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Rumor versus Fact | Sugar Land, TX - Official Website Skip to Main Content AboutGovernmentBusinessVisitorsResidentsHow Do I..? Search Are you looking for Agenda Information? Try the Enhanced Agenda Search. Home ResidentsMunicipalityDepartments & Offices Communications Rumor versus Fact A A Rumor versus Fact Keep up to stage on the latest information that aims to dispel inaccurate information well-nigh recent municipality initiatives and polity concerns. NotificationsSign up to receive Rumor versus Fact notifications Rumor: The local firefighters’ union claims the municipality of Sugar Land’s ongoing practice of utilizing too few firefighters is a dangerous practice that must be stopped.  The union contends that the municipality administration’s refusal to prefer federal standards on staffing levels jeopardizes public safety.Posted on April 11, 2018 | linkFact: The firefighter union is mischaracterizing “federal standards.” There are no federal standards related to staffing levels. The union is referencing consensus recommendations from a national non-profit group, named the National Fire Protection Association.  Three self-sustaining studies by industry experts have supported existing staffing levels. A staffing towage by industry experts was conducted in 2009. A second towage was completed in 2011 to study the implementation of ambulance service, which has since resulted in the expansion and enhancement of ambulance transport and EMS service in Sugar Land. Just last year, a third departmental towage was conducted by industry experts to ensure weightier practices and the highest level of service delivery. Each time, industry experts have emphasized the efficient utilization of resources and tax dollars to modernize public safety.  Read increasingly at http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=997.Sugar Land residents have never been safer.  The municipality has the lowest treason rate in 20 years, faster ambulances, improved public safety dispatch, largest drainage, safer streets, improved traffic technology and increasingly ambulances and paramedics. Rumor: According to the local firefighters’ union, Sugar Land has experienced a reduction of nearly 30 percent in the number of firefighters protecting our community.Posted on April 11, 2018 | linkFact: Fire Department staffing levels increased from 112 employees in 2009 to 130 employees in 2018. During this same time period, SLFD’s upkeep increased from $11.15 million to $16 million. Rumor: According to the local firefighters’ union, Sugar Land no longer has unbearable firefighters to respond when the polity needs them most. This not only endangers firefighters, but the citizens of Sugar Land who no longer receive the level of service they deserve.Posted on April 11, 2018 | linkFact: Recent self-sustaining studies have confirmed that citizens have and will protract to receive the highest level of service from its outstanding public safety professionals.  The municipality routinely conducts departmental assessments utilizing industry experts to ensure weightier practices and the highest level of service delivery. We are single-minded to providing the necessary training, technology, equipment and personnel to ensure we respond to the needs of our community.  Last year, the Sugar Land Fire-EMS Department exceeded a target identified by the polity to respond to 80 percent of all calls for service in under 8 minutes, 30 seconds. Read increasingly at http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1116 Rumor:MunicipalityCouncil and municipality management have systematically reduced Sugar Land Fire Department staffing by 30 percent.Posted on January 13, 2018 | linkFact: Fire Department staffing levels increased from 112 employees in 2009 to 130 employees in 2018. During this same time period, SLFD’s upkeep increased from $11.15 million to $16 million. Rumor: Residents of Sugar Land are under protected due to Fire Department staffing shortages.Posted on January 13, 2018 | linkFact: Three self-sustaining studies by industry experts have supported existing staffing levels. A staffing towage by industry experts was conducted in 2009. A second towage was completed in 2011 to study the implementation of ambulance service, which has since resulted in the expansion and enhancement of ambulance transport and EMS service in Sugar Land. Just last year, a third departmental towage was conducted by industry experts to ensure weightier practices and the highest level of service delivery. Each time, industry experts have emphasized the efficient utilization of resources and tax dollars to modernize public safety. The municipality routinely conducts departmental assessments utilizing industry experts to ensure weightier practices and the highest level of service delivery. We are single-minded to providing the necessary training, technology, equipment and personnel to ensure we respond to the needs of our community. Read increasingly at http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=997. Rumor: The municipality has refused to send firefighters to training courses.Posted on January 13, 2018 | linkFact: SLFD is single-minded to providing the necessary training, technology, equipment and personnel to meet the needs of our community. Recent assessments by industry experts have confirmed that that SLFD is a progressive department with highly trained, competent personnel who ensure Sugar Land remains one of the safest cities in the nation. Recommendations have focused on the waffly nature of the fire service, expressly in Sugar Land where EMS undeniability profoundly outpace structure fires by increasingly than 15 to one. This has necessitated a focus on EMS ambulance transport and the specialized skills and training necessary to meet the needs of the community. Rumor: Sugar Land Fire Department levels are not unobjectionable to serve newly annexed communities of Greatwood and New Territory.Posted on January 13, 2018 | linkFact: Sugar Land provided contractual fire services to New Territory and Greatwood prior to annexation.Withoutannexation, SLFD began providing EMS services as well. To prepare for taking over EMS responsibility from the county and to ensure there were no reductions in service levels, the municipality purchased a new ambulance for Fire Station 6 in Greatwood and hired seven spare firefighter paramedics and one fire inspector with funds paid by the annexed areas. Additionally, the municipality moreover began implementing cross-staffing – a recommendation from a departmental towage conducted by industry experts last year – at Fire Station 7, which serves New Territory. The marrow line is that theMunicipalityreplaced the county’s one ambulance with two ambulances and widow spare personnel, enhancing services citywide. Cross-staffing allows firefighters who are trained in both fire and EMS to respond with the most towardly piece of equipment and improves service to newly annexed areas. Rumor: The municipality is not worldly-wise to meet service levels it communicated in the past for Greatwood and New Territory.Posted on December 1, 2017 | linkFact: The municipality will meet service-level obligations to current and newly annexed residents on day one of the annexation. As part of a 10-year planning process, departments identified resources needed to ensure full municipality services to unbend the theft of New Territory and Greatwood. All needs have been met. For example, the municipality is providing a 56 percent increase inUnprepossessingServices floor space to unbend an predictable 30 percent increase in demand.Sparespace has been leased for the Sugar Land Police Department. Existing Public SafetyStimulationspace unprotesting the wing of a 911 panel for one dispatcher per shift to meet projected undeniability volumes without annexation. Two new facilities – an emergency operations center/dispatch expansion and a new unprepossessing shelter – have been identified to remoter meet the needs of the municipality and enhance service levels to the annexed communities and current residents.Consideringthese facilities are not a need on day one of annexation; however, Sugar LandMunicipalityCouncil chose to prioritize the completion of drainage and street resurgence projects (including topics for projects related to Hurricane Harvey) in the five-year CapitalResurgenceprogram. The diamond of these facilities is currently predictable for Fiscal Year 2022; this timeline may be velocious if economic conditions improve. Rumor: No spare resources, such as ambulances and personnel, will be required for theMunicipalityof Sugar Land to proffer its Ambulance services to the areas of Greatwood and New Territory.Posted on December 1, 2017 | linkFact: TheMunicipalityof Sugar Land required spare resources to proffer these services to the annexed areas. Specifically, theMunicipalityhas hired an spare seven firefighter/paramedics and widow one ambulance to the city’s squadron to ensure ambulance services remain one of the weightier in the Country. Additionally, a Fire Inspector was hired to ensure the Fire Marshal’s office continues to provide upper quality investigative and inspection services City-Wide. Rumor: TheMunicipalityof Sugar Land currently provides both Fire and Ambulance services to the areas of Greatwood and New Territory.Posted on December 1, 2017 | linkFact: Currently, for the Greatwood and New Territory areas, Fort Bend County provides Ambulance services while the municipality of Sugar Land provides Fire services. On December 12, 2017, theMunicipalityof Sugar Land will be responsible for both, Fire and Ambulance services, for Greatwood and New Territory. Rumor: The Greatwood/New Territory theft will have a forfeit impact on theMunicipalityof Sugar Land.Posted on November 15, 2017 | linkFact: The theft is revenue neutral to the City.The City’s recently unexplored upkeep fully fundsMunicipalityservices.  Municipalityresidents are currently receiving allMunicipalityservices at the same level as last year.  After the theft becomes constructive on December 12, 2017, Greatwood and New Territory residents will receive the sameMunicipalityservice levels as current residents.Additional staff, vehicles, equipment and contracted services necessary to provide full municipal services to the newly annexed areas are paid for by the annexed residents through utility rates, property taxes and previously paid surcharges forMunicipalityfire and ground water reduction services.An independent, external auditor recently confirmed the financial neutrality of the theft of Greatwood and New Territory.MunicipalityCouncil tried an try-on with Whitley Penn, LLP on Nov. 21 to review theft data without questions well-nigh the finances related to the theft were raised at a Nov. 7 meeting. The review was presented toMunicipalityCouncil on Dec. 19; it confirmed the recent theft was financially neutral to the municipality of Sugar Land. Read the inspect at https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16803 Rumor: The Sugar Land 4B Corporation spends sales tax money without its upkeep or expenditures having to be tried by theMunicipalityCouncil in a public meeting.Posted on November 13, 2017 | linkFact: This is not correct. State law requiresMunicipalityCouncil to legitimatize the Sugar Land 4B Corporation’s (SL4B) budget. This occurred during a public meeting on Sept. 19 without a public upkeep workshop on Aug. 31. Additionally, all SL4B meetings are publicly posted per the TexasUnshutMeetings Act. The Sugar Land 4B Corporation utilizes a restricted portion of sales tax tried by voters in 1995 to support economic development.Since its creation, the SL4B has supported projects such as the University of Houston Sugar Land, Sugar Land Town Square, the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land and Constellation Field. For increasingly information on the SL4B, click here. Rumor: The municipality of Sugar Land is wasting tax dollars on unnecessary programs like WaterWise when the money could be largest spent balancing the budget.Posted on October 25, 2017 | linkFact: The “Learning to be WaterWise™” program is not supported by tax dollars. It is a program funded by the surface water fund created to manage programs and projects essential for compliance with Fort Bend Subsidence District’s (FBSD) groundwater reduction mandate. Funds designated for WaterWise cannot be used to wastefulness the city’s unstipulated operating budget. Since 2007, the municipality has invested $633,085 in the WaterWise program, generating increasingly than 1.5 trillion gallons in FBSD groundwater credits and educating school children well-nigh the importance of water conservation. Generating credits and water education are two water management strategies that support the city’s compliance with FBSD regulatory mandates and our worthiness to meet the increasing water demands of our polity during times of drought. The forfeit to generate 1,000 gallons in groundwater credits through the WaterWise program is 42 cents per 1,000 gallons; when compared to the forfeit for lightweight to meet FBSD volitional water requirements ($6.50 per 1,000 gallons), the WaterWise program is a vital component to long-term water resource management in Sugar Land. For increasingly information on the Sugar Land’s Groundwater Reduction Plan and “Learning to be WaterWise™” visit, www.sugarlandtx.gov/331/Groundwater-Reduction-Program. For information on the Fort Bend Subsidence District visit, http://fortbendsubsidence.org.  Rumor: Sugar Land recently tried a multi-year contract with a vendor to prevent others from prompting and to the detriment of taxpayers.Posted on October 21, 2017 | linkFact: This is not correct. Any contract – including multi-year contracts – must follow the competitive prompting and proposal processes specified by state law. Contracts are structured to ensure quality and value for taxpayers. Multi-year contracts are typically structured for one year with an option to renew for spare years. This allows municipality staff to ensure quality work is performed and make adjustments if necessary, including the option to seek new vendors. Structuring the contracts with the flexibility for multiple years through open, competitive processes creates stability and resiliency by stabilizing pricing – while moreover ensuring taxpayers are receiving services at the most competitive prices and value. Rumor: The municipality manager's proposed upkeep includes a tax increase that only covers pay raises for municipality staff.Posted on September 11, 2017 | linkFact: Not true. While the proposed upkeep does include a pool for limited performance-based merit increases forMunicipalitystaff - which are important to ensure that we are worldly-wise to retain our highest performing staff members, it moreover funds increased financing for current services provided by the City.  Further, due to a sales tax decline, property tax revenues will now have to fund services previously funded by sales tax. For example, rehabilitation funding has been moved from wanted projects to the unstipulated fund, meaning property tax revenue will now be funding $1.4 million in expenses previously funded at higher levels by sales tax in prior years.   Rumor:Consideringstate sales tax revenue for the three months ending in August 2017 is up 5.5 percent compared to the same period a year ago, theMunicipalityof Sugar Land is misleading residents when talking well-nigh falling sales tax revenues.Posted on September 8, 2017 | linkFact: While the state and other cities have seen increases in sales tax, Sugar Land is lanugo compared to last year. According to the Comptroller’s website, through September, theMunicipalitywas lanugo 8.04% timetable year to date, and the September typecasting is lanugo 3.19% from last year.  For fiscal year 2017, theMunicipalitycollected 7.42% less in sales tax revenue than the prior year, a subtract of $3.87 million.  For this reason, theMunicipalityhas budgeted no growth in sales tax revenue for the fiscal year 2018 upkeep based on fiscal year 2017 very revenue. For an self-sustaining towage of sales tax collections, visit the Texas Comptroller’s Transparency website at https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/local/allocations/sales-tax/top20.php. Rumor: Postponing public hearings and a subsequent vote on a tax rate would show courtesy and kindness to the people still suffering from Hurricane Harvey.Posted on September 7, 2017 | linkFact: Unfortunately, this is not possible. While we understand that recovery and volunteer efforts are still ongoing, state law requires the municipality pinion to strict timelines in the truth in taxation process.  This process includes dates for public hearings and a final vote on the tax rate, and the schedule was set long surpassing Hurricane Harvey formed.  The final vote on the tax rate will not occur until Sept. 19, and we welcome input through other ways than the public hearings – such as directly contacting your councilmembers or emailing theUpkeepOffice at budget@sugarlandtx.gov. Rumor: Sugar Land has one of the state’s highest tax rates.Posted on September 7, 2017 | linkFact: Sugar Land’s tax rate is the second lowest in the state for cities with a population over 50,000. Rumor: The municipality is spending $10 million on a underpass over Oyster Creek.Posted on August 24, 2017 | linkFact: A underpass over Oyster Creek is included in the University Boulevard/South Stadium Drive project, a collaborative project involving Fort Bend County, the Imperial Redevelopment District and the municipality of Sugar Land. Phase II of the project includes an injudicious $10.65 million extension and underpass over a railroad spur and Oyster Creek. The City’s portion of the unshortened project – which, including both phases, is approximately $21 million – is only unscientific to be $3.8 million, with the remainder of funding coming from the Imperial Redevelopment District and Fort Bend County. When complete, University Boulevard and South Stadium Drive will succeed the long-planned “Burney Road Bypass” project, an important north-south corridor that provides for the mobility of residents north of U.S. 90A while alleviating traffic in residential areas withal Main Street and Burney Road. Rumor: The municipality is opposed to the state’s struggle to create property tax relief for local residents.Posted on August 18, 2017 | linkFact: Proposals considered in the Texas Legislature would not have provided property tax relief. Revenue caps that were considered in the Texas Legislature would not provide meaningful tax relief, but would have restricted the City’s worthiness to meet local needs such as public safety funding (which finance for nearly 50 percent of the city’s unstipulated fund), and divert sustentation from the real rationalization of higher property taxes -- the state's failure to ratherish fund public education. In Sugar Land, school district taxes can worth for up to 65 percent of the tax snout while municipality taxes worth for only well-nigh 15 percent. In fact, in 2016, had theMunicipalityrelied on the legislature to provide “tax relief” through a 4 percent revenue cap rather than theMunicipalityCouncil tried 2 percent increase to the homestead exemption, Sugar Land residents would have ended up paying $12 MORE on their tax snout – plane increasingly if the revenue cap was increased to 6 percent. Read increasingly at http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/FAQ.aspx?TID=73. Rumor: The municipality spent $760,000 on a crosswalk.Posted on August 17, 2017 | linkFact: The total forfeit for construction of the pedestrian crossing in Sugar Land Town Square was approximately $385,000 – plus an spare $43,000 in landscaping to discourage pedestrians from unsafely crossing the road. The crosswalk addressed safety concerns related to an zone with upper pedestrian/vehicle conflicts due to the commercial areas on both sides of TownPart-wayBoulevard and a growing desire for walkability. The goal is to provide unscratched crossings for all pedestrians so not to have pedestrian/vehicle accidents similar to the one that occurred in 2016. The crossing was part of a larger TownPart-wayPedestrian-Bike Project that included expansion and widening of sidewalks. Learn at www.SugarLandTX.gov/Crosswalk. Rumor: The municipality spent public money to modernize a golf course.Posted on August 17, 2017 | linkFact: The municipality did not construct golf undertow improvements. Drainage improvements were targeted in the Sugar Creek subdivision to solve a decades-old problem to prevent street flooding during moderate rain storms. The work was identified as part of a comprehensive drainage study of the Sugar Creek Watershed completed in 2005. The visualization to partner with the River Bend and Sugar Creek golf undertow for drainage improvements saved taxpayers millions of dollars and directly improves the quality of life and safety of residents. Rumor: Tax increase/service cuts avoidable if taxes not used on nonessentials like TSTC & public art.Posted on August 17, 2017 | linkFact: The Texas State Technical College and public art projects are funded with a restricted portion of sales and hotel occupancy taxes that may only be used for economic minutiae and tourism purposes. Per State law, the funding used for these projects cannot be utilized for unstipulated fund services funded by property tax. Rumor: Voters tried two of three projects in 2013;City says voters ok'd tax increase for three.Posted on August 16, 2017 | linkFact: This is not true. The three projects included in the 2013 yoke referendum would have required a 5 cent increase on the tax rate. Voters tried immuration totaling $31.5 million and authorized only 3.1 cents of the proposed 5 cent tax increase to fund two of the three parks projects. To date, the municipality has only increased the tax rate .7 cents. The remaining voter-authorized tax increase has not yet been implemented. Rumor: Short-term rentals are prohibited considering they do not generate HOT taxes like a hotel would.Posted on June 21, 2017 | linkFact: There is a misconception that Sugar Land prohibits STRs for the purpose of collecting increasingly revenue when in fact, any owner that is operating a lodging merchantry – including a short term rental – anywhere in the state of Texas is required to collect state hotel occupancy taxes that must be submitted to the State Comptroller. Additionally, if STRs were unliable in Sugar Land (they are not), they would moreover be subject to the city’s hotel occupancy tax. The purpose of the city’s regulations is to preserve neighborhood integrity. Authorizing this type of commercial operation to exist within residential districts disrupts the nature of that residential district. Several of the concerns expressed by Sugar Land residents living near a short term rental (STR) have been:Increased traffic associated with the STRNuisance complaints regarding parties/noise, trash and parking issuesConcerns regarding strangers coming in and out of the neighborhoods on a frequent understructure Rumor: Sugar Land allows short-term rentals to operate within the municipality limits.Posted on June 21, 2017 | linkFact: While short-term rentals (STRs) have wilt quite popular wideness the country, the use of a residential property as an STR advertised via websites such as Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, etc. violates the municipality of Sugar Land zoning regulations. STRs are classified under SICLawmaking#7021 Rooming and Boarding and are prohibited within residential zoning districts. The information can be found in the Sugar LandMinutiaeCode Land Use Sec. 2-71 at http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/documentcenter/view/9544. Rumor: The Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land has towers violationsPosted on June 5, 2017 | linkFact: The Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land was designed and synthetic in vibrations with all towardly codes and the proper inspection procedures were followed as outlined by the municipality and state. Additionally, the towers moreover went through a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation inspection, which – as is worldwide in large scale towers construction projects – did identify 33 violations, all of which were related to serviceability and did not impact life-safety measures. Though the municipality has up to one year to rectify the violations in vibrations with state code, these were remedied by March 31, 2017, and the towers currently has no violations. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation holds the Smart Financial Centre’s inspection status as approved. Rumor: The municipality of Sugar Land can tenancy the railroads and rights of ways at the crossingsPosted on June 5, 2017 | linkFact: UPRR owns the rights to the railroad and all of the rights of way at the crossings. The municipality cannot have any work performed within 25 feet of the rail track without proper permits from UPRR. However, the municipality works with UPRR to write the concerns of Sugar Land residents during their projects. Rumor: The municipality knows when the railroad crossing stovepipe are lanugo or malfunctioningPosted on May 30, 2017 | linkFact: As motorists ourselves, we understand the frustration of the “ghost train” and malfunctioning crossing arms. It is not guaranteed that the municipality will receive notifications of these issues superiority of time. We are working on improving the liaison process with Union Pacific to receive increasingly firsthand railroad service notifications, future construction schedules and work as they make changes to try and write the ongoing issues. We ask that our citizens partner with us in delivering messages to Union Pacific Railroad when they encounter issues with the tracks by contacting the UP Response Management Communications part-way at 888-877-7267. Rumor versus Fact 2015 - 2016 Contact Us TheMunicipality of Sugar Land2700 TownPart-wayBlvd. NorthSugar Land, TX 77479Phone: 281-275-2700Additional Contact Listing Sugar Land Connect Emergency Notifications Notify Me Enews Sign Up Watch SLTV Facebook -Municipalityof Sugar Land Facebook -UnprepossessingServices Petopia Facebook - Parks & Recreation Facebook - Police Department Facebook - Visit Sugar Land Instagram LinkedIn NextDoor Twitter -Municipalityof Sugar Land Twitter - Parks & Recreation Twitter - Visit Sugar Land Helpful LinksMunicipalityDepartments Police Department Fire DepartmentMunicipalityCouncilUnshutRecords RequestMunicipalityJobs Site Map Disclaimer App Download PrivacyServiceabilityRumor Versus Fact Website Feedback /QuickLinks.aspx [] Slideshow Left Arrow Slideshow Right Arrow