Ector County officials will discuss a petition for an emergency services district at a meeting, potentially impacting voters outside Odessa.
County Judge Dustin Fawcett mentioned that the meeting is set for Tuesday at 10 a.m. They’ll be looking at a petition aimed at providing fire and emergency services to county residents. Plus, they’ll schedule a public hearing for February 11.
Last November, a similar proposal didn’t go through, which would have given full-time fire and EMS services to the area. Right now, all emergency calls are handled by the City of Odessa’s fire department.
The petition has around 200 signatures and aims to get the emergency services district on the May 3 ballot. If it passes, there would be a county-wide tax to fund full-time fire and EMS services.
The tax could be up to 10 cents per $100 of property value, which means for a $100,000 home, it would be about $100 a year, or roughly $8.33 a month. It’s worth noting that fire and EMS services are separate petitions, so the tax could go up to 20 cents per $100 valuation.
Fawcett clarified that the county isn’t behind the petition but has to include it in the May election and hold public hearings. Only people living outside Odessa can vote on this and will be the ones paying the new property tax if it goes through.
If the measure is approved, a five-member commission will be appointed to manage the emergency services district. Fawcett believes this is a solid way to improve emergency services in the county, but there are still some details to work out. Early voting kicks off in April, so stay tuned!
