Officials made the decision during a Nov. 9 meeting, and the deal involves Acadian Ambulance Services, LLC, which would begin providing services Jan. 1.
Council Member David Rogers said Nov. 2 the fact that Acadian is not charging the city as part of the contract and will subsequently rely on billing for revenues served as an attractive element of the deal.
On Oct. 30, Travis County commissioners Jeff Travillion and Brigid Shea issued a statement condemning the contract with Acadian and calling on all residents of Pflugerville and in its extraterritorial jurisdiction to vote yes on a Nov. 2 ballot initiative for the newly created ESD No. 17 overlay district to annex both areas.
"Voting for ESD 17 means saying no to for-profit corporate ambulances that are known for long response times to emergencies, that can cost you twice as much and who aggressively debt collect to include even putting liens on people's homes," the statement said.
The same day, many residents spoke out against the deal and urged council to wait for the results of the annexation election before moving forward with Acadian.
The ballot measures to annex the city in ESD 17 failed in the unofficial vote count by wide margins, with residents voting almost 65% against the measure to pay taxes to the district.
In addition to the ballot measures failing, Pflugerville City Council recently passed a franchise requirement to provide emergency medical services within city limits.
