.png)
City Council members unanimously agreed last week that more research and planning are needed before putting an emergency medical services proposal before voters.
The council decided not to opt into the Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 3 plan, brought forward by petitioners Aug. 6.
According to an ESD representative, the dedicated EMS district would drastically improve service in the county, increase the number of ambulances available for the city and provide faster response times.
While City Manager Tom Mattis acknowledged that Elgin’s EMS services need improvement, he recommended against passing the resolution due to financial, administrative and jurisdictional concerns.
“At this point, there’s not so much of a concern about unanswered questions, but it is more about the fact that I’m not sure everybody truly understands all the potential ramifications and impacts of this proposal that’s being put forward to the voters,” Mattis said.
“The decisions that we make, we have to be sure that we can stand with both legs on those decisions.”
— Mayor Theresa McShan According to the city manager’s report, if approved, the only issue that would come before voters in November would be the creation of an ESD. However, the proposal currently lacks binding commitments regarding the establishment of EMS facilities in Elgin, a timeline or local representation on the district’s board.
Mattis noted the proposed, tax-funded ESD would be managed and controlled exclusively by directors appointed by Bastrop County Commissioners. There is no guarantee that Elgin would have representation on the board responsible for spending the city’s tax dollars, city officials said.
“They will have total autonomy and sole control over the expenditure of public tax dollars,” Mattis added. “This is an unusual situation that we typically don’t see. There’s a beginning and an end to the process for the people – they pay the taxes, and in the end, the people they pick to represent them make the decision about how those tax dollars are spent. That will not be the case with the ESD.”
ESDs have long been established in other parts of Texas and even locally, proponents said.
If approved, the ESD would come with the maximum allowable 10-cent property tax rate increase.
“If any organization goes to the maximum tax they can provide on day one, that tells us that costs are only going to continue to increase and go up from there,” the city manager said.
This tax hike would also apply to extraterritorial jurisdiction residents because of how the petition was filed, according to Mattis.
This means the council would be making a decision that impacts residents outside the city’s jurisdiction, who don’t pay city taxes and don’t vote for council members.
“It’s a confusing situation,” Mattis said. “These impacts, I think, are just not broadly understood. We don’t know of any effort to reach out to the ETJ residents.”
Municipal utility district tax rates are already higher than in the city and adding another 10 cents “seems out of place,” he added.
The city manager’s concerns were echoed by council members.
“ We (would be) b a s i c a l ly hav i ng taxation without representation,” Councilwoman YaLecia Love said.
Her col l e a g ue s agreed more analysis is needed, and the city’s current services will have to suffice.
“One of the problems, of course, is the fact that we do reside in two different counties (Bastrop and Travis). We are totally different because of that, and we took an oath to look after everybody, ETJ or not,” Mayor Theresa McShan said. “They’re in Elgin, they’re our responsibility. I wouldn’t buy a car if I didn’t know how it ran. The decisions that we make, we have to be sure that we can stand with both legs on those decisions.”
