The pandemic is forcing the City of Pflugerville to consider getting rid of its ambulance service, but local first responders are pushing back. Council will discuss the plan tonight. If approved, the EMS service would be eliminated through the fire department and the city instead would contract through a private company.
The local chapter of the Professional Fire Fighters Association is hosting a rally outside the city’s Central Fire Station at 6:30 this evening trying to convince city leaders to approve a vote to create a new Emergency services district that would fully fund the EMS mission. The Association’s Trevor Stokes says, the fire services noticed a need for EMS services in Northeast Travis County and have been funding that mission out of the fire budget for the last few years. But their numbers show this cannot last forever, “our projections show by 2024, we’ll be out of money.”
He says in the Emergency Services District#2 they fund five ambulances along with their medical crews. And should a public vote be allowed and passed he expects this new ESD, which would be ESD#17, would add about $11 a month to residents’ tax bill.
The problem is he fears Pflugerville City Council will not sign off on allowing a public vote. He says 4700 signatures have been collected and received by the county, but due to state regulation’s the City doesn’t have to agree and allow residents to vote on this matter.
