PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — At a special meeting Wednesday, the Pflugerville City Council denied a resolution to create a proposed Travis County Emergency Services District No. 17.
This means that the proposal will not appear on the ballot in the May election for the City of Pflugerville of the Pflugerville ETJ, as city leaders say they need more time to explore options for the future of fire and EMS services.
"As elected officials, our job is to ask questions because we are accountable to the residents of Pflugerville, and with an issue as important as emergency medical services, your city council is working to ensure that the best decision is made," said Mayor Victor Gonzales. "Today we’ve opened up a new chapter to continue to work with the Travis County ESD No. 2 Board towards a long-term solution. It’s going to take a cooperative effort and we are committed to doing what’s best for our citizens."
The city council has retained a third-party consultant to perform an assessment of fire and EMS service options. A City spokesperson said the analysis will give the council an objective perspective on various options for EMS service, including the evaluation of creating Travis County ESD No. 17, so that they can make a more informed decision.
The study is expected to be complete in mid-May. Once finished, the issue will return to the council for discussion.
Last month, Travis County Commissioners Jeff Travillion and Brigid Shea penned a letter to the council asking them to "allow your voters to decide" after the petition was created regarding ambulance service funding.
The Pflugerville Firefighters Association and residents also held a rally in support of the petition during a recent Pflugerville City Council meeting.
"The citizens want to have a say in their public safety, as they rightfully should, and they want to vote on this matter," said Josh Stubblefield, president of the Professional Pflugerville Firefighters Association. "They want to vote to keep the ambulance service that they have now without any changes, no degradation in service and just continue forth. And then we're also able to grow with the community as the community is growing, because that's another reason that we're not able to keep up as the booming growth and increasing demand for our service."
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