With hurricane season around the corner, the State of Texas Controller has announced a sales tax holiday for emergency preparation supplies. The sales tax holiday starts this coming weekend and will last three days – April 28 – 30. It’s a little extra encouragement to start preparing now.
Examples of items include: candles, flashlights and lanterns
Mobile telephone batteries and mobile telephone chargers
Radios – portable self-powered (including battery operated) – includes two-way and weather band radios
Smoke detectors
Tarps and other plastic sheeting
These supplies do not qualify for tax exemption:
Batteries for automobiles, boats and other motorized vehicles
Camping stoves
Camping supplies
Chainsaws
Plywood
Extension ladders
Stepladders
Tents
Repair or replacement parts for emergency preparation supplies
Services performed on, or related to, emergency preparation supplies
Additional Charges Affect Purchase Price
Delivery, shipping, handling and transportation charges are part of the sales price. If the emergency preparation supply being purchased is taxable, the delivery charge is also taxable. Consider these charges when determining whether an emergency preparation supply can be purchased tax free during the holiday.
For example, you purchase a rescue ladder for $299 with a $10 delivery charge, for a total sales price of $309. Because the total sales price of the ladder is more than $300, tax is due on the $309 sales price.
On May 1st at 6:30-8:30 p.m., The National Weather Service (NWS), Harris County Flood Control, and FEMA, and the San Jacinto River Authority are hosting a FloodWarn Workshop. They will talk about the types of flooding we see in the Kingwood/Humble area, the watersheds, forecasts, warnings, flood risks, and flood insurance.
Organizers hope the event will help people in the Lake Houston Area better understand what goes into forecasts. They will also address their limitations, the risks associated with severe events, and actions to take in response to various types of warnings.
Flood impacts identify what structures, roads, bridges, etc. will flood when the river reaches a specific level. These impacts drive the establishment of the flood categories of Minor, Moderate and Major.
This FloodWarn workshop will be our opportunity to share our flooding concerns with the National Weather Service. If impacts need to be modified or updated, this is the community’s opportunity to provide that feedback.
So mark your calendar
Event: FloodWarn Workshop
Sponsors: National Weather Service, Harris County Flood Control, FEMA
For: Lake Houston Area Residents
When: 6:30-8:30 P.M., Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Where: Kingwood College, 20,000 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood, TX
Plan to attend. Make sure the NWS knows how important accurate and advanced warning forecasts are to you. With accurate forecasts we can be prepared for the next flood.
Posted April 22, 2018, 236 days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-04-22 15:07:422018-04-22 15:32:27National Weather Service Hosting FloodWarn Workshop in Kingwood
(April 17, 2018) Montgomery County, Harris County Flood Control District and the San Jacinto River Authority are finalizing an agreement for a $2.5 million study that will improve the region’s flood notification capabilities and identify specific flood control projects.
The Harris County Flood Control District submitted the grant application to the Texas Division of Emergency Management on April 16th.
Thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott, up to $1.875 million in federal funds could be allocated for the study if the grant is awarded through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. It requires a 25 percent match; if the full $2.5 million is received, the local match would be $625,000. Montgomery county, SJRA and Harris County Flood Control would share that matching cost.
“With this study we will gain a better knowledge of our Montgomery County streams and watersheds, a more complete flood warning system, and the ability to identify specific projects that could reduce the risk of flooding in the future,” Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said.
Where Water Came From During Harvey
The goals of the study are to:
Prepare a plan to integrate flood warning information from HCFCD, SJRA, MCO, and COH into a shared system that can be utilized by all parties to make informed decisions; it includes expanding the flood warning system network.
Coordinate with flood responders including Harris County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Montgomery County OEM, SJRA, City of Houston, and potentially others, such as the Harris County Flood Control District’s Hydrologic Operations Department, to develop a consistent communications protocol and action plan.
Recommend strategies to reduce flood risk and prepare a plan to implement the recommendations. Flood damage reduction options will likely include large regional detention ponds, channel improvements, vegetation and sedimentation removal, and property buy-outs.
Develop programs and/or materials that educate the decision makers and the public on the extent of the San Jacinto River Basin, general drainage patterns, maintenance programs for the San Jacinto River and its tributaries, potential flood reduction projects, and information relating to major flooding in the San Jacinto River watershed.
The proposed study would examine the entire San Jacinto River watershed, including Cypress Creek, Spring Creek, Peach Creek, Caney Creek, Lake Creek, the east and west forks of the San Jacinto and others. Review the scope of the project here.
If this cooperative project gets underway soon, it will mean that survey work on the East Fork of the San Jacinto can begin while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges the West Fork between I-69 and Lake Houston. Concurrent work will speed up flood mitigation.
Posted April 20, 2018, 234 Days Since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-04-20 19:10:172018-04-20 19:12:49Montgomery County, Harris County Flood Control and SJRA Working on Funding Agreement for Flood Control
Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday April 28 – 30, 2018
Rescue operation during Hurricane Harvey
With hurricane season around the corner, the State of Texas Controller has announced a sales tax holiday for emergency preparation supplies. The sales tax holiday starts this coming weekend and will last three days – April 28 – 30. It’s a little extra encouragement to start preparing now.
The Controller’s web site states: You can purchase certain emergency preparation supplies tax free during the 2018 Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday. There is no limit on the number of qualifying items you can purchase, and you do not need to issue an exemption certificate to claim the exemption.
This year’s holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, and ends at midnight on Monday, April 30.
These emergency preparation supplies qualify for tax exemption if purchased for a sales price:
These supplies do not qualify for tax exemption:
Additional Charges Affect Purchase Price
Delivery, shipping, handling and transportation charges are part of the sales price. If the emergency preparation supply being purchased is taxable, the delivery charge is also taxable. Consider these charges when determining whether an emergency preparation supply can be purchased tax free during the holiday.
For example, you purchase a rescue ladder for $299 with a $10 delivery charge, for a total sales price of $309. Because the total sales price of the ladder is more than $300, tax is due on the $309 sales price.
For more information, contact Tax Help, or call 1-800-252-5555.
Posted April 23, 2018, 237 days since Hurricane Harvey
National Weather Service Hosting FloodWarn Workshop in Kingwood
On May 1st at 6:30-8:30 p.m., The National Weather Service (NWS), Harris County Flood Control, and FEMA, and the San Jacinto River Authority are hosting a FloodWarn Workshop. They will talk about the types of flooding we see in the Kingwood/Humble area, the watersheds, forecasts, warnings, flood risks, and flood insurance.
Organizers hope the event will help people in the Lake Houston Area better understand what goes into forecasts. They will also address their limitations, the risks associated with severe events, and actions to take in response to various types of warnings.
The NWS has posted the event on its Facebook page: The event is free and open to the public at Lone Star College – Kingwood at 20,000 Kingwood Dr., Kingwood, TX.
The National Weather Service provides forecasts and river flood warnings for the river gage at the San Jacinto River at Humble. Based on the readings there and elsewhere, the Weather Service forecasts “flood impacts.”
Flood impacts identify what structures, roads, bridges, etc. will flood when the river reaches a specific level. These impacts drive the establishment of the flood categories of Minor, Moderate and Major.
This FloodWarn workshop will be our opportunity to share our flooding concerns with the National Weather Service. If impacts need to be modified or updated, this is the community’s opportunity to provide that feedback.
So mark your calendar
Event: FloodWarn Workshop
Sponsors: National Weather Service, Harris County Flood Control, FEMA
For: Lake Houston Area Residents
When: 6:30-8:30 P.M., Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Where: Kingwood College, 20,000 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood, TX
Plan to attend. Make sure the NWS knows how important accurate and advanced warning forecasts are to you. With accurate forecasts we can be prepared for the next flood.
Posted April 22, 2018, 236 days since Hurricane Harvey
Montgomery County, Harris County Flood Control and SJRA Working on Funding Agreement for Flood Control
(April 17, 2018) Montgomery County, Harris County Flood Control District and the San Jacinto River Authority are finalizing an agreement for a $2.5 million study that will improve the region’s flood notification capabilities and identify specific flood control projects.
The Harris County Flood Control District submitted the grant application to the Texas Division of Emergency Management on April 16th.
Thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott, up to $1.875 million in federal funds could be allocated for the study if the grant is awarded through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. It requires a 25 percent match; if the full $2.5 million is received, the local match would be $625,000. Montgomery county, SJRA and Harris County Flood Control would share that matching cost.
“With this study we will gain a better knowledge of our Montgomery County streams and watersheds, a more complete flood warning system, and the ability to identify specific projects that could reduce the risk of flooding in the future,” Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said.
Where Water Came From During Harvey
The goals of the study are to:
The proposed study would examine the entire San Jacinto River watershed, including Cypress Creek, Spring Creek, Peach Creek, Caney Creek, Lake Creek, the east and west forks of the San Jacinto and others. Review the scope of the project here.
If this cooperative project gets underway soon, it will mean that survey work on the East Fork of the San Jacinto can begin while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges the West Fork between I-69 and Lake Houston. Concurrent work will speed up flood mitigation.
Posted April 20, 2018, 234 Days Since Hurricane Harvey