ESD 2 provides fire and rescue, EMS and ALS services to Pflugerville, the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, parts of the city of Austin and unincorporated Travis County.
At issue is the fact that the board of commissioners for ESD 2 has stated that due to funding issues it will no longer be able to provide EMS and ALS along with fire and rescue services after Sept. 30.
A Jan. 15 letter from ESD 2's board obtained by Community Impact Newspaper stated that the district's projections show its financial reserves will be depleted by 2024. Subsequently, the district requested an annual $2.7 million subsidy from the city of Pflugerville to maintain EMS and ALS services.
An outside study from AP Triton, a consulting firm specializing in emergency and first responder operations, commissioned this spring by the city of Pflugerville concluded ESD 2 did not need the requested $2.7 million subsidy from the city.
The report was brought before city officials in June, and ESD 2 commissioners said they disagreed with its findings shortly after that.
Despite that back and forth, the ESD 2 board of commissioners voted on July 15 to extend its emergency medical, advanced life support and ambulance transport services to Pflugerville through the end of 2021.
Amid that activity, both entities have so far maintained negotiations with each other but also entertained other options.
During the July 27 City Council meeting following a lengthy discussion, officials directed City Manager Sereniah Breland to set up a meeting to discuss a possible agreement with ESD 2 on either Aug. 7, Aug. 14 or Aug. 28.
Should ESD 2 accept any of those dates for a joint meeting, the agenda topic will be a review of operational performance comparing their requirements against resources AP Triton stated ESD 2 could operate within, according to City Council.
