City, VFDs share thoughts about ESD

The proposed countywide Emergency Services District (ESD) attracted a large number of attendees to the Nov. 2 meeting of the Grimes County Commissioners Court and has generated a lot of social media chatter. Navasota’s city manager and a few Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) officials agreed to share their point of view with The Examiner.

Debt impact to Navasota ETJ

The proposed ESD #2 will not be an upcoming agenda item for discussion or action at a Navasota City Council meeting but not necessarily for the reason residents might expect.

Navasota City Manager Jason Weeks said, “At this time, in the manner the ESD is being proposed, it is my professional opinion that this does not serve the best interests of our residents within our city limits nor those residents in our extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).”

Referring to the Navasota’s significant growth over the past couple of years and expected growth over the next 5-10 years, Weeks cited the “high probability that much of that growth east of town will be annexed into the city limits.”

He continued, “As the ESD begins providing fire services, they will more than likely need to issue debt for facilities and equipment, which will be paid by the property owners in the City’s ETJ and county. If those property owners are annexed in the City, the City would be required to pay the ESD for future debt payment they would have received from those property owners to pay their debt service. This would add a tax burden to our residents and business owners within the corporate limits of Navasota.”

According to Weeks, the City would have to then draw down the fund balance, issue debt or raise taxes to pay off that debt.

He added, “Navasota isn’t against ESDs; however, we want to make sure whatever is decided is a win-win for all parties involved.”

ESDs, a time and place

When it comes to ESDs, Whitehall VFD Fire Chief Freeman Vickers said, “They have a time and a place and that is primarily dependent on the demographics of the community the ESD is originated in. It’s a very expensive operation. There is a lot of money involved.”

Vickers continued, “The ESD is a separate layer of state government. Once it’s generated or put in place by the voters, it’s virtually impossible to eliminate it or turn it around. It takes a referendum and then what do you do with all the assets the ESD has acquired? You go from a tax-exempt, tax-free entity to a taxing entity so the structure of the fire service changes 180 degrees. It’s no longer volunteer.”

Vickers said when an ESD is established and the vote is canvassed and approved, all of the assets of the volunteer fire departments revert to the ESD. The ESD sets up the training and determines how many hours a volunteer can “volunteer.” 

According to Vickers, the “magic number” for a functioning ESD is approximately 125,000-150,000 people. While an ESD is said to improve ISO ratings, Vickers said a lot of restrictions would be placed on a department to improve its ISO ratings which Grimes County is right now not able or capable of introducing. 

His experience has also shown that the availability of tax dollars resulted in a decline in fundraising and interacting with the community.

Vickers proposes this is not the time, and the place is 10-15 years away, with more population, improved roads and access to private water systems.

ISO education needed

The Richards VFD remains neutral on the topic of ESDs but Fire Chief Court Norwood said he sees the benefit in the creation of local rather than countywide ESDs where tax dollars serve the local community. 

The ESD petition doesn’t get into the nuts and bolts of a tax rate, but petitioners Terry Lowrey and Richard Gremillion of Richards, have floated the idea of a 5-cent per $100 valuation when speaking to civic and community organizations. The Texas Constitution limits the tax rate to 10 cents per $100 valuation. Norwood believes 2-3 cents per $100 valuation is more palatable.

Norwood firmly believes citizens should educate themselves about the cost of operating a VFD before voting on such an initiative. Research should cover the VFD ISO ratings, the cost of fire equipment, fire runs, the number of structure fire responses over a year, manpower provided and response time.

Norwood said, “That is all part of your ISO rating. That’s what your insurance is based on – the manpower, the water, the time period to get a truck on the scene – all that affects your homeowners insurance. What I’m trying to say is homeowners need to educate themselves on what’s going on in the county. I want to give people the tools to ask questions. ”

Mums the word

At the north end of the county, Bedias VFD Fire Chief Trent Upchurch preferred not to comment on the proposed ESD but stated Bedias would be represented at the hearing. 

Similarly, Anderson VFD Fire Chief Michael Kimich preferred to take a neutral stance but plans to attend the January hearing. According to Kimich, a community-based document opposing the ESD garnered approximately 200 signatures and was presented to county commissioners.

Plantersville-Stoneham VFD board president Dean Miller acknowledged that some individuals have made up their minds. 

Taking a neutral posture, Miller said, “I don’t think it’s right for us as a county-supported entity to respond to that as a unit.” 

As of press time, The Examiner was unable to speak with anyone from either Shiro or Todd Mission VFDs.