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Opt‑out parcels and McKinney contracts create potential coverage 'checkerboard,' county hears
Summary
County and ESD officials warned that parcels opting out of McKinney’s ETJ could be excluded from McKinney’s contract terms, producing gaps in fire/EMS coverage that the ESD would need to backfill; commissioners raised legal and logistical concerns about a patchwork or 'Swiss cheese' coverage pattern.
Commissioners and Kevin McGillis, president of Emergency Services District No. 1, discussed a central operational challenge: city contracts with McKinney appear to exclude parcels that have opted out of the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), which could leave scattered properties without predictable city response. McGillis explained that McKinney’s position is that if a parcel elects to leave the ETJ, it is not automatically included in a city contract. "So that's the disconnect," he said.
Court members described the outcome as potentially punitive for property owners who exercised their statutory right to opt out of an ETJ and warned the pattern could create a 'checkerboard' of coverage the ESD would be obliged to address. Commissioners said the county will need to pursue interlocal agreements or backfill arrangements and that contractual language and renewal timing may be critical if a city chooses to stop serving properties that previously had coverage. The court urged negotiation with McKinney and other providers to avoid gaps in emergency service response.
