rate and a voter-approval tax rate after receiving the certified appraisal roll, then send the calculation forms to the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office. That process sets up the notices residents see before hearing dates are set and budget decisions harden into a tax bill.

For property owners, the timing matters because it is the first public signal that a district is moving toward a rate decision. It also provides a chance to compare where the district is headed against recent numbers. ESD 9’s 2025 notice listed a no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.038831 per $100 of valuation and a voter-approval tax rate of $0.051140 per $100. The district later adopted a combined 2025 rate of $0.038831 per $100, with no debt-service component and all of it going to maintenance and operations. That was below the district’s prior 2024-25 rate of $0.04436 per $100 valuation.

The board’s election discussion carries a different kind of weight. ESD 9 has moved commissioner elections from the May ballot to the November general ballot, a change the board approved Dec. 21, 2023. District materials say the move was intended to coincide with higher turnout, even though the shift was estimated to cost about $625,000. In the district’s 2024 race, two of five commissioner seats were on the ballot, and voters could choose up to two candidates, with the two top vote-getters winning four-year terms.

That governance question matters because ESD 9 serves the Cy-Fair area and supports fire suppression and ambulance and EMS services for the Cy-Fair Fire Department. Its strategic implementation plan says the area needs eight additional fire stations, including three infill stations and at least five in western and northern growth areas, a buildout tied to about $118 million in expected station costs.

For residents, the key takeaway is that tax-rate calculations, election timing and construction planning are moving together. The hearing notices will show how the district frames its next budget, and the commissioner election will help determine who oversees the spending and emergency-service choices that follow.