July 24 – The Hunt County Commissioners Court will meet in Tuesday's regular session to determine whether a proposal to create an emergency service district should be included in the November ballot.
An item on the agenda for the meeting, which started Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the auxiliary court room at 2700 Johnson Street in Greenville. The session is public and will also be held via telephone and / or video conference and streamed at www.huntcounty.net/page/hunt.health_services
The district, or ESD, would encompass most of the county, except for the territorial boundaries of the cities of Commerce, Greenville, Josephine, and Royse City, and, once established, would provide supplies to volunteer fire departments.
Commissioners held two public hearings on the possibility of admitting the proposal and asked if voters would vote to approve the creation of the district and are legally required to take a decision on Tuesday.
Should elections be held, residents within the proposed ESD will be asked to confirm the establishment of the ESD and approve the collection of the property tax rate.
As part of a fire protection contract between the Commissioners & # 39; Court and the members of the Hunt County Firefighters Association, each department receives a monthly grant of $ 2,400 from the county to cover operating expenses.
The departments also receive a grant from the Hunt Memorial Hospital District, but ESD supporters said the payments now come close to covering the costs involved.
An ESD is a Texas state political division that has a tax authority and is governed by a five-member committee of commissioners who each serve for two-year terms. The board would be appointed by the commissioner's court.
The creation of an ESD would allow a tax rate to be set, with funding going to the county fire and rescue units, up to a maximum of 10 cents per $ 100 valuation.
The commissioners last examined the possibility of an ESD at the beginning of 2009 and rejected it as not feasible at the time.