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Dripping Springs area voters seemed to be in high spirits this past weekend with a decisive majority voting “For” the Dripping Springs ISD bond, “For” the North Hays County Emergency Services District #1 tax cap increase and “For” each of the Wild Ridge Municipal Utility District propositions.
The general election — which was held on Saturday, May 6 — saw an overall low turnout, with around 7,400 of over 32,000 registered voters showing up at the polls, according to the unofficial results from Hays County. Still, that approximately 23% was enough to approve DSISD’s $223.7 million bond package and elect its two new trustees.
“Thank you, voters!” DSISD posted on its social media platforms. “According to unofficial results, 64% of votes cast approved the May 2023 Bond, the highest percentage in more than 25 years. In addition, Kim Cousins and Rob McClelland were elected to threeyear terms on the DSISD Board of Trustees.” Incumbent Trustee Ron Jones was not re-elected.
The passing of DSISD’s bond package enables the school district to move forward on a sixth elementary school, an expansion of Sycamore Springs Middle School and various safety, security and technology updates. The district will also begin to design a seventh elementary school, a third middle school and a second high school.
Meanwhile, the approved tax cap increase for North Hays County ESD #1 allows the district to ask for an ad valorem tax increase in a future election. The local tax cap, which was $0.03 per $100 valuation, now permits the district to ask for up to $0.10. This additional revenue will enable the district to expand to four full-time ambulances, one part-time ambulance and five stations by the end of the decade.
The Wild Ridge MUD established itself through Propositions A, B, C, D, E and F. These elected its directors; created the MUD itself; established an operations and maintenance tax; issued bonds for bonds for water, wastewater and drainage system facilities; issued bonds for roads; issued bonds for refunding water, wastewater and drainage system facilities bonds; and issued bonds for refunding road bonds, respectively.
A number of Dripping Springs-area residents were also able to vote on a hot-button issue for the city of Austin: its police oversight measures. Two competing and confusingly similar ballot items were up for election: Proposition A and Proposition B. Prop. A, submitted by Equity Action, passed, giving more power to the Office of Police Oversight and the citizen-led panel that reviews incidents of police misconduct in the city.
The Austin Police Association did not look kindly on this result, responding with a lengthy statement on Twitter.
“The Austin Police Association is aware of the election results and is taking immediate action to determine the city’s intentions regarding the implementation and enforcement of the illegal provisions contained in Prop. A,” it stated. “The APA simply will not stand by while this city and… anti-police activists operate with blatant disregard for state law and the rights and protections afforded to our hardworking men and women. The APA continues to prioritize negotiating a long-term contract; however, we will not be forced back to the table under a structure in which a new city ordinance attempts to unlawfully interfere with the statutory rights associated with the meet and confer process.”
Elements of the proposition allow the Office of Police Oversight to participate in investigations of officer conduct and give its members direct access to all police records. However, other parts of the proposition do not align with current state law, such as expanding the amount of time an officer can be investigated and disciplined.
“Some people may have heard of something called the 180-day rule. That’s in state law. It says after six months for most incidents, officers cannot be disciplined any longer,” Equity Action’s Board President Chris Harris said in an interview with KXAN. “We know that there’s a good number of incidents where the clock simply runs out. It’s not that misconduct didn’t occur, it’s that a complaint didn’t come in quick enough.”
Harris said extending that time needs to be in a police contract so the city council can vote on it. But contract negotiations remain at a standstill.
More election results and information from Hays County are available online at hayscountytx. com/departments/elections.
