The Magnolia Fire Department Chief, Terry Colburn, said this could help the department keep up with the rapid growth in Montgomery County.
Data from our ABC13 data team at the U.S. Census Bureau found that from 2022 to 2025, Montgomery County's population rose to 781,000 people -- a 15% increase, compared to 6% during that same period in the entire state of Texas.
Our team found similar trends when it comes to housing, 2022 to 2024, housing units went from 265,000 to 293,000 - for a rise of 11% in Montgomery County, compared to 4% in the state as a whole.
"I've been here in the chamber for over 15 years, so I've seen different growth. I've never seen anything like this," Southwest Montgomery Co. Chamber of Commerce President Terre Albert said.
Albert said the building boom is expected to continue.
"We just expect it to continue to grow over the next five to 10 years, so we're looking at somewhere between 35,000 to 39,000 homes that are coming in, along with commercial development," Albert said.
That's where he says the Magnolia Fire Department's Proposition A comes in on the May 2 election ballot, asking voters to increase the sales tax up to 2% in the area -- to reach the 8.25% max.
"That would help us tremendously. It would help us increase our staffing, so we can maintain four-man staffing on every unit, which is a national standard. Right now, we don't meet that standard. What that does for our community is it puts more firefighters on scene quicker," Chief Colburn said.
Chief Colburn said it will also allow them to replace old equipment, update facilities, and add additional needed stations in the area.
"In our current funding model, we're looking at a minimum of five years before we can put a new station on the ground. Realistically, it's probably more six to seven because of our current infrastructure and the improvements we have to make in that. With this funding, we believe we can move this timeline up to two to three years," Colburn said.
Chief Colburn said they've already made cuts and restructured their department here before adding this proposition to the ballot.
Early voting for the Magnolia general election begins this Monday, April 2.