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Task force member stresses Open Meetings Act, transparency for proposed ESD
Summary
Mark Rose, a task-force member, told the court that an emergency services district is a public subdivision governed by transparency laws and urged clear governance, public education, and structural safeguards if voters create ESD No.2.
Mark Rose, a member of the task force organized to study an emergency services district in northern Brewster County, told the commissioners court that an ESD is a public subdivision with obligations similar to county and city governments.
"Under the law in creating an emergency services district, you the people are creating a public subdivision... They're governed by the Open Meetings Act... and all of the transparency that is required by law," Rose told the court. He said those statutory obligations would require the district to operate with public notice for meetings and transparency about plans, operations, and budgets.
Rose urged the court and petitioners to emphasize public education and the structural safeguards that will help the district function over the long term, including clear board appointments and coordination with hospital districts or other entities to address indigent care.
