ECESD 2 is a local government special district created in 1985 by the voters who lived in the Midlothian School District, and who were not citizens of Midlothian or Ovilla. The current ECESD 2 area includes all areas in the Midlothian School District that are not located in a city (City of Venus residents in Ellis County do live in the District). ECESD 2 currently includes over 4100 homes and 14,000 residents.

ECESD 2 has contracted since 1985 with the Midlothian Fire Department and the Ovilla Fire Department to provide Fire and EMS services to the ECESD 2 residents and area. (Venus Fire Department responds to the Venus area and residents in Ellis County).

ECESD 2 is the governmental entity that collects property tax, or an ad valorem tax, to fund providing fire suppression services and emergency medical services to the residents within the District’s boundaries. These taxes fund stations, apparatus, firefighter/paramedics, and equipment the fire departments utilize to provide fire protection services and emergency

medical services for the District.

Ad valorem tax rates for ESDs are capped by the Texas Constitution at $0.10/$100 valuation of taxable property. In 2023, the District’s ad valorem tax rate was set at $0.098/$100. The 2023 tax rate represented 6.6% of the total tax rate for ECESD 2 property owners. Often, this revenue source alone is insufficient to meet the emergency response needs of ESDs, and ESD boards seek additional funding outside of property tax. 

Through sound fiscal management and good stewardship, the Board of ECESD 2 has been able to purchase and maintain the current training, apparatus, and equipment to protect the community up to this point while steadily growing a strong capital reserve for scheduled, longterm capital expenditures. However, there are three major issues facing the District which require additional funding:

• Additional firefighters/paramedics to staff a newly purchased ambulance that will be

   located at Ovilla Fire Station #1 to respond to EMS calls in the District boundaries.

• Funding the current Fire & EMS responses within the District from the Midlothian Fire

   Department.

• Additional fire station(s) and staffing in the existing and proposed Municipal Utility

  Districts (MUD).

As the Board considers the next 5 years of growth and emergency response, long-term strategic goals have been discussed to highlight the next steps in anticipating the needs of the District.

ECESD 2 has seen tremendous change and demand over the past decade. As such, the number of calls the District has responded to has also increased over the last 10 years. ECESD 2 has been using the District’s capital reserves and ad valorem tax rate to forecast and plan for equipment purchases and maintenance for the foreseeable future, as increased costs for apparatus and longer lead times require more expenditures than in previous years.

By levying a Sales and Use Tax, ECESD 2 would be shifting a portion of the funding for

emergency services from property owners in the District to anyone buying taxable goods and services in the District. The District’s current property tax rate is $0.098/$100 valuation and the District is unable to increase its property tax rate beyond the constitutional maximum of $0.10/$100 valuation for ESDs. Given the limitation on property tax an ESD may assess, the

Board has chosen to seek additional funding through sales and use tax now while it is available to the District.

In Texas, the State captures $0.0625 (6.25%) on every dollar spent on taxable purchases but allows other local governmental entities to capture up to $.02 (2%), with a State maximum total sales and use tax of $0.0825 (8.25%). If the District collected up to a two percent (2%) Sales and Use Tax, it could supplement the existing funding of emergency services which currently

depends upon residents’ property taxes and expand it to those people traveling to and through the ECESD 2 community, who may also use and benefit from local emergency services. 

Whether or not the sales tax measure passes, ECESD 2 will continue to serve the residents

within the District boundaries, but its ability to address the issues facing the District’s growth and staffing goals would be impacted, as outlined above.

The May 4, 2024, ballot will ask residents of the District to vote for or against the adoption of a

Local Sales and Use Tax, for the entity known as Ellis County Emergency Services District No. 2. It will read as follows:

Proposition:

“The adoption of a local sales and use tax in ELLIS COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT NO. 2 at a rate not to exceed two (2%) percent in any location in the District.”

Voters will need to be looking for this language if they wish to cast their vote regarding the sales and use tax for ECESD 2. This proposition will be found at the end of the ballot.

Voting schedules and locations for the May 4, 2024, election can be found at this official Ellis County website:

Good! The goal is for the residents to have all the information at their disposal when voting approaches. Residents with questions should contact the District via the ECESD 2 website: