Texas city requests EMS extension from fire department, despite the FD’s financial concerns

Rebeccah Macias
Austin American-Statesman

PLUGERVILLE, Texas — The Pflugerville City Council agreed on Tuesday to send a letter to Emergency Services District No. 2 requesting to extend EMS services with the district through Sept. 30, 2022.

The move came after the city opted out of taking part in the creation of ESD No. 17, which provides ambulance service for the area. ESD No. 2, also known as the Pflugerville Fire Department, provides both fire and EMS services, but created a separate district to handle ambulance calls, citing a lack of funding.

The decision also gives the council time to study its options for providing EMS services for the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. ESD No. 2 still provides EMS services for the city and its ETJ.

Council Member Rudy Metayer, who has been serving on a subcommittee with Council Member Doug Weiss to work with the ESD No. 2 Board, said he thinks asking for an extension is fair step for council to make.

“It doesn’t ruin the spirit of what we’re trying to do here,” Metayer said.

The council also agreed it would take action on EMS services for Pflugerville during its July 13 council meeting and will choose from five options presented by a consultant during a work session on Monday.

On Jan. 26, the City Council unanimously approved the hiring of third-party consultant AP Triton to perform an assessment of fire and EMS service options in ESD No. 2 and means of future funding options.

Richard Buchanan from AP Triton said the study began in February and analyzed ESD No. 2 by assessing EMS services and constraints, service provider options within the city and a cost-benefit analysis.

“I want to emphasize our purpose was to help solve a problem, find a solution to a challenge, and I think we were able to come up with a number of viable options to continue providing excellent service,” Buchanan said.

The 130-page study was presented to the council by Buchanan during the work session on Monday. Buchanan provided five options for the council to consider and said that none would add any tax burdens to the residents of Pflugerville.

• First option: Maintain status quo — the city of Pflugerville and ESD No. 2 will make no changes to governance, staffing or resource deployment .
• Second option: Contracting with a private EMS services provider.
• Third option: A city-owned third service ambulance provider, meaning the city would become the ambulance provider.
• Fourth option: Using Austin-Travis County EMS services.
• Fifth option: Creating a city fire and EMS department, which is estimated to take three to four years to complete.

Buchanan said the study also included examining data sets and interviews with representatives from ESD No. 2.

“A considerable amount of data was gathered for this project. ... We looked at all of their facilities and we visited their facilities,” Buchanan said. “Once we wanted to look at their finances, they provided all of their finances.”

From 2017 to 2020, the study showed, ESD No. 2’s annual call volume more than doubled from 4,177 to 10,705. Buchanan said those figures are keeping up with the area’s population growth, as the projected call volume through 2030 is set at 12,286.

ESD No. 2 officials said in a Nov. 13 letter to the council that the district’s projections showed its financial reserves will be depleted by 2024, and requested an annual subsidy of $2.8 million for ambulances and operational costs for equipment and staff.

The study concluded that the need for an annual $2.8 million payout was unsubstantiated, however AP Triton co-founder Kurt Henke suggested it would be wise for the city and ESD No. 2 to continue discussions to find a common ground.

“You have a first-class Fire Department and it would be nice if everyone can sit down at a table and understand there are some simple budget things that can be done here that do not require taxpayer funding,” Henke said. “You need to get your finance people from the city and finance people from the district and come to some sort of commonality here.”

The council will review all five options presented by AP Triton to continue EMS services beyond Sept. 30, 2022.

“As we continue to evaluate the provision of EMS services for our community, this report shall be a powerful tool to help guide that conversation,” said City Manager Sereniah Breland.

Metayer said no matter what decision is made, the city will not go without EMS and ambulance services.

“We need to have a deliberate deep-dive process to better understand the model itself and its effects on the ESD, the city, the county and all other stakeholders,” Metayer said. “The public expects us to be good stewards of our finances and together with the ESD, we can make that happen, which is a win for all the people we serve.”

Long battle between city, ESD No. 2

ESD No. 2 has said it cannot maintain the increased need in EMS calls due to funding shortfalls.

In February, the City Council denied a resolution to put the proposed Travis County ESD No. 17 on the ballot in the May election and said it would work with the ESD No. 2 Board toward a long-term solution.

“We are committed to doing what’s best for our citizens,” Mayor Victor Gonzales said at the time.

However, the Austin City Council approved the resolution for the overlay district on its ballot in May and it was approved by voters in northeastern Travis County with 74% of the vote.

ESD No. 17 overlays the exact boundaries of ESD No. 2 and provides advanced life support, ambulance service for Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and includes an estimate of 40,000 people in the Wells Branch Municipal Utility District and portions of the Northtown Municipal Utility.

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