Travis County ESD 17, Prop A
WBNA Zoom Meeting
Thursday, April 22 • 7:00pm
*LINK TO RECORDED SESSION*
***If you were unable to attend the WBNA Town Hall Meeting: Travis County Prop A: ESD 17 Presentation, we are providing a link to the recording of the zoom meeting.***
Representing ESD 17, the following members of ESD 2 attended:
The WBNA hosted this Town Hall session to help increase community awareness of this topic. We offer no political statements. We simply encourage community members to seek out information and VOTE.
Earlier Article: In order to provide the community with some background information on an important topic, the WBNA will be hosting a Zoom meeting regarding the creation of Travis County ESD 17, Prop A. As always, our goal is to provide an unbiased overview of the information available, along with voting dates. Remember, every vote counts.
EARLY VOTING: April 19-27 | ELECTION DAY: May 1
Regardless of whether you choose to be FOR/AGAINST Travis County EDS 17, Prop A, we are simply encouraging you to vote. It is worth noting that the City of Pflugerville chose not to place this proposition on the upcoming ballot and will defer further budget discussions. By voting, the voice of the Wells Branch community will be heard.
Normally, the WBNA would plan an evening meeting at the Wells Branch Community Center, host a guest speaker, provide refreshments and encourage friends and neighbors to gather, exchange ideas and ask questions. The on-going COVID restrictions limit a face-to-face session, so we are going to “ZOOM” past that restriction.
Join the WBNA Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 870 6866 0446
Passcode: 298067
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87068660446?pwd=dnNnZXpNdlFYRHFBVTR5NThBQWFtdz09
In addition, we are going to provide several links, documents and a short presentation from a variety of sources. The goal is put information into the hands of community members so you can make an informed choice. Please review all the information prior to heading to the polls.
VIEW: WBNA ESD 17 Overlay Talking Points
READ: Vote to Keep your Ambulances and Advanced EMS Services May 1, WBNA Newsletter article from Josh Stubblefield, President, IAFF Local #4137
VISIT: voteforesd17.com – noteworthy link from that site:
voteforesd17.com/frequently-asked-questions/
There’s also excellent public information on ESD 2/Pflugerville Fire Dept including operations, financials, etc: https://pflugervillefire.org
Report from The Perryman Group: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/pflugerville-looking-at-discontinuing-citys-ambulance-service?fbclid=IwAR0orkSbKkI6LamAgDH1cCIAlJvrSUZMX3eUNZR9s7Pd6lELfsoTND-N8GU
REVIEW: Reprint of a WB Google Group post from WB Neighbor, Ben Williams
“I encourage everyone to do their homework here. Pflugerville is asking some good questions of ESD 2, and I think everyone should have those answers before even considering to place this proposition on the ballot. As it stands, we don’t have enough evidence to cast an educated vote. It is incredibly important that we all evaluate this issue carefully – it is not as simple as “save our fire/EMS” service. We need to help ESD 2 continue to serve us, but their suggested solution deserves more scrutiny.
In particular, Pflugerville City Manager Sarah Breland summed up their concerns:
- a lack of evaluation of all funding options, outside of establishing a district overlay
- a lack of financial evidence to support the overlay request
- an explanation of sales tax revenue estimates not having been made available
- and the threat of removing ambulances from district when the ESD has not provided financial evidence of bankruptcy.
Beyond this, I encourage everyone to commit to voting in favor of consistently voting to keep ESD2 at their constitutionally-mandated 10 cent cap on property taxes. Math will require them to ask us for voter approval periodically to achieve this, and I will never hesitate to vote for them to receive the full 10 cents.”
– Ben Williams, Wells Branch Community Member