Pflugerville Fire Department funding faces crucial vote amidst heated dispute

As Election Day draws near, the most contentious item on the ballot for residents of Pflugerville is Proposition A.

Prop A would determine if a half-cent sales tax will be taken away from Travis County ESD 2, otherwise known as the Pflugerville Fire Department.

"If people go out and vote to abolish the sales tax, it's40% of our operational budget," said President of the Firefighters Association, Trevor Stokes, "It would make the department essentially unsustainable."

Stokes said the loss of revenue would force the layoffs of over 130 emergency service personnel, and the closure of three fire stations.

Pflugerville Mayor Victor Gonzales said voting in favor of Prop A would put the safety of his residents in jeopardy.

"Our first responders, whichare the firefighters, won'tbe able to arrive at a citizenscrisis immediately," said Gonzales.

But one group said those claims are just scare tactics.

The Pflugerville Residents for Responsible Taxation (PRRT) argue the district has enough money in their reserve to avoid layoffs.

They said, more importantly, taxpayers aren't getting what they're paying for.

"Our emergency service is handled by Travis County ESD 2, and they stopped providing services to the city three years ago," said PRRT member, Anthony Nguyen.

Nguyen said the ESD paused services at the end of 2021, citing a rising number of calls and rapid city growth.

The ESD still services other areas of the district, just not Pflugerville.

As a result, Pflugerville contracted a private ambulance company to help.

Nguyen said, as the second largest city in the county, Pflugerville should have their own, local fire department.

"We want to basically reallocate the control so that CityCouncil can control [our emergency services], and demand that public services come back to the city of Pflugerville," said Nguyen.

The path to this upcoming vote was not straightforward. It stemmed from a petition spearheaded by PRRT in 2022.

The petition, aiming to trigger an election on the sales tax removal, was initially rejected by the ESD No. 2 board on procedural grounds.

PRRT took the matter to court, leading to a legal battle that culminated in the Texas Supreme Court siding with the petitioners.

The court's ruling compelled the ESD No. 2 board to validate the petition's signatures and schedule the election for November 5th