ESDone

We did it!  We successfully negotiated a contract with the Johnson County Emergency Services District for one more year and we achieved the goals of the City of Joshua.

I began the process of really investigating the ESD and the relationships they have with our city and the others in the district over a year ago.  We've been in numerous meetings with them to discuss our concerns with inequality of funding, leadership and procedural issues and we tried for the last two months to come to an agreement on a contract.  We continued to get nowhere so the Joshua City Council decided unanimously last month on several major points that would take us in a different direction more suited to our city and with less reliance on an outside organization that doesn't see the distribution of taxpayer funds the same way we do.

For nearly six hours on September 30th, the last day of the contract, a group of us from the city including City Manager Paulette Hartman, Director of Operations Mike Peacock, Fire Chief Wayne Baker, Mayor Pro Tem Glen Walden, City Attorney Betsy Elam, myself and our then vacationing Mayor Joe Hollarn on speakerphone negotiated with the ESD delegation which consisted of Board members Jack Watson and Glenn Reue, Director of Operations Joey Reed and the ESD Attorney Ken Campbell.  Johnson County Precinct 2 Commissioner John Matthews was also in attendance to assist as moderator if needed.  There were but a few snide remarks throughout the day so overall I was very pleased with almost everyone's professionalism and extremely proud of our Joshua group for staying on task and seeing the plan through to the end.

That evening the Joshua City Council convened a special session where the rest of the council was briefed on the details of the negotiations.  In open session the council approved by a 6-0 vote the following conditions for the new contract:

1. The Joshua Fire department will cover an area in Johnson County only equal to the corporate city limit boundaries plus the unincorporated streets in the Wildwood Estates area on the East side of Hwy 174.
2. Compensation for the coverage area will be $120,622.00
3. Joshua will not provide Automatic Aid to the ESD
4. Joshua will not provide Mutual Aid to the ESD

Item number 4 has already been exploited by a member of the ESD camp to have the public believe Joshua will not assist our neighbors. Nothing is further from the truth.  Our city has in place numerous mutual aid agreements with most neighboring volunteer fire departments and cities and will honor those contracts as good and compassionate neighbors and work to continue those agreements.  What we rejected was a mutual aid contract provision with the ESD who as an entity cannot supply mutual aid anyway since they don't have any apparatus or personnel to do so at this time.  Furthermore, the ESD wanted to charge us for receiving mutual aid and that's just not neighborly at all.  The other fire departments in the county are independent contractors and can sign mutual aid agreements with any other fire department they wish.

What does this mean for the taxpayers of Joshua?  You will contribute for 2011 approximately $160,000 to the ESD.  The $120,000 we'll receive back is less of a deficit than any year past for the service area and number of calls our department will cover.  You always have and will continue to subsidize fire protection for the county residents outside the Joshua city limits.  The big difference for the new contract is that the Joshua Fire Department will cut at least 40% of the emergency calls they are required to respond to in the next year.  Our trucks will be in our station more often and ready to respond in the city.  Our expenses will go down and our equipment will last longer.  Until such time that state legislation allows a mechanism for the city to remove itself from the ESD we are forced to contract with the ESD to receive any of your tax money back.  Such legislation is what I am pursuing.  While that action would eliminate all funding to us from the ESD it would also eliminate your tax burden to them.  You could then decide if you would like to increase your tax contribution to the city to have your money actually all go to your fire department or not.  It would be your choice.

You'll be told by our opposition that we cannot stand on our own, we can.  You'll be told by our opposition that you are not as protected as you were, you are.  You'll be told by our opposition that we cannot afford to be without the ESD, we can.

Joshua is sovereign, Joshua is strong.

A.J.