Town Hall meetings to discuss Emergency Services vote
The November election will determine the future of ambulance services in Milam County.
County voters are set to decide whether or not they want to create an Emergency Services District for Milam County.
Milam County Judge Bill Whitmire said dates, times, and locations for town halls regarding the possible creation of an Emergency Services District are set. Meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. each night and will allow citizens to be informed about the ESD, what it will do, and have their questions and concerns answered.
Meeting dates and locations are: Thorndale Precinct 4 Annex on Oct. 5; Rockdale MDD on Oct. 10; Bea’s Kitchen in Cameron on Oct. 12; Buckholts Community Center on Oct.16; Bea’s Kitchen on Oct. 23; Thorndale Precinct 4 Annex on Oct. 24; Rockdale MDD on Oct. 25; Gause First Baptist Church on Oct. 26; and Buckholts Outreach Center on Nov. 3.
Election Day is Nov. 7.
If approved, the ESD would create a new taxing entity in the county to help pay for ambulance services here.
The county held a vote last May on the matter and Milam County voters overall were in favor of creating the ESD 1,223-774.
However, the way ballots were built for the May election, voting was countywide. Rockdale, Thorndale, and Cameron all had city ballots and could thus be tracked to the correct municipality. Broken down by each city, the measure still passed in each. However, without municipal elections in Milano or Buckholts, results could not be determined as each municipality must also pass the creation of the ESD.
Any city that votes down the ESD could be left uncovered by ambulance services as the Commissioners Court could still choose to create the ESD but exclude the city that votes it down. Because of the mixup with the ballots in May, the county got a court order to set aside the partial results and send it back up for election.
A group of Milam County citizens banded together in 2022 in hopes of creating a countywide emergency services district. The group, comprised of Milano Fire Chief Kain Dodd, Amanda Huner from Thorndale, Warren Matous from Rockdale, Dustin Thomas from Cameron, and Derrellene Zbikowski from Davilla, formed The EMS Advisory Committee, Milam County.
The county added an additional emergency vehicle in the summer of 2022, but that vehicle can’t transport patients.
If the election passes and the ESD is created, the Commissioners Court will appoint five board members to serve on the ESD board.
An ESD generates its funding from an AD Valorem Tax. The Texas constitution sets this tax limit at $0.10 per $100 worth of appraised property value. This does not mean the ESD would tax the maximum of .10 cents. The ESD will have to set a budget and tax rate within Truth-in-Taxation laws. Once the tax rate is set you do not have to worry about it creeping up each year until it reaches $0.10. The only way the tax rate can change is by voter approval. The ESD will have the same tax exemptions as the county. Including the over 65 or disabled person homestead exemptions and over 65 homestead ceilings.