Editorial Summary: As documented in the 11 October 2022 Willow Park City Council Meeting, one purpose of selling the Willow Park Fire and Rescue Department to ESD1 is to build a new Willow Park City Hall, but WP and ETJ voters have the final say on the 08 November general ballot; Proposition A and B, Selling the WP Fire-Rescue to ESD1; Issues to Study - tax increase, fire and rescue service and autonomy, proposed benefits to WPFR.
• Latest Update: Monday, 07 November, 2022
• Tags: #Elections2020 #CityHall #EMSFirePoliceAmb
• The Community News article, 28 October 2022
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Voter Ed: Selling the Willow Park Fire-Rescue Department
Every vote counts. “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little,” advised economist and philosopher Edmund Burke.
Propositions A&B
On the 08 November general election ballot for Willow Park and Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ), the Parker County Emergency Services District 1 (ESD1) has placed two Special Election questions.
Proposition A, "Adding a tract of land located in the City of Willow Park, Texas, and adjacent territory to Parker County Emergency Services District No. 1”. For or Against.
“Adding a tract of land” means annexing the area of Willow Park and ETJ fire-rescue services to the area of ESD1 fire-rescue services. In this case, adding or annexing means selling (annexing, transferring) the Willow Park Fire-Rescue (WPFR) assets to ESD1 and transferring the WPFR employees to ESD1.
A vote FOR Proposition A means a Willow Park or Willow Park ETJ voter SUPPORTS selling the WPFR to ESD1. If you don’t want to sell the Willow Park Fire-Rescue Department, vote AGAINST.
A vote FOR Proposition B means a Willow Park and ETJ registered voter SUPPORTS assuming the current debt of the ESD1. During his two presentations to Willow Park citizens, ESD1 Fire Chief Watson indicated, in his experience, most citizens vote AGAINST on Proposition B, not to assume the existing debt of ESD1. A no vote just means separate ESD1 accounting for Willow Park assets.
Purpose of Sale of Willow Park Fire-Rescue
Our elected officials have been working behind the scenes for over a year, to sell the Willow Park Fire-Rescue Department (WPFR) to Parker County Emergency Services District 1 (ESD1), in order to build a new city hall.
The details of the proposed sale of the WPF to ESD1, were documented during the 11 October council meeting. ESD1 will purchase the existing City Hall property and lease it back to the City, and the lease “will be for a 2 – 3 Year period, or until the City can construct a City Hall at a site to be determined.”
If the citizens of Willow Park and ETJ vote yes on Proposition A, the city will sell the Willow Park Fire-Rescue Department AND the current Willow Park City Hall to ESD1 for funds to “construct a City Hall.” The final contract for the sale of the WPFR is planned to be completed by April 2023, before the May 2023 election for mayor and council seats 1 and 2.
Issues for Voter Study
The following is a summary of items Willow Park and ETJ voters need to study before they vote on Proposition A, during the 08 November general election and early voting that starts 24 October.
First, theoretically, Willow Park Citizens will exchange a property tax levied by the City of Willow Park for fire and emergency services, for a tax levied by the Parker County ESD1 for these same services.
If the WPFR is sold to ESD1, property owners in Willow Park and ETJ will have a new tax line item on their property tax bill, levied by ESD1, at a tax rate of $.1 per $100 property value. That’s a property tax increase of about 19%. Our elected city officials indicated they might lower the city property tax rate enough to offset new ESD1 tax.
However, even if the city decreases our Willow Park city property taxes to offset the ESD1 property tax, senior citizens and ETJ residents will pay more in property taxes. The senior citizen exemptions, that are given by the city, are not provided by ESD1; ETJ residents, who currently do not pay Willow Park city property taxes, will find the ESD1 tax on their property tax bill.
Second, according to city officials, the $1.5M budget of the WPFR is an economic burden on the city. In exchange for autonomy over their fire-rescue services and for the sale of the WPFR assets and employees to ESD1, Willow Park will be freed of the expense of fire and emergency services in Willow Park. Willow Park elected officials will be able spend the freed funds on projects such as lowering the city property tax rate, spending $20M on street improvements, and increasing parks and trails, In addition, as of 11 October, the city must build a city hall within three years; the new “full-build out” city hall proposed in May 2022 is $7M without real estate.
Third, Willow Park and ESD1 officials have assured citizens our WPFR employees will have better benefits and will be better off working for ESD1. However, in August, when the council approved this year’s benefits packet for city employees, the city kept the health benefits package with a 5% increase in premiums, even though there was another health package bid that was “significantly” lower. The city employees chose to stay with the current but more expensive benefits that were described as “very good.”
As for being “better-off,” Willow Park firefighters will always have the option to work for ESD1. Still, our current Willow Park firefighters have chosen to work for the WPFR, so there must be some intrinsic value in working for Willow Park.
Fourth, our elected officials and ESD1 assure the citizens we will have the same or better service when ESD1 is in control of our fire and emergency needs. If the WPFR is sold to ESD1, Willow Park and ETJ will be 3% of the ESD1 territory and 15% of the ESD1 residents. While Willow Park is the main focus of our current Willow Park Fire-Rescue Department, we are about to become very little fish in a pond over thirty times larger.
But the voters of Willow Park and ETJ have the only voice in this decision to sell the Willow Park Fire-Rescue Department.
For or against this proposition, Willow Park citizens have the right and the responsibility to become educated voters. There is no excuse not to vote. Early voting runs from 24 October through 04 November. Election Day is Tuesday, 08 November.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower counseled, “Public service ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people.” ---
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Abbreviations
Willow Park Fire Rescue Department (WPFR)
Parker County Emergency Services District 1 (ESD1)
Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ)
