Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2 is committed to providing information concerning the use of taxpayer funding in an open and transparent manner.
The information below is provided in accordance with the local government transparency standards encouraged by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
The population for ESD2 has grown significantly over the past few years. The population growth has led to an increase in call volume and longer response times due to additional congestion on roadways. Since the District boundaries contain partial portions of census tracks, population of the District is an estimate.
Travis County ESD No. 2 Budget Information
The Budget information below reflects the District’s current fiscal year budget as well as the four preceding fiscal years’ final amended budget amounts.
Travis County ESD No. 2 Maintenance and Operations and Debt Property Tax Rates:
Tax Year 2019: $0.10 per $100 valuation;
Tax Year 2020: $0.10 per $100 valuation;
Tax Year 2021: $0.09 per $100 valuation;
Tax Year 2022 $0.08 per $100 valuation;
Tax Year 2023: $0.0773 per $100 valuation.
The proposed tax rate for tax year 2024 (which will be used in the tax calculations for tax bills due 1/31/2025) has not yet been determined.
The District has had a zero-debt service taxing rate and revenue for tax rates set for fiscal years 2019 through the current year (FY24, tax year 2023).
The tax rate for 2023 was decreased from the 2022 rate of $0.08 to $0.0773 per $100 property valuation. The District’s 2023 tax rate was adopted by the Board of Commissioners at the voter-approval rate of $0.0773. Revenue from the 2023 tax rate is received in FY24 as taxes calculated with this rate are due in January 2024. The 2024 tax rate will be set in September 2024.
Note: “Tax Year” represents the year of the property valuation that the tax rate is applied to. Tax revenue for each “Tax Year” is paid in the following fiscal year. Example: 2023 tax rates are applied to the Jan 1, 2023 property valuation and resulting tax bills are due Jan 1, 2024 to the taxing entity and therefore are recorded as fiscal year 2024 revenue. The District’s fiscal year 2024 begins October 1, 2023 and ends September 30, 2024.
The TCESD2 Revenue per Capita has risen over the past few years as a result of an increase in the number of tax payers due to continued construction of new residential and retail establishments along with a significant increase in property values in 2022. Sales tax revenue had been increasing sharply as a result of this growth as well, but started to slow in FY23. The District’s expenditures per capita continues to rise as the District adds new emergency response staff positions, purchases equipment, and builds the additional response stations needed to respond to increasing call volumes. In FY20 expenditures were significantly reduced as the District discontinued non-essential services to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and temporarily paused construction projects related to construction of new response locations and related equipment. These projects were restarted and saw significant progress in FY22 with continuation through FY24.
New construction of residential and retail establishments along with increasing population have led to an increase in both property and sales tax revenue. Additionally, the real estate market in the area has experienced continued pricing increases leading to increased property tax revenue.
Travis County ESD No. 2 Debt Information
TCESD2 has included detailed debt information on this page for transparency purposes. TCESD2 doesn’t currently have any tax-supported debt and hasn’t held a bond election since 2005. The needs of TCESD2 don’t generally rise to a level large enough to offset the expenses related to a bond issuance so TCESD2 typically acquires debt directly from financial institutions through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process to ensure the lowest rate opportunity. TCESD’s Board-approved financial policies guide the level of debt acquired by the District and is reviewed each time new debt is considered and annually during the fiscal year Budget development process.
Total Outstanding debt obligations: $20.2 million as of 9/30/23
Tax-supported debt obligations expressed as total and per capita: TCESD2 has no tax-pledged debt.
Total lease-purchase or lease-revenue obligations: TCESD2 has no lease-related obligations.
Historical bond election information that includes date of election, purpose and amount: There have been no recent bond elections for TCESD2. The last bond election was held in 2005 and all related obligations have been fully paid off.
Historical Trends
Other information and Links
Travis County ESD No. 2 Financial Management Principles
Principles of Sound Financial Management establish a foundation for the fiscal strength and stability of Travis County ESD No. 2. These Principles guide the Board of Commissioners and Executive Team as they make fiscal decisions regarding resource allocations and annual appropriations. Fiscal principles assure sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars as they guide the District in the planning of expenditures, revenues and funding arrangements for public services and ensure budget flexibility and structural stability to weather economic cycles. The financial condition of the District must be maintained at the highest level to assure resources are available to meet the community’s ever-changing needs and these Principles reflect the District’s commitment to continued fiscal strength. To learn more about the District’s financial policies please click below.
Learn more about the District’s financial policies here.
Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives you the right to access government records; and an officer for public information and the officer’s agent may not ask why you want them. All government information is presumed to be available to the public. Certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of the information. Governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information that is not confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, or information for which an exception to disclosure has not been sought.
