Councilmembers raised questions Sept. 15 about sharing dispatch and emergency-services costs with neighboring taxing entities, including the county and the local emergency services district, after staff described the city’s current dispatch arrangements and past efforts to secure additional funding. "I would imagine that at least half of their work is devoted to emergency services," Councilman Hancock said, arguing the city should explore charging other agencies for dispatch and related services. Garrett, the ESD liaison, told the council the city had previously paid for dispatch positions intended to improve EMS representation but that actual dispatcher time used for ambulance calls was low. "If I had to guess ... we use maybe 5 percent of the dispatcher's time," Garrett said, characterizing current EMS usage as a small portion of total dispatch activity and noting the difficulty of quantifying a fair charge. Why it matters: Dispatch and emergency services are shared public-safety resources; council members said the city should explore whether other local governments that use those services should contribute more. Nut graf: Staff and the ESD liaison recommended further study and math to quantify usage before seeking contributions; the mayor said he would invite the county commissioner to discuss participation. Details: Council discussed examples of service-area overlap: the ESD directly funds the El Campo Volunteer Fire Department in some parts of the county, while the city funds police dispatching and some fire responses. Staff noted the ESD already contributes incrementally — the council increased a contribution by $11,000 this year — but said a larger billing arrangement would require a defensible method to allocate costs to other taxing entities. Staff emphasized operational complexity: during large incidents dispatch resources are heavily focused on fire or major events and cannot be dedicated exclusively to any single user. No formal action: The council did not vote on a cost-allocation plan at the workshop; Mayor said he would invite the county commissioner to discuss potential cooperation and staff said they would run numbers if the council asks. Ending: Councilmembers expressed support for continuing the conversation but did not direct any immediate changes to the dispatch or ESD arrangements at the Sept. 15 workshop.