Fire departments petition for Emergency Service District in Washington County
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) – The Chappell Hill and Meyersville Volunteer Fire Departments created a petition to propose an Emergency Service District on the ballot in November.
According to the Chapple Hill Fire Department, ESDs are local political subdivisions of the state created through public elections that provide fire, rescue, EMS, and other emergency services directly or through contracts to help fund local fire and EMS departments.
“Funding is a huge factor in what goes into what we do,” ESD Committee Chairman, Dustin Brown said. “It is hard to upgrade equipment and gear so we need a better funding source.”
Brown said the proposed ESD would create a reliable funding system for both departments giving them the resources to expand their staff and fleets. This would help them serve their community more efficiently and make their response times faster.
“Volunteering is a dying breed,” a firefighter on the ESD Committee, Matt Martin, said. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when we can’t keep new volunteers coming in, and this is our only way to better serve the community.”
The petition needs 100 signatures from people in the proposed district. Once all 100 have signed, it will be presented to the County Commissioners Court where they can decide if it is necessary to include on the ballot.
If approved, the ESD would be funded by district property taxes of $0.10 per $100 of property valuation.
Click here for more information on the ESD proposal.
