EMS tax hike proposal draws concerned citizens to contentious meeting

MCESD4 District provides EMS service to Devine and Natalia and the surrounding area. It has been planning to switch over on October 1 from hiring a third party amublance service to starting their own EMS business with the thought the taxpayers would get more service. Apprarently not all board members were on the same page, as Board Members Juan Zamora and George Moralez tabled the actions when he learned that Allegiance was already providing TWO 24 HR Ambulances. He was under the impression the ESD was only getting 1.5 ambulances, and the new business would bring that up to 2 ambulances. He questioned why that was misrepresented to the him and Moralez the two newest board members.
As of press time Tuesday, August 27 a new public hearing was happening to see what the board plans to do with tax rate and if Allegiance will be asked to keep providing the service instead of it stopping on Sept 30 since as the board has already cancelled their service as of that date.

By Anton Riecher
With anger and frustration boiling over during an August 20 public hearing, the Medina County Emergency Services District No. 4 Board of Commissioners voted to postpone action on a proposed 57 percent tax rate increase to support its transition to operating its own ambulances rather than contracting with an outside provider. The new tax rate would cause a 73% increase in the actual tax bill of the average homestead will pay.
Former Devine mayor and county commissioner Jerry Beck and Natalia ISD board president Eric Smith among a room full of others were very concerned in the often heated opposition to both the tax increase and the revamp of ambulance service.
“We didn’t know you were going to raise our taxes until it came out in the newspaper the other day,” Beck said. “We wanted to ask, number one, why, but it’s already been decided. You’ve already fired the contract company. You’ve already hired new people.”
Video coverage of the ESD4 public hearing is posted on the Devine News YouTube channel.
Friction was also apparent between board president Anthony Martin and board treasurer Juan Zamora over the issue of whether…

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