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Dimmit County court presses forward after Carrizo Springs skips meeting on ambulance cost-sharing
Summary
With Carrizo Springs absent, Dimmit County officials reviewed unpaid contributions and legal options for ambulance services; county attorney recommended drafting a template interlocal agreement and a legal letter, and no formal action was taken.
Dimmit County’s commissioners spent the evening pressing the city of Carrizo Springs for clarity about its share of ambulance and law-enforcement costs after the city’s representatives failed to attend a scheduled meeting.
County officials told the court that Carrizo Springs has paid $96,000 of a $144,000 amount referenced in the existing agreement. The judge said the city’s most recent payment was in May 2024 and that the county lacked the full contractual payment for the period.
County-hired attorney Keith Franklin advised the court that under the Health and Safety Code the county is authorized but not required to provide emergency medical services to a municipality without an interlocal agreement. Franklin cited a February 2001 Attorney General opinion saying municipalities may spend tax funds for emergency services as an exercise of their police power, and recommended the county draft a clear interlocal agreement and a legal letter explaining the county’s position.
"If there is no such agreement, then you're not required to provide medical service," Franklin said, recommending a draft local agreement with blank contribution fields and a proportional cost-sharing approach based on call volume as a negotiation starting point.
Commissioners raised the city’s recurring contention of "double taxation" — that city residents pay both city and county taxes — and debated whether that argument absolves the city from contributing. Franklin and several commissioners said double taxation does not automatically prevent a city from expending funds for emergency services, and proposed using call-volume or per-capita measures as a counterproposal to an equal split.
Bids for ambulance services remain outstanding after the court rejected prior bids and asked for rebids; commissioners said the court will not take over city-provided services unless a formal agreement or other action is adopted. With the city absent, the court took no formal action on agenda item 2.1 but authorized outreach and the preparation of a draft letter and draft interlocal agreement for further negotiation.
The court did not vote to change service levels and left procurement and any new contract decisions to a future meeting once bids and city responses are available. The judge said the county remains willing to continue negotiating to ensure services for constituents.
