Gillespie County and the City of Fredericksburg discussed boosting support for rural volunteer fire departments on Aug. 27 after local officials presented year‑to‑date call increases as high as 78 percent at some stations.

County staff proposed keeping direct funding to volunteer departments at $235,000 for fiscal 2025‑26 — the same as last year — and noted the total shared program budget, including radio‑tower maintenance, is about $259,000. County presenters said calls are up across local departments and gave examples: “Charlie Lewis has increased 78% calls year to date,” and other departments reported increases of 31–64 percent.

Why it matters: Volunteer departments supply front‑line response across much of the county and cover remote areas where municipal services take longer to reach. Officials said higher call volume drives fuel, vehicle maintenance and equipment costs even if most volunteer departments are not funded for salaries.

County staff recommended continuing the base plus call‑volume distribution used last year (a $30,000 base per department and the remainder allocated by calls). Commissioners and council members debated whether the shared funding should rise to reflect higher demand. One county official said keeping funding flat “is open for discussion” and acknowledged last year’s increase was already substantial.

As a practical step, the governing bodies agreed informally to place a $50,000 placeholder in the joint draft — about $25,000 from each taxing entity — for further review. Commissioners and city council members asked county fire‑marshal and the volunteer chiefs for a clearer, itemized request that would show how additional dollars would be used (fuel, vehicle maintenance, turnout gear, training) and to provide annual financial reports from each department.

Discussion vs. decision: The workshop produced discussion, a tentative placeholder allocation and direction to solicit more detailed needs from the volunteer departments; no ordinance or binding vote was taken.

What comes next: County staff and the fire marshal were asked to prepare a revised proposal and to assemble department‑level budgets and call histograms so the city and county can evaluate whether a larger, staged increase or other structural change (for example, EMS staffing models) is warranted.

Ending: Officials said they want to act quickly because department leaders report rising costs now; they also emphasized the need for written, department‑level information before making a formal budget commitment.