Funding the La Salle County Fire Rescue will be a vital part of this year’s general election, as voters choose Tuesday, November 8, whether to allow creation of an emergency services district.
The fire brigade and emergency medical service in La Salle County was established at the height of the energy industry boom over the Eagle Ford Shale and now has stations in Cotulla and Encinal. The service also trains a class of new recruits as cadets each year and prepares them for qualifications as firefighters and emergency medics.
The fire and ambulance service has reduced response times to a matter of minutes and has upgraded the county’s emergency equipment, thereby helping reduce home insurance rates for county and city residents.
On the ballot in the general election will be a decision by La Salle County voters to create Emergency Services District No. 1, which will fund the fire brigade and ambulance service by levying an ad valorem property tax “at a rate not to exceed ten cents on the one hundred dollars valuation.”
