Collin County Commissioners Court discussed the proposed Emergency Services District and an administrative update on city consents to include extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs) at its April 28 meeting.

County staff told the court that the cities that have consented to include their ETJs in the ESD are Blue Ridge, Celina, Farmersville, Fate, Josephine, "Lebonne" (as listed in the staff update), Lowry Crossing, McKinney, Melissa, Murphy, Nevada, Princeton, Weston, Wylie and Royce City. Cities that have definitively declined were listed as Frisco, Lucas, St. Paul and Van Alstyne. The county said Anna, New Hope, Parker and Prosper remained in the process of deciding and that Allen, Garland, Hebron and Trenton had not responded. The staff update was given by a county staff member identified in the record as Mr. Kim.

The court and staff warned that residents who live inside a city's ETJ that does not consent will be ineligible to vote in the ESD election and, if the ESD is approved, would not receive county-provided fire or ambulance service through the ESD. "For those individuals . . . they will not be able to participate in the election in November to choose to decide on whether, to be for the ESD to pass," Mr. Kim said. He added, "And secondly, should the ESD pass, the emergency service district would not be able to provide fire and emergency services to those individuals." (Mr. Kim's remarks were part of the county staff presentation.)

Court members walked through residents' options if their city does not consent. County staff said a property owner can file a statutorily authorized petition to opt out of an ETJ under the legislative changes commonly referenced in the meeting as House Bill 2038. The staff presentation said the opt-out petition must be filed with the city; if the city takes no action within 45 days, the petition is deemed granted by operation of law. County staff urged property owners who intend to opt out to initiate that process in May so the county can receive notice and update GIS and elections lists ahead of a July public hearing to set ESD boundaries.

A commissioner on the court urged the county to provide clear, accessible information. "We need some type of a white page, you know, 1 pager so people can understand kind of how we got here, you know, and where we're going and, you know, what remedies are potentially available," the commissioner said. County staff responded that they will produce templates and examples of opt-out petitions, update the county ESD web page, and consider broad outreach including press releases and using the county's Everbridge notification system.

The court did not take a formal vote on the ESD boundaries at this meeting. Staff said the court will hold a public hearing in July to set the ESD boundaries and that residents must both complete the statutory opt-out process with their city and notify county staff if they have done so, or they risk being excluded from the November ballot for the ESD election.

Why this matters: Residents in affected ETJs may lose access to county-provided fire and ambulance services if their city declines to include its ETJ and the ESD is approved. The county emphasized outreach steps and an opt-out timeline so property owners can preserve their ability to vote on, and be covered by, the proposed ESD.

The county provided a list of cities consenting, declining, pending and unresponsive during the staff update; residents were told to contact their city council to confirm municipal plans for fire and EMS and, if desired, to pursue the statutory opt-out petition process.

Looking ahead: County staff said they will (1) publish sample opt-out petitions and update the Collin County ESD web page, (2) coordinate with elections and appraisal stakeholders to update voter lists if opt-outs are filed, and (3) pursue broad public notifications in May and June so property owners understand their options before the July boundary hearing.