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Josephine council approves ambulance agreement, directs web and drainage proposals and hears lengthy budget debate
Summary
At its July 13 meeting the council approved an ambulance service agreement and notice to terminate Collin County ambulance participation, directed staff to seek CivicPlus website/agenda software and a Schaumburg & Polk drainage proposal, approved several contracts and change orders, and spent extensive time on next fiscal year’s budget and TMRS retirement changes.
The Josephine City Council on July 13 handled multiple formal actions: it approved a new ambulance service agreement, authorized notice of termination to the Collin County ambulance coalition, directed staff to return with a CivicPlus website and agenda/minutes proposal, and directed staff to obtain a proposal from Schaumburg & Polk (SBI) for drainage work on County Road 640 and other High Meadow sites. The meeting also included approval of a Dunaway monthly engineering report, renewal of a delinquent-tax collection contract, and acceptance of a completed Milton Street change order.
Executive session yielded two recorded outcomes: council approved an ambulance agreement (item 8.1) and authorized notice of termination to withdraw from Collin County’s ambulance-service agreement (item 8.2). The motions were made and seconded on reconvening from executive session and passed by voice vote.
On technology, staff presented details about agenda/minutes software, streaming, and ADA-compliant web options. Council directed staff to bring a CivicPlus bundled proposal and agreement back at the next meeting so the city can evaluate cost, implementation and integration with YouTube and existing systems.
For drainage, engineering firm Schaumburg & Polk introduced a phased plan to update prior conceptual drainage studies (including boundary surveys, updated hydrologic/hydraulic modeling, 30% schematic designs and environmental/permitting coordination with the Army Corps and Collin County). Council moved to direct staff to request a proposal for work focused on County Road 640 on the northeast side of the High Meadow neighborhood; the motion carried.
Other approvals included the monthly engineering report from Dunaway, a renewal of the delinquent tax collection contract with Abernathy Roder Boyd, and acceptance of a $4,320 change order to finish asphalt overlay on Milton Street tied to a sewer project; council also accepted an annexation petition and continued a public hearing on a Milton Street rezoning to planned development to correct a public-notice defect.
Budget debate: The finance director presented a draft FY 2026–27 budget with no planned tax-rate increase and proposed personnel and TMRS (retirement) changes that would move the City toward an 8% TMRS contribution to aid recruitment and retention. Council engaged in a lengthy review and asked staff to provide more line-item detail, to justify capital requests and to return with answers before final adoption.
Why it matters: The ambulance decision affects emergency medical services and interlocal relationships with Collin County; the web software decision could change how residents access agendas and meeting video; drainage and budget items will affect capital spending and service levels in coming years.
What’s next: Staff will return with the CivicPlus proposal, the Schaumburg & Polk proposal for County Road 640, additional budget detail and a corrected public-notice timeline for the Milton Street rezoning hearing.
