Hill Country Village plans to stick with San Antonio for fire coverage

The city of Hill Country Village will be renewing its 10-year contract with the city of San Antonio for firefighting and emergency medical services.

Hill Country Village City Council on Jan. 19 approved an interlocal agreement to renew the fire service pact at a rate of $272,950 per year. San Antonio City Council has yet to approve the agreement, but Hill Country Village officials indicated San Antonio officials signing off on the new pact is a formality.

While the new contact is an increase from $265,000 annually, former Hill Country Village Mayor Kirk Francis, who helped his town with contract negotiations, said his city will get more value by staying with San Antonio because of the latter’s ability to include EMS service.

Additionally, the San Antonio Fire Department's emergency crews can provide more resources, and Hill Country Village could better rely on availability of personnel at any of the three nearby SAFD stations that typically answer service calls from the city.

Francis said San Antonio has full fire/EMS stations on Thousand Oaks Drive, West Avenue and Bitters Road, all capable of answering Hill Country Village’s calls for service in a matter of minutes.

Hollywood Park previously provided fire and EMS services to Hill Country Village, which does not have its own fire and rescue department.

Francis said Hollywood Park this time around extended a 10-year offer at a rate of $125,000 annually, but that package included only fire services, and not EMS.

“We use EMS a lot more than we use [the fire department],” Francis said. He added that by sticking with San Antonio, Hill Country Village residents should collectively maintain an Insurance Services Office fire rating of 1, meaning the community has full fire service protection and local homeowners can save some money on home insurance.