Elgin officials urge property owners to sign petition to join Bastrop County ESD No. 3 to secure ambulance service

Elgin officials on a city podcast urged property owners who are registered voters to sign a petition by July 3 to place a November ballot measure asking whether the city should be annexed into Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 3 (ESD 3), a move they say would secure countywide ambulance and emergency medical services for Elgin.

The petition is required to include at least 50 signers who are both property owners and registered voters; the ESD must validate the petition and submit it to the elections office by Aug. 13 for a November election, Acting Community Services Director and Public Information Officer Stacy Afford Osborne said. “We need to get those specific people on this petition in order for it to go through and be valid,” Mayor Theresa McShan said.

Why it matters: Elgin currently receives ambulance service through a contract paid from the city’s general fund; officials said joining ESD 3 would share the cost across the district via a property tax assessment up to 10 cents per $100 of property valuation and provide access to the district’s ambulance resources, including five 24-hour ambulances, two 12-hour peak-load ambulances and 24/7 access to a critical-care paramedic supervisor. “We are part of the ESD because . . . we are all contributing to the cost of those ambulances through an in through a tax assessment on property values,” Osborne said.

Background and process details: Elgin previously opted out of joining the newly formed ESD last year because council members said they lacked sufficient information at the time. Officials now say questions have been answered, the ESD has established commissioners and contracts (the district contracts with Acadian for ambulance services), and city leaders have met frequently with ESD representatives.

Because a portion of Elgin and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) lie in Travis County, officials said an interlocal agreement has been secured to ensure residents in the Travis County portion of Elgin would be covered if the annexation proceeds. “We have an interlocal agreement with the ESD 3 to make for sure that they are covered,” McShan said.

Timeline and voting structure: If the petition is validated and the district calls the election, Elgin voters would see two items on their ballots: one item asking Elgin residents whether they want to join ESD 3, and a separate item for Bastrop County voters (including Bastrop and Smithville) to approve admitting Elgin into the district. Both approvals must pass for the annexation to take effect, McShan said. Officials emphasized that if Bastrop County voters decline, annexation would fail even if Elgin voters approve.

How residents can participate: Petition packets will be available at Dorothy’s Jewelry and will be carried by designated community volunteers at public events such as Western Days. The mayor said the city will post information on its social media channels to confirm authorized petition carriers and the official petition form. City staff said they expect about 10 volunteers will collect signatures and that the mayor’s office must submit the petition to ESD 3 for validation.

Officials’ cautions: City leaders stressed that signatures must come from property owners who are registered voters to be valid, and that strict deadlines — signatures submitted to the ESD by July 3 and ESD validation by Aug. 13 — must be met for a November ballot. Osborne said the city’s current contract funding ambulance service will continue while the petition and validation proceed.

Next steps: If the petition is validated, city officials said they will provide more information to residents about how joining ESD 3 would affect individual tax bills and service levels ahead of the November vote.