Emergency Service District Misinformation!
- Chappell Hill VFD
- Mar 27
- 10 min read
***PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***
Good Evening, Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire Department Supporters,
Recently, an email has been circulating within the Chappell Hill community about a campaign against Washington County ESD 1 and against the Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire Department. The fire department has received this email, and we would like to inform everyone who has received it that most of its information is false and incorrect. We are here today to discredit and set the record straight with facts about the subjects discussed in that email. The individuals who have sent out this email and launched this campaign were offered multiple times to sit down and discuss this at length with both fire departments but have refused. Please read carefully.
"Chappell Hill VFD opted out of EMS services within Chappell Hill."
While this is partially correct, EMS was left out of the original building of the ESD documents because EMS is already a fully funded organization within Washington County and is run by Washington County EMS. Chappell Hill VFD has never been approved to run EMS or first respond within the district. The status of EMS within Chappell Hill will not change because of this ESD.
"Chappell Hill VFD can still tax you to the highest amount."
This statement is false because the Chappell Hill VFD will not have any say in how much the ESD board sets the tax rate. The fire departments involved submit their yearly budgets, and it is up to the ESD board members to set the tax rate.
"Insurance Companies have told us that faster service does not mean lower insurance premiums."
Fire departments across the United States get an Insurance Rating from ISO. This ISO rating dictates how much an Insurance company is willing to lower your premiums based on the level of fire service. The higher the rating, the higher your premiums are, while the lower the rating, the lower your premiums could be lowered. Each insurance agency is different in how it determines your premiums. Most insurance agencies use the ISO grading criteria.
"Higher property taxes will reduce the salability of your home."
While potential buyers consider high taxes, most responsible homeowners consider an ESD a necessary cost to protect their homes.
"Chappell Hill VFD has failed to provide budgetary information to the Washington County Court and a falloff in the local fundraising efforts. People haven't received campaign letters in years."
This is false. The county started officially asking for budgets about three years ago, per the new MOU that the commissioners drafted. Each year, Chappell Hill VFD has given these budgets when asked, and each department within Washington County follows this MOU. Since the beginning of the fiscal year, the Chappell Hill VFD has received $51,883.95 from Washington County Court. The previous budget that was submitted to the court was $265,974. To see the total allocation of funds to the 10 fire departments within the county, here is a link to the county budget; see page 77. https://www.co.washington.tx.us/upload/page/0860/2025/2025_Adopted_Budget_9.10.24_1.pdf
The Chappell Hill VFD has worked hard to host three fundraisers yearly to support the department's operations. However, each fundraiser decreases in revenue, and support is dwindling. The Chappell Hill VFD has sent campaign letters yearly to each person who lives or owns property within the Chappell Hill VFD district. Out of 1,700 mailouts, only 19% of the letters sent out had a return of donations.
"ESDs are just big government, and this one is started by naive city slickers who miss the big city."
False. The state of Texas initially called ESDs Rural Fire Protection Districts in the mid-1900s to assist fire departments with funding. In 2003, the state changed the name to Emergency Service District, which also started to include EMS services if needed. ESDs are locals who live within the district. The money stays local and is not given to big government.
False. The individuals who started this process are locals of Chappell Hill who were born and raised within this area.
"Rural Chappell Hill has very few fire callouts, just a few pasture fires, and a very rare building fire."
False. The Chappell Hill VFD's call volume increased from 141 calls in 2023 to 244 calls in 2024. This was a 73% increase, and 2025 is set to run close to 300 calls. Structure fire calls increased 33% from 2023, grass fires increased 22% from 2023, and Motor Vehicle Accidents increased 398% from 2023. The Chappell Hill VFD is the busiest county volunteer fire department in Washington County.
"Virtually all the callouts are for vehicle fires on the highway or requests for assistance for neighboring WC and other county districts."
Partially True. Only 7 calls, or 2.86% of the calls, were vehicle fires. Out of 244 calls in 2024, the Chappell Hill VFD responded to 14 requests for mutual aid to other districts within Washington County.
"CHVFD should require reimbursement for extinguishing vehicle fires and helping other districts."
It has already been started. The Chappell Hill VFD is currently dispatched to a motor vehicle accident on the highway or a vehicle fire. In this case, the department bills individuals not living within the Chappell Hill VFD district.
We are not doing and will not do. We will never send bills to our neighboring departments to help. If this were done, the amount of money Chappell Hill VFD would have to pay out to other agencies would be way too much, and that is not the national standard, which is currently "help thy neighbor" under mutual aid agreements. This would also be a significant waste of donation money.
"An Emergency Service District (ESD) is a separate political subdivision, meaning it has its commissioners who set a property tax rate (the maximum is $0.10 per $100 valuation). They are not required to reduce the valuation of your property to include exemptions like homestead or over sixty-five exemptions. This new entity will become a permanent line on your property tax bill."
Correct. Each board member is selected by the Washington County Commissioner, whose district is affected by the ESD. However, to be on the board, these individuals MUST own property and be registered to vote within the proposed district.
Correct. They are not required to give exemptions, but if they are your neighbors and are good with finances, they can be given without sacrificing fire service funding.
What is taxed on my property?
The entire property is a part of this tax unless you have some ag exemption on your property. If you do have an ag exemption, that determines how much you would pay.
Example:
Market Value: $1,000,000
Ag Exemption: $750,000
ESD Taxable Value: $250,000
Yearly ESD Tax: $250
Monthly Total: $20-$21
"More frightening is an ESD may also impose a sales tax in its district and could impose a usage fee. Can you imagine suffering a devastating fire where you must produce the deductible your insurance does not pay and then find out the Fire Department sends a bill for showing up, charges for a false alarm, permit fees, and inspection fees?"
Partially Correct. ESDs cannot impose a sales tax but must establish a sales tax vote. This has to be voted on and approved by the individuals who live within the district if they choose to go after sales tax.
False. The ESD does not establish a "usage fee." Fire departments can bill for services, but most across the state do not bill taxpayers, and we do not plan on doing so.
Our department will never charge an ESD tax-paying citizen for our services since they already pay taxes for that service. This is not a standard and will not be a standard for the Chappell Hill VFD.
Partially Correct. Permit and inspection fees can only be imposed if a fire marshall is in charge of this type of service and the department deems it necessary. This is the same thing the city of Brenham does.
"A fallacy of the CHVFD proposal is they expect to raise your property taxes while the county continues to contribute to them and their constituents continue to attend and contribute to their fundraisers. Most citizens will feel that if the taxes are raised, they will not contribute anything more. It is certain that CHVFD will lose WC funding, and your WC taxes will not go down. WC (Judge) favors the ESD because it relieves them of the burden of funding CHVFD which is set to increase significantly now CHVFD has submitted a budget."
This is incredibly false. CHVFD again can not raise property taxes within the proposed boundary; this is the job of the ESD board members. If the ESD is established, the Chappell Hill VFD CANNOT receive more funding from the county.
The "relief of burden" funding for the Chappell Hill VFD is $51,000. The fire department has been told for years that the county would "significantly increase the budget" for the fire departments, but this has not yet been completed. Funds are being used to fund other fire-related projects but not directly to fund the fire department's operations.
"The justification for the ESD is faster response time based on NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards set for urban departments. Achieving their goal would require two full-time firefighters for each VFD. For two people to man, the station would require them to work twelve hours per day, seven days per week. At least three or four people would require each department to make regular shifts and cover vacations and sick leave. In addition to salaries, they would need workers compensation insurance and benefits such as medical insurance and retirement benefits. They also said they could attract more volunteers if they paid for their part-time work. Very soon, everyone will be paid."
The goal is and always will be a faster response time. When someone's house is on fire, or someone is trapped inside a vehicle, seconds and minutes matter. While people who do not work in the fire service may not see this as a big deal, those who live and breathe this profession see it as a huge deal.
The issue that most people do not understand is that volunteer firefighting is a dying breed and is going to go away in the near future. If there is no one to run to your call for help, then you have the potential to be subjected to death or loss of property.
"CHVFD has stated that they intend to build new facilities and to replace all equipment in both districts. It included replacing everything with new equipment, including new fire stations, even though Chappell Hill VFD's station is only a few years old and Meyersville refurbished theirs a few years ago. These plans have a very high price tag. They will raise bonds to pay for all this."
Breakdown. Chappell Hill VFD does not plan to build new fire stations within the next few years. This has been touched on during an ESD town hall meeting and meetings with people in the community. The Call Volume and need for a second station have to be justified. We stated previously that we would be looking to build station two in 10 years if the call volume is there.
True. Equipment is what not only protects firefighters on calls who respond to these emergencies but also protects property. If equipment continues to fail and doesn't work correctly, it needs to be replaced, and both departments have been working with outdated equipment for years.
False. Neither fire station is being replaced, but the facilities are being upgraded to house firefighters and meet the NFPA standards required of a fire station.
False. ESDs normally do not issue bonds to the district. Most ESDs take the necessary steps to ensure this does not happen.
"ESDs are covered in the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapters 775 and 776. It says the Commissioner's Court will appoint or elect the commissioners. It means the Chappell Hill citizens have no say once the ESD is formed. This ESD is formed with Meyersville, which will dilute any input from CH."
False. Citizens will have plenty of say. ESD meetings are just like any Commissioners Court meetings. Suppose you have any issues or concerns, they can be brought to the ESD board for review. Suppose you do not like how a particular board member performs (as in not funding correctly or showing bias). In that case, you can contact your county commissioner and talk to them about removing that person from the board and appointing a new member. All citizens have a right to speak at public meetings.
"The reason is to increase the chance of the ESD vote succeeding by diluting objections from Chappell Hill. Meyersville, to our north, has a small station with limited equipment and few folks to fundraise off of, and it has to cover a large area. The belief is that many of the Meyersville District folks would be in favor of improving their facilities and equipment at the expense of Chappell Hill."
False. Including Meyersville VFD in the district does not increase the chances of it passing. This "belief" is an opinion shared by individuals who do not work within the fire service and do not understand fire department teamwork.
This statement is an opinionated attack on both departments.
"A separate political subdivision means they must have all the 'bureaucrats' required by law, several as follows. The commissioners could be paid and must have a treasurer/comptroller. The books must be audited by a qualified CPA. Legal counsel must be retained, and required reports must be filed with the appropriate supervisory body. All this overhead will reduce the funds available for ESD operations."
True. As a taxing entity, there are many rules and regulations the board members will have to follow to ensure there is no foul play with taxpayer money.
"NFPA also has a recommended replacement schedule for fire trucks and other equipment, which is based on urban departments. If the department is making less than 10 or 12 runs per day, then the life of the truck is more than the fifteen years set for heavy use in urban departments."
False. The NFPA standard that talks about replacing vehicles is based on an average of urban runs AND rural runs. Once a vehicle hits 15 years in the fire service, it has been beaten heavily regardless of the type of incidents it responds to, some more than others. Fire trucks are used and abused ten times harder than your average vehicle. NFPA continuously improves safety standards to protect firefighters, which is also why the year is 15 years for recommended replacement.
"An ESD has police powers, and can levy fees and fines, and hire police officers. They have the power to require permits, require buildings meet code, and enter your property to make inspections."
SEVERELY FALSE. ESDs cannot, under any circumstances, hire police officers UNLESS the fire department is hiring a "fire marshall." State law does not allow law enforcement under this statute.
The misinformation in this setting gives people the wrong impression about ESDs. Here is the bottom line, Washington County ESD 1 is being created to create a reliable funding source for fire service within the Chappell Hill and Meyersville VFD districts. NFPA standards will always be used in justification because they are primarily written in someone's blood, whether a firefighter or a civilian. The firefighters within the Chappell Hill community genuinely care about this community. They will fight day in and day out for the protection of its citizens and those who visit. There may be people or officials who believe they know better, but the ones who do the job day in and day out see the truth and how it is.
A vote against Washington County ESD 1 is a vote against the firefighters. It is a vote against public safety. It is a vote against ensuring your family is safe if your home catches fire or gets into a car wreck.
On May 3rd, 2025, vote yes for Washington County ESD 1 and protect your future, family, and home.
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