May 6: What’s on the ballot in Dripping Springs ?
While the city of Dripping Springs will not hold an election for mayor or city council this year, there is plenty on the ballot for the May 6 general election.
Dripping Springs ISD holds two of the big ticket items with Board of Trustees positions up for grabs and a bond election on the table. North Hays County Emergency Services District #1 has a special election for a tax cap increase, and the Wild Ridge Municipal Utility District has six propositions pertaining to its creation and operation.
Those in the area with Austin addresses may also have an opportunity to vote on the city’s police oversight measures.
DSISD Board of Trustees
Four candidates are currently running for two positions on the DSISD Board of Trustees: incumbent Ron Jones, Rob McClelland, Jeffrey Aylstock and Kim Cousins. The top two vote-getters on May 6 will be elected to the DSISD Board ofTrustees, which consists of seven unsalaried district patrons elected to three-year terms representing all residents in the school district. Application forms and biographies for all candidates are posted at dsisdtx.us/elections.
DSISD Bond Package
The current board of trustees put forth a bond for election in November of 2022 — a bond package which totalled $481.1 million and included three different propositions. That bond did not pass, and the resulting bond (up for election this May) was pared down to $223.7 million. While this year’s bond still includes a sixth elementary school, an expansion of Sycamore Springs Middle School and various safety, security and technology updates, the new bond package does not include the building of a second high school, though it does include funding for its design stage. It also includes funding for the design of a seventh elementary school and a third middle school, all of which are intended to accommodate DSISD's rapid growth, according to the district.
North Hays County ESD #1 Tax Cap Also as a response to recent growth, North Hays County ESD #1 is asking for the opportunity to acquire additional funding in order to expand to four full-time ambulances, one part-time ambulance and five stations by the end of the decade. Its proposition, if approved, would authorize the district to raise the ad valorem tax rate cap up to the state maximum rate of $0.10. The ESD currently collects an ad valorem tax of $0.03 per every $100 and a sales tax of 0.5% to fund two full-time and two part-time ambulances across three stations. While the proposition on the ballot in May does not ask for a tax increase, if approved, it would allow the district to ask for one in a future election.
Wild Ridge MUD
Meanwhile, the Wild Ridge MUD (which technically doesn’t yet exist) is hoping to establish itself through Propositions A, B, C, D, E and F. These would elect its directors; create the MUD itself; establish an operations and maintenance tax; issue bonds for bonds for water, wastewater and drainage system facilities; issue bonds for roads; issue bonds for refunding water, wastewater and drainage system facilities bonds; and issue bonds for refunding road bonds, respectively.
Police Oversight in Austin A number of Dripping Springs-area residents will also be able to vote on a hot-button issue for the city of Austin: its police oversight measures. Two competing and confusingly similar ballot items are up for election: Proposition A and Proposition B. Prop. A, submitted by Equity Action, seeks to give more power to the Office of Police Oversight and the citizen-led panel that reviews incidents of police misconduct. Prop. B, submitted by Voters for Oversight and Police Accountability, would restrict the power of both the Office of Police oversight and the city's citizen-led panel. Election Day is Saturday, May 6. The last day to receive the ballot by mail is Saturday, May 6 (Election Day) at 7 p.m. if carrier envelope is not postmarked or Monday, May 8 (the next business day after Election Day) at 5 p.m. if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day.
General election polling places in Dripping Springs are located at the HUB, Headwaters Information Center (708 Headwaters Blvd.); North Hays County Fire Station #74 (2450 Belterra Drive); and the Hays County Precinct 4 Office (195 Roger Hanks Parkway). More information can be found on the Texas Secretary of State’s website at sos.state. tx.us/elections/voter/ important-election-dates. shtml.