With the rapid growth of the local population, the need for emergency services has increased along with the need to fund those services. An item on the current ballot for the uniform election involves increasing the cap of ad valorem tax to be allocated to the Emergency Service District 9 that funds local EMS services. Early voting started April 22, and the election date is May 4.
Tom Maia is a paramedic for San Marcos Hays County EMS and is the Hays County EMS Association Secretary, a union representing the interests of EMS employees. Maia said San Marcos Hays County EMS serves the majority of Hays County, including outlying areas of San Marcos, Kyle and surrounding areas, Dripping Springs and unincorporated areas of Hays County such as Belterra, Driftwood and Henly, to name a few.
“Hays County ESD 9 is one of the Emergency Service Districts in the county that, in that specific case, is used to fund EMS,” Maia said. “For the agency that I mentioned (San Marcos Hays County EMS), it’s funded by a couple of different entities to include an ESD for North Hays — Hays ESD 1. The city of San Marcos is another major funding stream. In order to fund units to be able to operate in Kyle, outlying areas of San Marcos and other unincorporated parts of the county there is ESD 9. That was formed in 2019, so it’s a relatively young ESD.”
