Collin County commissioner outlines proposed emergency services district, timeline and local impacts

Commissioner Daryl Harrell of Collin County told the Blue Ridge City Council on March 2025 that a petition meeting statutory requirements has launched a process to place an emergency services district on the November ballot to fund ambulance, fire and other emergency services in unincorporated areas.

Harrell said the county received the petition in February and that the next steps include each municipality deciding whether to include or exclude its extraterritorial jurisdiction from the ESD vote. He said the county will hold a public hearing on July 21 to set proposed boundaries; the ESD vote itself must appear on a November ballot. "Once once we have those boundaries done, we'll know roughly what tax rate is set on the election," Harrell said, adding county estimates of a likely levy in the range of about 5¢ to 7.5¢ per $100 of assessed value, noting ESDs statewide can go up to 10¢.

Why it matters: an ESD can levy property taxes to pay for emergency services in areas outside municipal limits. Harrell said the commissioners' court would appoint the ESD's governing commissioners and that the ESD could contract with existing volunteer and municipal fire departments rather than create a county-run department.

Harrell told the council the petition lists the specific emergency services the ESD could provide under the Health and Safety Code, chapter 775, and that the county has posted a statement of principles and details about the proposal on collincountytx.gov. He described the ESD as a mechanism for unincorporated-area residents to tax themselves to finance ambulance and fire services and training, and said the county plans to encourage contracting with existing local departments to "replicate the service model that's been in effect."

Council members and residents asked about how county payments to local fire departments currently work and how an ESD would change those payments. Harrell said the county now pays fees to local departments for responses outside city limits based on coverage area and call volume; he said that fee structure could increase under an ESD. "It would actually probably be going up quite a bit under an ESD because we we all recognize that there's not been an increase," Harrell said.

Harrell warned of consequences if some cities opt out of providing service to areas in their ETJs. Using local examples, he described scenarios where municipal departments have stopped covering areas outside city limits and volunteer or neighboring departments have had to respond, sometimes producing long travel times and higher insurance ratings for affected properties. "The ISO rating is gonna skyrocket, and that's an insurance rating that determines how high the insurance cost will go," he said, later adding that in some cases homeowners may struggle to obtain insurance or mortgages if an area becomes unprotected.

He also discussed constraints imposed by state law. Harrell cited limits on property tax increases under Senate Bill 2 and changes affecting annexation tied to recent bills (he referenced "SB 2" and "SB 6" and another bill by number as context for why cities cannot always annex new development in the way they did previously). He said those changes, combined with rapid growth in unincorporated areas and MUDs (municipal utility districts), have increased demand for organized county-level solutions.

Harrell said the county does not intend to create a standalone county fire department; instead, county auditors and staff would provide limited administrative support while most revenue would flow to contracted local departments. He urged council members and residents to consult the Collin County website for the county's materials and invited questions about specifics of coverage and funding.

The presentation closed with Harrell answering council and public questions about fees, response times, volunteer department capacity and how the ESD would operate if voters approve it in November. No formal city action on the ESD was recorded during the meeting.