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Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 3 appears to be coming to Elgin after voters OK’d the services during the Nov. 4 election, according to unofficial results as of 10:16 p.m. Nov. 4.
The details
With the ESD No. 3 expansion approved, Elgin residents and those who live in its extraterritorial jurisdiction within Bastrop County will pay up to $0.10 per $100 of taxable value to the district—a move that would become effective in January.
How we got here
Bastrop County commissioners, as well as each City Council within the county, unanimously approved placing the proposition on the November 2024 ballot—except for the city of Elgin and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Elgin officials decided to opt out from participating at a meeting in August 2024.
The remainder of Bastrop County voters approved the creation of ESD No. 3, which is expected to increase the number of EMS units in most areas.
The proposition ended up on the Nov. 4 ballot after the board of commissioners for ESD No. 3 unanimously called for the election during an Aug. 13 meeting.
Some context
Preston McGrew, a Bastrop County First Responders volunteer, helped pitch the idea for ESD No. 3. He and his peers, Caleb Peck and Paul Hightower, cited long response times across Bastrop County when making presentations at City Council meetings across Bastrop County.
“We frequently see it go to level zero, which means there are no ambulances available anywhere in the county, and wait times between 45 minutes to an hour,” McGrew previously told Community Impact. "This just isn’t sustainable as a long-term solution, especially with the population growth we are seeing in Bastrop County."
ESD No. 3 officials have listed several objectives for ESD No. 3, including:
What’s next?
Community Impact will update this article as more election day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit www.communityimpact.com/voter-guide to see results from all local and state elections in your community.
