Prosper council votes to consent to inclusion of town ETJ in proposed Collin County Emergency Services District

The Prosper Town Council on May 13 voted unanimously to consent to including the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) parcels in a proposed Collin County Emergency Services District No. 1, a county-driven plan that would allow a property-tax levy to raise money for fire and emergency medical services in unincorporated areas.

Council action came after a presentation from Chief Blassingame, who described the countywide funding shortfall that prompted the ESD proposal and urged council members to consent so residents in the town’s ETJ could vote on the measure this fall. “For over 15 years, the county has allocated approximately $1,000,000 annually to support fire departments handling calls outside their municipal boundaries,” Chief Blassingame said, adding that the funding level has not kept pace with rising equipment and personnel costs.

The ESD process requires municipal consent before the county may include a city’s ETJ in the ESD boundary; if a municipality does not respond within 60 days it becomes non-consent and ETJ residents would be ineligible to vote on the county ESD measure. Chief Blassingame said the county petition to form ESD No. 1 was accepted by the Collin County Commissioners Court in late February, and that commissioners will set the tax rate and ballot language if the ESD advances to voters.

Why it matters: the measure would alter…