Vote for ESD3
Submitted by jcht2010 on
To the voters of Edna Independent School District:
My goal for this article is to inform you, the citizens, of the facts about Emergency Services District 3 that have been conveyed wrongly.
The citizens that live in the Edna Independent School District area have the chance to vote on May 11, 2013 as to whether or not we need these services,
I understand that the article published on March 27 is based on an editorial opinion. ESD3 will provide services to all of the EISD area, not just the City of Edna. These services include emergency medical services, fire prevention and protection, rescue, and hazmat first response.
I have been hearing that we will be double taxed because the hospital already provides EMS. Jackson County Hospital District does not provide EMS to the EISD area at this time nor will they provide you with fire prevention and protection, rescue, and hazmat if ESD3 is not passed.
The paper seems to want everyone to believe that this is an argument between two EMS services. It’s not. This is to keep you protected from all emergencies that may arise in your day-to-day life.
Our Edna Volunteer Fire department is 100 percent volunteer and I believe they do a great job when they are available. Do you want to rely solely on volunteers to respond to your accident or fire? Most volunteers work out of town and are not readily available to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The city of Edna currently covers 315 square miles of EMS, but is limited to the city for immediate response on fire calls and responds outside of the city limits when volunteers are not available, but this is not an immediate response at this time. If the city no longer maintains a career staff, then who will respond when volunteers (my husband is a member of the Edna Volunteer Fire Department) are not available?
The burden to provide funding for these services has been mainly on the City of Edna taxpayers since the volunteer fire department was formed. As a county resident I think it’s time we step up and help. With the formation of ESD3 it will allow the full time career staff to respond to all of the ESD3 area for EMS, fire, rescue, and hazmat along with the help of the volunteers and mutual aid.
The establishment of ESD3 may result in better Insurance Service Office rating and lower insurance premiums for homeowners and businesses.
As a taxpayer in the proposed district, the maximum tax approved by the State of Texas Legislature is 10 cents per $100, so if you own a $100,000 house the maximum tax you would pay is $100 per year for all services, fire, EMS, rescue and hazmat, not just an ambulance.
I am a taxpayer in the EISD area and I personally think that the formation of ESD3 is crucial and will result in quicker response times for us as county residents for all emergencies. Right now we rely on volunteers who are not available full time and we cannot guarantee that these emergencies will be responded to in a timely manner if there is a response at all.
I strongly ask that you inform yourself on the facts and not the opinions of others who may be uninformed about ESD3 and how it can protect you and your family before you go to the polls.
It is up to us as citizens to determine the level of fire protection and other services we want to protect us and I hope you are informed and able to make a decision that we will not regret down the road.
You can go to www.jcesd3.org to ask questions and find out more information.
I will be voting for the ESD3 on May 11 and I hope you do, too.
Debra Matocha
Edna, Texas
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