Due to the continued growth in the county, and the pressure it is putting on local fire departments, more than 2500 people, including those living in the New Braunfels Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, could be left without fire and EMS protection come Jan. 1, Commissioner Jay Millikin said last week.

So Commissioners have proposed a new Emergency Service District 7.  They want to get it on the ballot for November and, if approved, have it in place by the first of the year, Millikin said.

"The ETJ has not been providing the city taxes, but citizens have been receiving fire and emergency services, which is not appropriate.  New Braunfels Fire Department has said they are overwhelmed, so their coverage of the affected area will end Dec. 31," Millikin said.  "We want this issue on the ballot for November, but before that, we'll have a public meeting on August 2 to allow residents to address any concerns."

The proposed ESD 7, which would collect between 3 and 10 cents per $100 of assessed property, would include all homes not covered by New Braunfels Emergency Services District.

The coverage area is spread around the county, and could possibly include the 75 homeowners in the so-called "no man's land" in the southern end of the county if those homeowners do not get annexed into ESD 6.

Retired U.S. Marine Col. Bob Reed was so concerned that Comal County's version of no man's land includes land that he has been working on a petition asking that it be voluntarily annexed by the bordering ESD 6.

The area between New Braunfels and Garden Ridge where Reeds lives was left out when boundaries were drawn for ESD 6 more than 10 years ago.  After officials changed their minds, residents voted down an opportunity to join ESD 6, Millikin said.

"For 25 years, I assumed that my wife, Gail, and I had always paid our county taxes and that we were covered in the event we needed assistance from the local fire or emergency services," Reed recently told the Herald-Zeitung.

"I'm getting some calls, and am continuing to gather signatures from people," Reed said Saturday.  "My petition is ongoing, but I do want to be added in with ESD 6.  I think that knowing it's only 3 cents per $100, it will be cheaper."

However, two elections would need to be held before the annexation request is approved, Bob Fleming, secretary of ESD 6, said.  The individual property owners would have to vote, and then the whole of ESD 6 would need to vote on the matter.  Both votes would have to pass, he said.

"Prior to the mid-80's, local county government around the state funded fire and emergency services," Millikin said.  "The public came with petitions for the right to vote in ESD's which are taxing entities in unincorporated areas that pay for fire and emergency services.  The Legislature established this in '87 or '88."

Subsequently, voters have approved additional ESD's as needed.

"Look, in 1999, it became apparent to me that the county was paying too much in contract services," Millikin said.  "We don't subsidize school districts.  Why should we subsidize other tax entities such as the ESDs, which were getting about $35,000 to $40,000 each year, right up until last year?"

Since then, the ESDs have been "weaned off throughout the years," he said, adding "they now are funded through a half-cent tax subsidy.

The county approved funding to send a letter to each of the affected homes to let them know its plan ahead of the Aug. 2 public meeting.

That meeting will be held following a regularly scheduled Commissioner's Court, 100 Main Plaza in New Braunfels.

For now, anyone wondering if they are in the proposed ESD 7 coverage area or not, need only do one thing, Millikin said.

"Take out this year's tax statement," he said.  "If (none of the line items) says 'New Braunfels city tax' or ESD 1,2,3,4,5 or 6,' then you're getting a free ride.

"it's a fact of life that every one needs to pay their fair share.  If it's not happening, it needs to be fixed."

By David Saleh Rauf

The Herald-Zeitung

July 5, 2007

CONTACT: Commissioner Jay Millikin
ph: (830) 221-1100
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