Citing dwindling financial projections, Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2, which funds and operates the Pflugerville Fire Department, discussed the finances of the department with the Pflugerville City Council on Tuesday night.
“We know that we are an expensive service but we feel like we are essential, so we want to continue to try to do this effectively as we can,” said Pflugerville Fire Chief Ron Moellenberg.
The virtual town hall came as the department’s financial forecasts anticipate a depletion in its reserves by fiscal year 2023-24.
“Projections show that ESD 2 will not have enough resources to continue providing enhanced emergency services, including advanced life support and ambulance transport, at its current levels,” the department said in a news release Sept. 29.
Commissioners and senior staff from the ESD addressed the council at the virtual hearing.
“We want to make sure that the city is cared for appropriately and we want to be able to have our citizens get the best,” said April Griffin, assistant board treasurer for the Pflugerville Fire Department.
Four options were presented to the council for consideration in addressing the financial projections:
• Do nothing and response times will continue to grow, leading to negative emergency outcomes, increased maintenance costs, additional workload on firefighters and paramedics.
• Reduce or eliminate services. The district stops providing EMS service and the city of Pflugerville and/or Travis County would need to provide those services.
• Establish an agreement between the district, the city and Travis County to adequately fund EMS.
• Work alongside a potential new ESD, as decided by voters.
Under the fourth scenario, ESD No. 2 would continue to oversee fire protection services as the Pflugerville Fire Department, while the new ESD would fund EMS and ambulance services through a contractual agreement with ESD No. 2.
That option comes following a petition established by Pflugerville firefighters on Sept. 11 to establish a new ESD.
“We have always been chasing growth and we want to maintain that service we provide,” said Nicholas Perkins, Pflugerville Fire Department’s assistant fire chief.
If a new ESD is approved by voters, it would be limited by law to a maximum tax rate of $0.10 per $100 home valuation. Based on the average taxable value of a property within ESD No. 2, currently listed at $263,209, that fund increase would raise the tax bill for an average homeowner by about $15 per month.
After the presentation, City Council Member Rudy Metayer said the funding would not be solved that night.
“We were presented options this evening and I think we can look at those options and take a deeper dive at them and their details,” Metayer said.
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