PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — It's a familiar fight in the growing city of Pflugerville. On Tuesday night, leaders there were looking at the future of the city's ambulance services.
It comes after years of controversy surrounding funding and contracts over who will provide these services in the city limits.
It also stems from years and years of feuds between the emergency services department and Pflugerville residents over taxation and funding as the city continues to grow, along with the need for more EMS services.
This is all coming up now because the city's current contract with private ambulance company Allegiance Mobile Health is set to expire on June 30. The city's looking at whether to renew that contract or find a new provider, like Austin-Travis County EMS, or Travis County ESD 2, also known as the Pflugerville Fire Department.
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In the past , Pflugerville FD has called for more funding to keep providing ambulance services as the city grew.
In 2021, voters shot down a proposition that would have raised taxes for that purpose. In 2022, ESD 2 said it was never paid for ambulance services, so in the end, it halted ambulance services and the city ended up working with private companies to fill that gap.
Pflugerville FD Chief Nick Perkins said now, it's a not question of if but when the city will need to change its approach.
"There is a demand for services. The more people you have in a community, the more services you need. And, you know, communities can be divided on that. And, you know, from where we stand, we believe public safety is an essential service," Perkins said.
Pflugerville city leaders seemed to lean toward simply renewing the contract with Allegiance. KVUE will continue to update here as more action is taken on the matter.